Mailbag: Certification and Coolness, More
Microsoft's been trying to make
certifications seem cool again, but not everyone's convinced:
Certs? Cool? Certifications are no longer prestigious (with maybe the exception of the CCIE cert) as they used to be with Novell's CNE and Microsoft's MCSE. "Certifications" and "cool" just aren't whispered in the same breath anymore.
-Kurt
The MCITP: Enterprise Administrator cert(s) were actually very cool. It was far more interesting that the MCSE 2003. The best cert in the series was the application (437) infrastructure cert -- useful as all get out -- and the AD cert was as nasty as one could imagine. I don't know how I got to be a Charter Member on that one! Good breakfast, I guess!
-Rob
Contrary to what Forrester says, Marc thinks Vista is no more a dud than Windows 2000:
Come on! Vista is no more a failure than Windows 2000. Like Windows 2000, Vista was a complete rewrite. Operating systems need to be rewritten periodically or they die a slow death and those new versions are always developed with stability as the primary concern -- NOT performance. Both Windows 2000 and Vista debuted to lukewarm reviews and neither lived up to the hype. Nevertheless, like Windows 2000, Vista has been a "qualified" success.
That said, Windows XP was everything people hoped for with Windows 2000, and it looks like Windows 7 will be everything people hoped for in Vista. Microsoft made a lot of mistakes in marketing Vista but Vista is stable and reliable platform. I know because I have been using it without problems since December 2006.
-Marc
Ron gives a favorable review of Microsoft's latest ad targeting Apple's price tag:
Actually, the ad is pretty funny! She announces she needs a laptop for less than $1K, and the voiceover says, "If you find it, you can keep it." You've got the Apple store part right, but after she goes to another store and buys the HP,it shows someone handing her the $700 back!
Now I want to sign up for the next ad. I could use a free laptop, myself.
-Ron
And on the heels of one reader's April Fools prank, here's one more:
Coke on a laptop? Nice.
My best April Fools joke was done last year. I told a non-business office e-mail list (with nearly 2,000 subscribers) right after lunch that there was a Red Bull promo vehicle in the back parking lot (not visible from any indoor location) giving out free Red Bull. A crowd of 40-plus people was outside looking for it before they realized what they fell for. A few people came to me wanting a free Red Bull, but laughed knowing I got them good.
-Anonymous
Tell us what you think! Leave a comment below or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on April 06, 2009