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MC MCSE Certification Newsletter :: 120th Edition :: April 15th, 2005
Over 29,713 Subscribers!

In This Issue:
:: What's New @ MC MCSE
:: New Network+ Exam
:: Microsoft Performance-based Exams
:: Microsoft Discusses New Certification
:: Smart Certify To Be Sold or Shut Down
:: Cisco Announces New Certification
:: Article: Why Learning The OSI Model Is Important
:: At the Boards
:: Useful Links

Sponsor

CBT Nuggets - IT Certification Training Videos
Get instructor-led training in your own home with these quality CBT video training packages. CBT Nuggets offers products for Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco, Citrix, and RHCE certifications. Free demos avaialable.

What's New @ MC MCSE:

New Practice Exam Questions:
We have added 10 new practice test questions to Microsoft's 70-290 exam making a total of 20. Rest assured that many more are coming. We also added 10 more questions to our RHCE practice test making a total of 110. For those of you not familiar with our exams, we are the world leader in free certification practice exams. You can access them in our Testing Center.

Coming Soon:
A new Linux+ exam is still in the works and will be available soon. Stay tuned!

Microsoft Performance-based Exams

Microsoft has gone live with their new performance-based questions on the 70-290 and 70-291 exams. They have also released a sample question on their web site which can be accessed here.

It has recently come to light that some Prometric testing centers apparently still have not rolled out the new versions of Microsoft's 70-290 and 70-291 exams which include the new performance-based test questions. VUE testing centers have been offering the new exams since they were made available.

Microsoft Discusses New Certification

Microsoft's Al Valvano revealed plans for a new high-level certification program at 101communications' TechMentor conference in Orlando on Monday. The new certification will be called Microsoft Certified Architect Program (MCAP) and may rival or even surpass the CCIE in difficulty.

Valvano stated that only about 25% of the program will cover Microsoft technologies for this board-level certification. He also stated that candidates would have a mentor to help them get through the process and there would be a peer review component as well.

The new program comes amid complaints from I.T. professionals and industry perceptions that their current offerings are too easy. This announcement is preliminary and an official announcement will follow later this year.

Read the full article here.

Smart Certify To Be Sold or Shut Down

Skillsoft has announced that there is a pending sale with an anonymous party for their Smart Certify division. The sale is expected to be completed sometime in the first quarter of 2006. If for some reason, the sale does not go through, they will shut it down instead. The decision comes as the result of lower than expected revenues.

For more information go here.

Sponsor

Free I.T. White Papers
We are now offering a large selection of free IT white papers from industry leading companies. These white papers and tutorials offer valuable information for certification study and real world situations. The white papers listed on this page represent a small fraction of what is available. Click on one of them, complete the free registration and access thousands more! Start learning now!!!

Cisco Announces New Certification

Cisco Systems announces a new specialist-level certification for IP Contact Center (IPCC) Express. Individuals who achieve this certification will have demonstrated competence in the planning, installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and application of Cisco IP Contact Center Express Edition.

For more information, go here.

Article: Why Learning The OSI Model Is Important

There's nothing I enjoy more than teaching Cisco technologies, especially CCNA candidates. Whether it's in-person or online, everyone's excited to be there. There's a sense of anticipation in the air, and everyone is ready to work hard, get their hands on the racks of Cisco routers and switches I have available...

... and then I break out the OSI model chart. Chins slump. People sigh, or at least wish they hadn't ordered decaf that morning.

Okay, it's not that bad. But it does temper the excitement a little. I always get a sense of "why can't we just hurry up and get on the routers and switches? Why do we have to learn this dry stuff?" Read on...

At the Boards

Our forums currently have over 47,525 members and 36,445 posts. Here are some of the most popular posts from the last 2 weeks.

Topic Title Replies Views Start Date
9 years into IT, time to get re-certed. What best path? 4 52 April 14, 2005
Exam Vouchers 5 64 April 14, 2005
New job interview tomorrow 4 137 April 12, 2005
Speed "Bit rate" Vs. Bandwidth 8 91 April 12, 2005
Passed 272! 15 229 April 7, 2005
.169 in a IP address? 15 263 April 6, 2005
Failed 270 today - big time 11 278 April 5, 2005
Project+ worth it if I want to get into project management? 6 97 April 5, 2005
Who has sat the new simulation exam? 9 386 April 4, 2005
Passes 270! 11 300 April 3, 2005

The following posts still need help. Be the first to answer!
Topic Title Replies Views Start Date
Did anybody receive the Network+ Beta exam results? 0 67 April 6, 2005
How to remove a child domain from active directory 0 3 April 17, 2005
Logon script planning 0 15 April 14, 2005

Useful Links

Below is our next set of useful links. If you would like to nominate a site, please post it here.

Win32 Scripting - Tons of free scripts, examples, and information.
Sysinternals - Lots of freeware tools source code, and information for Windows.
W3Schools - The best web design and coding tutorials anywhere.
Video Help - Learn all about how to convert and burn DVDs and CDs.
Spyware Info - Great forums dedicated to spyware information and removal.

Until next time...