For over a decade, an MCSE certification was the golden ticket in the world of IT.

An MCSE meant that, not only had you demonstrated an understanding of systems administration and the skills necessary to run a Windows-based enterprise, but also that you were willing to take the extra necessary steps to achieve a long-term IT based goal.

Those two attributes were the best available indicator of someone having what it takes to be a quality sys admin.

Then, Microsoft inexplicably pulled the plug on its highly successful technology certification. In a misguided effort to make Microsoft certification “more relevant” to specific job functions, the company made wholesale changes to the entire certification program instead of tweaking the areas that needed improvement.

In doing so, the company left behind a fog of confusion for both IT professionals, who wondered what certification track to pursue, and for managers who wondered what certification actually matched up with the available position.

There Goes the Last MCSE

The Tom Petty song, Last DJ laments the growing influence of corporations in radio. An enterprise that was once the bastion of people who loved music had grown into one focused only on dollars and cents. It is not unlike what has happened to Microsoft certification.

The MCSE program was both a demonstration of technical abilities, and a badge of honor among Microsoft IT personnel. Senior systems administrators with years of experience and skills that no one would ever question still put forth the effort to get their MCSE designation, even if they did not intend to look for a new position.

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Hey gang! It’s Coach Culbertson here, and I’ve got something really useful to show you today. This will not only save you time but might save you some money too.

If you’re planning on making the move to virtualization, whether it’s Hyper-V or VMware you need to first make sure that your hardware, and more specifically your processor, can handle virtualization. How do you do that?

Well, there’s actually a really easy way to check which Intel processors support virtualization and which don’t.

So if you’re looking to implement virtualization and you need to check your current hardware, or if you’re looking to buy new hardware — this is the best way to check which Intel processor you can use — before spending money on a new box or a new processor.

You can access this super easy to use too at ark.intel.com/vtlist.aspx

And in the video below I’ll show you exactly how it works and how you can use it to your advantage.

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Train Signal celebrated 7 years last month and to mark the occasion we decided to do a fun little giveaway as a way of saying THANK YOU for your continued loyalty and support.

Find out how you can win!
Hurry! Contest ends today, September 30th, 2009

This could be my last post for a while as I am about to go on maternity leave (my due date is tomorrow so cross your fingers for me!) but before I do so, I want to share something with you.

I Love Train Signal!

My wonderful Train Signal just got a brand new laptop for me with … Windows 7! 

Remember how I gave my boss a little hint in my upgrading from XP to Windows 7 article?  I guess he reads my posts after all, because first thing yesterday morning I get a package with a brand spanking new laptop!  I was so happy I was in tears! (Quite hormonal, yes — but there’s not much you can do when you are about to have a baby AND you get a new laptop you’ve been wanting for months).

Bragging About My New Windows 7 Laptop

Most of the day yesterday I spent setting up my Windows 7, copying files and programs, configuring my preferences, etc., and I must say, Windows 7 makes all of this really easy.  I am not a Windows 7 pro and I haven’t done much training on it either but I was able to figure out almost everything on my own — it’s so easy to use. 

I love the new look and feel and the speed is amazing — I really think I can get used to it quickly.  Now, just so you know, I haven’t used Windows Vista that much.  I know Windows 7 is supposed to be just like Vista and all, but I made the jump to 7 from Windows XP. 

I still love XP and will miss it dearly, but it’s time for me to move on and “go with the flow”.  So, if any of you are still on Windows XP and are afraid of installing Windows 7 — don’t be.  It’s easy and you will have no problem getting used to it.

Redirecting Your Documents Folder in Windows 7

Ok, enough bragging about my new laptop and the awesome Windows 7.

What I want to show you today is how to redirect your Documents folder to a different location on you Windows 7 PC.

I like to keep my Documents folder on my D drive and as of now the default is C:\Users\Public. So, how do I change the default? Here are the steps.

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As you know, we are in the middle of creating Server 2008 R2 training. The more of Coach’s videos I watch the more and more fun stuff I find out. Did you know that in R2 you can actually add storage to a virtual machine on the fly? Sure, VMware can do it too, but I am still impressed.

Here is the kicker: It has to be a SCSI hard drive. Why not IDE Disks? Your guess is as good as mine. However, dynamic storage having to be a SCSI drive won’t slow you down; when you create a VM with Hyper-V R2 you get a SCSI controller by default (this wasn’t true in Hyper-V non-R2).

This process really couldn’t be easier:

In the server manager under the Hyper-V node, bring up the settings for the VM you want to beef up.

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