Hurray.. I got a free Microsoft exam voucher today… i won the contest conducted by the Microsoft Certified blog.. Born To Learn..
Check this link.. there would be my name in the winners list. if u read this post by today please participate the contest in the below link,,, All the best…
http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/2009/06/june-26-exam-voucher-winners
i can take any microsoft exam free of cost, thanks to born to learn…
I am going to take an MCSE exam with this voucher..
Posted By: KirubaKaran
Access Id : 827424
Access Password : Kiruba2020
Posted By: R.v.KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Professional
Got a mail from Microsoft that the Microsoft is going to create the Green Earth, so all the Microsoft exams written before June 30 2009 alone are eligible for certificates, after that only E-Certificates will be provided. If you need paper certificate then you need to pay them in addition. This is really a sad news from Microsoft. Most of the FAQ are answered here.
Won’t it cost me a fortune to have the certificate mailed to my country? No—our number one requirement from the start was that our certificates—should you still choose to order them—be affordable to ship anywhere in the world. We’ll have our shipping costs published soon, but we don’t anticipate significantly higher shipping costs internationally. (We’re using a different vendor than our MCP E-Store (which I agree is way too exorbitant on shipping costs… we’re working on that).
We use A4 paper in my country, but your certificates are 8-1/2 x 11. How do I print my certificates correctly? We actually provide A4 versions of the digital certificates now—go check them out!
Why don’t I see my charter certificates? We don’t keep records of charter members—those charter certificates are simply the first x number of certificates that we mailed out to the people who earned those certifications. If you were to re-order one of those certificates today (or last week, or last month), you’d find that you’d get a “standard” certificate rather than a charter one (unless we still happened to have some charter certificates left), and the digital certificates work the same way.
Will you ever issue charter certificates again? Maybe. We decided that on a case-by-case basis. If we do, we’ll also make sure we take into account how digital fulfillment works in those cases.
Why didn’t you make welcome kits opt-in only, so that environmentally concerned customers could decided for themselves? We did—for the last few years! Almost everyone ordered certificates though (myself included), in part because they’re free. I find myself ordering things I probably wouldn’t otherwise when they’re free. With a modest shipping and handling fee, we expect that more folks will opt-out than before.
How is this environmentally friendly if all it means is that the MCP has to do the printing instead of Microsoft? See above—if everyone prints out their certificates, then yeah, there’s a good chance that overall we’re doing more harm than good to the environment. But we don’t believe that will happen. I don’t know what percentage of folks will print their certificates, but I think it will decline steadily over time.
Won’t this lead to fraudulent certificates? Don’t look now, but it’s actually not that hard to find places on the Internet who will send you authentic-looking but counterfeit certificates and wallet cards today. The fact is, you can’t trust a paper certificate, and frankly, I wouldn’t trust a digital one either. The only thing I’d trust is our launching-in-August virtual business cards, which authenticate your credentials against your transcript, making them pretty darn difficult to forge.
Are you going to lower the price for exams since you’re now saving money on the welcome kits? No, we won’t, but: remember that we haven’t raised our prices in eight years. Tell me another vendor whose exams are priced as low as we are and can say that. We could have simply raised our prices a bit, but then everyone would be paying extra, not just the people who want paper certificates. This way seems more equitable to us: if you’re satisfied with digital credentials, your exams cost the same; if you want a paper certificate, you’ll pay a modest shipping and handling fee.
How would you feel if your college or university told you that after four years, you had to pay an extra fee to get your diploma? I’d be pretty ticked off, because I probably just spent up to $200,000 USD and invested 4 full-time years of my life studying. I’d probably also question the rationale, since my college only issues about 400 diplomas a year, and they’re handed out in person rather than packaged in cardboard and shipped on airplanes and trucks around the world. I understand the analogy many of you are trying to draw, but in fairness I don’t think that many of you are spending that kind of money and time earning our certifications. I love that you take such pride in your accomplishments—and I share it as an MCP/MCT many times over since 1993—but with all due respect and IMHO, we’re talking about different levels of investment here.
