Category Certification

Thanks Kurt Shintaku for the heads up!

Code should be valid now!

Also be sure to check out – Microsoft Learning Free stuff! How much does Free Microsoft Learning Cost? (Hint: Free!)

TRAINING: FREE Microsoft Virtualization Courses – “Configuring Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008”

Are you interested in learning Microsoft’s Virtualization technologies… for free?

Prepare for Exam 70-652 for Free (US$159.99 value)
This collection of five 2-hour online courses helps you develop the skills necessary for implementing and managing Hyper-V in an IT environment, as well as, creating and managing virtual machines and hosts in a virtual environment.

The courses within the collection include the following topics:

• An overview of the Hyper-V technology
• Creating a virtual environment
• Deploying systems in a virtual environment
• Configuring high availability in a virtual environment
• Administering a virtual environment with SCVMM

This collection helps you prepare for exam 70-652 TS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring
This collection requires that students meet the following prerequisites:

• At least a year and a half of experience working in Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 environments as system administrators
• Familiarity with virtualization products and technologies

The package includes all the content from the following 5 online virtualization training courses:

• Course 6320: Introducing the Hyper-V Technology
• Course 6321: Configuring a Virtual Environment
• Course 6322: Deploying Systems in a Virtual Environment
• Course 6323: Optimizing a Virtual Environment
• Course 6324: Managing a Virtual Environment by using SCVMM

How to register for free:

1. Go to the following site:
   Collection 6319: Configuring Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008
   http://co1piltwb.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/mcoeredir/mcoeredirect.aspx?linkId=11062521&s1=3b30899e-0181-e332-5c10-46f4e257ae4a
2. Register using the following promo code:
   9350-Y2W6-3676
3. The course may be revisited for a period of 18 months after registration.

Those of you who have already entered into This is the spirit of giving! Get your Vista on-! Free Giveaways! that is great! If you haven’t entered yet, go post your comment, tweet, digg or whatever for your chance to win those two books and a copy of Vista Ultimate!

The holidays are not over yet! There will be some more prizes for the winning over the next week or so, including: Another copy of Vista (32bit only), a Zune and who knows what else I have in store (Seriously, I don’t even know yet!) (Oh, and a copy of Norton 360) and whatnot!

So, go get your prize on! Comment (Here, there or everywhere) and lets make the running for these prizes a decent one! I’ll stop giving away if I don’t get any interest?!

Oh, who wants some Windows Server 2003 Enterprise 25user Cal! (I still have a bunch of those! :)) (And may have some Microsoft Exam vouchers to give away soon!)

Happy Holidays!

@cxi

This question gets asked by a lot of people “ooh! Windows7 or Vista! What should I do?!?”

I won’t be the one to make that decision for you.  Infact, I’ll make it harder for you :)

In the season and the spirit of giving, and finally getting around to doing this (I’ve planned to do this for awhile) I’m giving away to a random and wanting participant one or more of the following!

I’ve had these sitting on my bookshelf for some time, and have been meaning to give them away! Will you get them? Do you want them? If you’re located in Chicago-land I could definitely drop them off, but if you’re in Egypt, Italy, Russia or Mumbai I’ll gladly ship them to you.

		Retail	Amazon
	Windows Vista Resource Kit Windows Vista Administrator’s Pocket Consultant Windows Vista Ultimate	$59.99 $29.99 $399.95	$36.55 $18.27 $224.99
		$485.93	$279.81
	Your Cost:		$0.00!

What’s the catch?

I encourage you in the spirit of giving to tell your friends and your friends-friends.  I get my hands on stuff like this all the time and when I don’t give it away at events while talking to people about Technology, It ends up back on my shelf ready for me to give away!

Please do comment on this, comment on here, retweet this on Twitter as well! :)

The more people who are interested and involved, the happily I’ll be that this is going to a good home(s).  (I only have one of each of these at the moment, but if the interest is there, I have a whole closet of other goods, software included!)

Please comment! Please retweet, Digg, Stumblr, etc. Add me @cxi on Twitter too! (Only comments on the blog count though! :))

Every comment, link back, blog post, twitter follow, retweet, digg, etc will give you an entry into the drawing!

Thanks and a happy thanksgiving and other festiveness to all!

(All those certification bound, be sure to check out the Free Testing Archive for free Certs!)

Please see the Free Testing Archive for tests like this and more!

Register for Beta Exam 71-505: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Application Development

Registration Begins 11/21/2008

You are invited to take beta exam 71-505: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Application Development. If you pass the beta exam, the exam credit will be added to your transcript and you will not need to take the exam in its released form. The results willnot appear on your transcript until several weeks after the final form of the exam is released. The 71-xxx identifier is used for registering for beta versions of MCP exams, when the exam is released in its final form the 70-xxx identifier is used for registration.

71-505: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Application Development counts as credit towards the following certification(s).

· Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Applications

· Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Windows Developer 3.5

· Microsoft Certified Professional Developer: Enterprise Application Developer 3.5

Availability

Registration begins: November 21, 2008

Beta exam period runs: November 25, 2008– December 15, 2008

Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta; we recommend that you register immediately. Beta exams have limited availability and are operated under a first-come-first-served basis. Once all beta slots are filled, no additional seats will be offered.

Testing is held at Prometric testing centers worldwide, although this exam may not be available in all countries (see Regional Restrictions). All testing centers will have the capability to offer this exam in its live version.

Regional Restrictions: India, Pakistan, China

Registration Information

Please use the following promotional code when registering for the exam: X356Y
You must register at least 24 hours prior to taking the exam.

To register in North America, please call:

· Prometric: (800) 755-EXAM (800-755-3926)

Outside the U.S./Canada, please contact:

· Prometric: http://www.register.prometric.com/ClientInformation.asp

Test Information and Support

You are invited to take this beta exam at no charge.
You will be given four hours to complete the beta exam. Please plan accordingly.
Find exam preparation information: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exams/70-505.aspx

This exam is not ready yet! No Beta code to speak of.

But there is already talk about it, so the chances of there being codes.. Soon!

Until such a point, here are some study guides provided by the blessed Garth Jones!

70-635 MCTS: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008, Desktop Deployment

70-635 Study Guide

He’s even created a Wiki Page for Exam Prep and Review! so check it out!

So, special props to Garth Jones, and look forward to an update to the Free Testing Archive when we get that Beta Code!