Alexander’s Blog

If you are a developer you might be interested in a free Visual Studio 2008 clinic from Microsoft. This clinic will provide a start point for Enterprise Developers and Software Architects that are looking to Windows Workflow Foundation as a solution for enabling business processes within their solutions. Within the clinic you will learn about the functionality provided by the workflow engine, the overall architecture, and how to build workflow enabled applications.

Clinic 6262: Introducing Windows Workflow Foundation using .Net Framework 3.5 & Visual Studio 2008

The new Microsoft Certified Master series offers advanced technical training and certifications on Microsoft technologies that go beyond any product training offered outside of Microsoft today. IT professionals who successfully complete the program and certification testing validate their skills as product experts who successfully design and implement solutions that meet the most complex business requirements.

Master certification enables senior IT professionals to demonstrate and validate their technical expertise on Microsoft server products and authoritatively differentiate themselves to prospective employers and customers. Master certification is a primary prerequisite for all technical Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) certifications.

Microsoft offers three Master-level technical certifications, all of which deepen and broaden the technical skills of experienced IT professionals.

To be eligible for Master certification, the candidate must be a current Microsoft Certified Professional (with a Microsoft Certification ID) or an eligible Microsoft employee. Specific technology requirements vary by platform.

To achieve Master certification, candidates must fulfill the following training requirements:

Registration is scheduled to start in July 2008. Classes are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2008. Click here for more details.

Check out these MSDN Virtual Labs and TechNet Virtual Labs if you haven’t already. These are a series of guided, hands-on labs which can be completed in 90 minutes or less. The best part is these labs don’t require any installation and are available to you immediately for FREE. Here are the topics that are currently available to you.

MSDN Virtual Labs

ASP.NET 2.0
ASP.NET
BizTalk Server
Commerce Server
Fritz Onion’s Intro to ASP.NET
Internet Information Services (IIS)
JPlusN (J+N)
Microsoft Expression
.NET Framework 3.0
Soup to Nuts
Visual Studio
Visual Studio 2008
Visual Studio Team System
Visual C#
Visual J#
Visual Basic
Visual C++
Connected Systems
Data Access and Storage
Office
Security
Smart Client
SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2005 Upgrade
Visual SourceSafe
Web Services
Windows Embedded CE 6.0
Windows Live
Windows Mobile
Windows Vista
Windows XP Embedded
TechNet Virtual Labs

TechNet Virtual Labs

Antigen
BizTalk Server
Configuration Manager
Enterprise Search
Exchange Server
Forefront Security
Groove Server
Identity Integration Server (MIIS)
Internet Information Services (IIS)
Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server
Office Communications Server
Office System
Operations Manager
SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2000
SharePoint Server
Systems Management Server (SMS)
Windows Mobile
Windows Rights Management Services (RMS)
Windows Server 2003 R2
Windows Server 2008
Windows SharePoint Services
Windows Small Business Server
Windows Vista

If you are interested in cryptography, you might want to check out the Handbook of Applied Cryptography, by Menezes, van Oorschot, and Vanstone (CRC Press). This book is one of the recommended books for the modern cryptography course in the masters program at the University of Washington in Seattle. As of today, it is sold at Amazon.com for $83.95 but you can download it for free in PDF or Postscript format from Alfred Menezes’ Web site.

Alfred Menezes is a professor of mathematics in the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization at the University of Waterloo (Canada), where he teaches courses in cryptography, coding theory, finite fields, and discrete mathematics.

Microsoft is offering several upgrade exams for those of us who hold current certifications, such as MCDST, MCSA, and MCSE. This is not a complete list by any means. Microsoft is still in the process of developing new courseware and exams.

Upgrading MCSA 2003 to MCSA 2008
To upgrade your MCSA on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, you need to pass:

Exam 70-648: TS: Upgrading Your MCSA on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, Technology Specialist

Upgrading MCSA 2003 to MCSE 2008
To upgrade your MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, you need to pass:

Exam 70-649: TS: Upgrading Your MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, Technology Specialist

Upgrading MCDST to MCTS and MCITP
If you are an MCDST, you only need to pass the following exam to earn the MCTS and MCITP: Enterprise Support Technician certifications for Windows Vista:

Exam 70-621: PRO: Upgrading Your MCDST Certification to MCITP Enterprise Support

For information on all recently released exams from Microsoft, click here.