Review: SUSE Linux 10.1 Kick Start

Review: SUSE Linux 10.1 Kick Start

Author: Jem Matzan.
Format: PDF, 124 pages
Published: SAMS (October 27, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0-7686-6826-3

Review by James Pyles
November 15, 2006

SUSE Linux 10.1 Kick Start is part of SAMS new Shortcut Series. To bring you up to speed, here's a quote from the source: "Short Cuts are short, concise, PDF documents designed specifically for busy technical professionals like you. Each Short Cut is tightly focused on a specific technology or technical problem. This may be a cutting-edge new technology that shows great promise, or it may be an existing technology that has reached the "tipping point" and is about to take off." Visit the Shortcut Home Page for more information on this series.

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Training For Industry-Specific Knowledge

Training For Industry-Specific Knowledge

Last year, IT consultant firm Robert Half Technology (RHT) polled 1,400 chief information officers (CIOs) from U.S. companies, asking “If two candidates interviewing for an IT position had similar skills, what additional qualification would you find the most valuable?” A plurality of respondents — 43 percent — did not answer certification in a relevant technology, soft skills, an IT-related undergraduate degree or an MBA but rather industry-specific experience. This is the most frustrating attribute you can’t get without already having it, the Catch-22 any professional in a developing career likely will face. The question for IT professionals is: How do you train for industry-specific knowledge? Whether it’s health care, finance, manufacturing, government, defense contracting or otherwise, IT pros will need to know about the industry they’re supporting or they desire to support in their eventual employment....

Migrating Active Directory into Linux: Many roads to Rome

Migrating Active Directory into Linux: Many roads to Rome

Although Windows and Linux can provide similar functionality, you won't find one-to-one matching features on each platform. This is doubly true if you are migrating an Active Directory repository to Linux. It's not impossible to directly migrate user information from AD into Linux, but some of the functionality offered in AD will be expressed differently in Linux. I've written before about how Active Directory handles two basic functions: directory lookup (which Linux handles with an implementation of LDAP, such as OpenLDAP) and user authentication, which is done through Kerberos. So when you're moving from AD, the most important thing to consider is the scope of the migration -- not just in the sense of how many machines or servers, or how big a directory, but what jobs the new directory is going to take.

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Core 2 Duo MacBook to launch November 13?

Core 2 Duo MacBook to launch November 13?

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 06 November 2006
Just a couple of weeks after the MacBook Pro was upgraded with Intel’s Core 2 Duo chip, an online vendor is offering a 13.3-inch Core 2 Duo MacBook for pre-sale, upstaging any Apple announcement. Is it for real, just a misprint or a malicious trick?

UK online retailer Play.com are offering a MacBook with a Core 2 Duo chip, available for pre-order with an expected release date of November 13.

The specifications listed are effectively identical to the existing 13.3-inch MacBook, with specific mention of the Core 2 Duo processor in the listed specifications.

However in the descriptive text below, only the Intel’s older Core Duo processor is mentioned.
Interestingly, it’s not the first time Play.com have offered a Core 2 Duo MacBook for pre-sale.

They did so a couple of weeks ago, only to remove the listing. Now the listing is back, although...

Server Core, Windows without Windows

Server Core, Windows without Windows

"One of the most innovative features coming in Windows "Longhorn" Server isn't really a feature as much as a whole new version of Windows. It's called Server Core, and it will only take one-sixth of the disk space of a normal Longhorn installation. It's not expected to need anywhere near as many patches and hotfixes as Windows 2000. It's a version of Windows that does not, in fact, use windows. It's breaking Microsoft's long-standing reliance on graphical interfaces and shaking things up in several of Microsoft's product groups.

Server Core reflects a changing view of servers. "Administrators are accustomed to thinking of servers by their role. That's my file server, that's a domain controller, that's an Exchange server," says Andrew Mason, a Microsoft program manager for Server Core. Some of those roles really don't use much of what is built into Windows.

Server Core also recognizes -- based on painful...

Like Windows Vista, Exam Almost Here (But Not Quite)

Like Windows Vista, Exam Almost Here (But Not Quite)

You knew it was coming: A new exam for Windows Vista has appeared on the Pearson Vue site. The information seems preliminary for now, as there is no listed date for beta availability, which is a good indication that the exam still percolates in development at the Redmond campus. (Microsoft makes no comments on exams in development.) Here's what information we can glean so far: The exam will be entitled "70-620 TS: Windows Vista Configuring." Confirmation of the name can be found elsewhere, in the form of a book already in the works at Sybex, MCTS: Windows Vista Client Configuration Study Guide: Exam 70-620, by James Chellis (ISBN, 0470108819, MSRP $49.99). (Availability of the book is expected in February 2007, but it's already listed on several retail sites, including Amazon.com and Bookpool.com.) Based on earlier interviews with Microsoft's Learning Group, the exam price will likely...

Getting Started in Certification

Getting Started in Certification

So you’ve decided to embark on the path to IT riches via certification. Good for you! While work experience and academic programs are undeniably beneficial for your career, credentialing programs serve a function that those other components usually can’t fulfill — namely, to be a reliable indicator of an individual’s comprehension of the latest and greatest iteration of a product, technology or job role. Whether you’re looking to get a raise, a promotion, respect, all these or something else altogether, it’s a good move. Generally speaking, there are two kinds of certification newbies: There are the “fresh out of high school/ community college/four-year university/other” kids who are kicking off their careers in technology. Then there are the IT veterans who have years of experience and no certification but...

Find out the details about launching yourself into the realm of IT certifications...

Firefox accepting feature suggestions for version 3

Firefox accepting feature suggestions for version 3

The Firefox web browser has come a long way since the project was announced as a fork from the open-sourced Mozilla project. Version 1.0 was released in 2004 and quickly won critical acclaim for its speed, compatibility with web standards, and features. In a couple of years, Firefox managed to reach a milestone that its predecessor never quite reached: hitting 10 percent market share worldwide. Version 2 of the browser recently hit Release Candidate 2, but the team is already making plans for 3.0. The Mozilla organization has set up a feature brainstorming web site that allows everyone to enter their favorite wish lists for the open source browser....

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The Road Less Traveled: How to Become an IT Security Professional

The Road Less Traveled: How to Become an IT Security Professional

IT security has become the “next big thing” in the job market — more IT professionals, regardless of background and experience, have been rushing to get into this field. Many people want the coolness and prestige that comes with being “Firewall Guy” or the girl who stops hackers in their tracks with some quick, deft keyboarding in the critical pinch. Unfortunately, many are finding out that the world of network security is not as glamorous as TV and films might portray. Successful IT security people work long, tiring hours, often with no reward other than knowing that if everything is going right, and the network is secure, no one notices. Unsuccessful ones, on the other hand, find that in the event of a security breach, everyone usually notices because of data theft, denial of service attacks, viruses, potential downtime and other unpleasant things.

Find out how to walk "the road...

Adult Learners See Certification as a Career Springboard

Adult Learners See Certification as a Career Springboard

Certificate programs are growing in popularity within the continuing and professional education departments of colleges and universities. For adult learners, these programs provide career advancement without a lengthy — and costly — traditional degree program. In fact, according to a report from Eduventures, an education research and consulting firm, nearly half of all certificate students are motivated by the outcomes of their program — they view certificates as a tool to facilitate changing careers or meet minimum entry requirements or continuing education requirements for their employment. The report, “Consumer Preferences for Certificate Programs,” also found the next most important motivation to pursuing a certificate program was earning a higher education credential. A majority of students in a certificate program — 66.2 percent — indicated they are interested in counting their...