Frequently Leveled Accusations
Microsoft isn’t concerned about the environment—this is just a cost-cutting measure in disguise. This is what’s known as a false choice: that something must be either one thing or another, and not both. This is absolutely a way for us to save on our costs (without raising our prices)—no doubt about that. But it’s also and primarily a way for us to cut down on our environmental footprint. I realize some of you won’t believe that no matter what we say… so it’s probably not a productive use of any of our time trying to persuade each other. (Ditto for those of you arguing that global warming is a hoax.)
You don’t really care about the environment—or you wouldn’t have done that bus tour! See above, plus: there’s no doubt we’re not 100% green, and we won’t be any time soon either. But we’re making strides where we can. (I wish we could have found an electric bus!) BTW, you can take out the words “the environment” above and substitute “cutting costs” and the argument works just as well.
One final note (for now): I understand why the discussion is focused on certificates now, but the upcoming virtual business cards are going to be pretty sweet. For the first time, we’ll truly have a visual symbol of your credential that really, truly proves your accomplishments. I think you guys will dig it and appreciate the benefits it provides over paper and plastic.
Posted By: R.v.KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Professional
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I have got some great stuff to share today! I was given the preview of what the experience site will be with the virtual business cards (VBC). I am liking it. Okay – I have been good at holding my opinion, whether is has been good, bad or just ehhhh, however, this time – I just have to share – I really like it! Here are a few of the examples I can show you.
The Experience site will be where you will build your custom VBC’s, be able to see stats on your card use, set up an area to showcase yourself, link with Facebook and LinkedIN, get to your MCP transcript and even highlight your resume if you wish. YOUR site will be about YOU.
Please note: These are examples and the dev work is still happening. This is one possible theme you could possibly pick. You are in control! I want to stress some things may not occur with phase II, but I am trying to get as much as possible in this summer’s launch. And I said it—launching summer!
So, feel free to give me your artistic and technical feedback on the the mock up’s for the experience site!
I’m an MCP & this is a really cool project.
Posted By: KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Professional
Heads up, folks—here’s your chance for fame and fortune (well, a free exam at any rate, but that’s pretty good fortune, IMHO).
Fellow MCP and prolific author/blogger Ed Tittel just announced a contest over at TechTarget: share your personal success story about how certification helped you advance your career, and you might win an exam voucher, an on-line profile on Ed’s blog, and maybe even a feature article on SearchNetworking.com!
The contest is short—it runs through June 22nd—so check out the full details and enter today!
Good luck!
Contact Me if you Need Help about Microsoft Certifications.
Posted By: KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Professional
Several testers have taken Microsoft’s 70-680 beta exam, and found it to be less than challenging.
The test is titled "MCTS: Windows 7, Configuring." The exam came out in beta (i.e. pre-release) form on June 1. Greg Shields, a founder of the tech Website Concentrated Technology, had this to say:
"Let me give you my initial impression in just a few words: Embarrasingly easy."Shields is concerned that the exam in its current form doesn't test enough real-world knowledge:
"I have to say that I’m fairly unimpressed with the difficultly in this beta, or the content it tests upon. If the final exam is simply a snipping of this beta’s large sample of questions, I worry that it might not do a good job of effectively testing who really knows their stuff in configuring Windows 7."A software developer who goes by the name Eralper had this to say:
"I believe if you have enough knowledge on the general exam content you will complete the 70-680 in a short time."These comments should send up a red flag for Microsoft. It has dealt with concerns in the past about exams being too easy, which ultimately devalues the certification upon which it's based. Of course, that's why there are beta exams; Microsoft will hopefully take the feedback seriously (it usually does) and adjust the tests accordingly.
Posted By: KirubaKaran
Microsoft Certified Professional
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