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Is the virtual grass greener?

aerosj — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:25:12 -0800

I read an article on techcrunch.com today discussing the departure of Google employees to go work at VMware. Apparently, Derek Collision tweeted today that he’d be leaving Google after five years in their service. He was heading, of course, to go work with “Vadim and Mark Lucovsky for a bit at VMware”. Vadim Spivak and Lucovsky are two other former Google higher-ups who left for more virtualized pastures. As the article points out, it’s not uncommon for employees to leave a stable-but-somewhat-stale environment to go work for a budding start-up, where ideas are fresh and potential untapped. But VMware has been around for a number of years now. Why would established employees such as these leave Google for anything other than an exciting new start-up, the author of the techchrunch.com article wonders?

The answer is simple. Although VMware isn’t a brand-new company, virtualization is hot right now. Really hot. It’s nearly impossible to pick up a tech magazine or log on to a tech blog without reading all about the latest and greatest in virtualization and cloud computing. Although VMware was founded more than ten years ago, the potential of virtualization hasn’t been fully realized by the mainstream until now.

No, of course VMware isn’t the only fish in the virtualization sea. But it has to be a mighty appealing option right now for those who are being courted to work there. VMware would offer these folks the best of both worlds: they’re an established, well-respected company with a great name for themselves in a field that is just beginning to truly take off. They’ve got the excitement of a start-up, since virtualization is growing in popularity at an unbelievable rate, combined with the security of a well-established company. I don’t blame these guys for jumping ship and heading to VMware, at all. It’s a smart move.

Why Aren't Businesses Into Windows 7?

aerosj — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:15:15 -0800

A couple months ago I wrote a blog extolling the wonders of Windows 7. Now, while that post may have been written in the midst of a “hallelujah, the savior is coming and we shall be delivered from the Vista abomination” moment, I stand by my assessment. I’m still using the release client almost exclusively, and I’ve pre-ordered my official copy from Amazon.com. Windows 7 is really, really cool so far, and it’s leaps and bounds above Vista. So why aren’t businesses going to use it?

I read an article yesterday on cnet.com (and about half a dozen other places), citing a survey that shows that nearly 60% of businesses have absolutely no plans to upgrade to Windows 7. Of the 40% who plan to, only about 5% plan to do so by the end of 2009. Granted, the release isn’t scheduled until late October, so “by the end of 2009” only gives them two months. The other 34% said they planned to upgrade by the end of 2010. But the startling fact is that 60% of businesses don’t have any plans to upgrade to Windows 7, the OS that’s been getting rave reviews for months, and hasn’t even been released yet. As I read back over the reports I realize that this could be a situation of semantics, and this is much ado about nothing. Perhaps that 60% has no specific plans to upgrade, but does intend to do so at some point. But for the sake of discussion, let’s assume that the 60% group literally meant they have no intention of upgrading. Does this mean they’re out of their minds, and actually prefer Windows Vista? What other explanation could there be? Well, there are a few. And after reading the findings and giving it all some thought, I can’t argue with them.

Apparently, a big reason cited for not upgrading was concerns about compatibility with existing hardware and software. This I have a little trouble with. First of all, compatibility issues are going to be minimal. That’s one of the beautiful things about Windows 7. But even if there are compatibility issues that are going to affect your business, chances are that they’ll get worked out very quickly. What’s more, many businesses avoided Vista entirely and stuck with XP (good move). No excuses for them: Windows 7 comes with XP Mode. Problem solved. Compatibility worries are a perfectly reasonable rationale for the group who says they’ll wait until next year to upgrade, but I’m not so sure about the “no plans to upgrade” group.

As much as I’d like to stick my head in the sand and pretend everything’s perfect and the economy is flourishing, that’s obviously not the case. Many, many companies have been hit hard by the struggling economy. Businesses are closing, workers are getting laid off, and budgets are being slashed. Let’s assume a small business is already running Windows on all of their systems, so they can get away with upgrading to Windows 7 instead of buying the full version for $300. The upgrade version of Windows 7 Professional is still $200. If you factor in the average 10% volume discount, that’s $180 per computer to upgrade. A business with just 30 employees would have to shell out $5400 just to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7. In times like these, with employers worrying about whether they’ll have to start laying people off, dropping that kind of money to upgrade an operating system just isn’t feasible.

There’s a third reason not discussed in any of the articles I read, but I wonder if it isn’t having a bigger impact than expected. Microsoft screwed up with Vista, and they screwed up bad. Has Vista left such a bad taste in people’s mouths that they’re now wary of anything new from Microsoft? I can’t say that’s a completely irrational feeling.

PrepLogic's unlimited program: great so far. What's next?

aerosj — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:17:27 -0800

While programming is a hobby and interest of mine, I’d have to consider myself still pretty much a novice in most areas. My area of expertise is networking, security, and basic help-desk-technician duties. The more I’ve dabbled in programming, though, the more I want to learn. A couple months ago I got started with an “unlimited access” program from PrepLogic.com so I could add my CCNA and Network+ certifications to my resume. The program is awesome: I knew PrepLogic’s training was good, because I used them for my A+ and Security+, but their unlimited program is really cool. I’d originally planned on getting my MCSE next, but I think I might put that off for a little and focus on some programming and development training. After all, I have plenty of time to get whatever certifications I need.

The way the program from PrepLogic works is like Netflix. You pick out whatever certification you want to get first, and you get everything PrepLogic has for that one. (I’d give you the direct link, but I can’t find it right now. Just look around here: http://www.preplogic.com/). So for CCNA I got a bunch of different study guides, audio training, the video training, some practice exams and an audio quiz. All of it was downloadable except the videos, which they mail on DVD. At first I thought it was lame that you couldn’t just download the video but when I saw it was 27 hours long I understood why. The DVD wouldn’t play when I got it, which was frustrating, but when I called PrepLogic customer service they were really friendly and helpful. They got me a new DVD really fast, and that one worked perfectly.

PrepLogic’s video training, by the way, is really good. The instructors are very clear and thorough and they were able to keep my attention, which isn’t always easy to do. It’s amazing how much I learned in 27 hours spread out over the course of a month. I watched an hour or two at a time most nights after work, since that’s the only time I could fit it in. All of the stuff from PrepLogic was great, really, even though I didn’t wind up using the audio training much. The practice exam was really helpful. PrepLogic’s practice exams are a bit harder than the actual exam, but that helps you feel extra prepared for the real thing.

Anyway, when you’re finished with whatever certification you chose, you send your DVD back to PrepLogic, and they send you all the training material for whatever certification you want next. I’m almost finished with Network+ and getting ready to take the exam in a couple of weeks. With just these two certifications the unlimited program has nearly paid for itself, and since you get two years of access, I still have over a year and a half left to get my MCSE and whatever else I want for practically free (other than the cost of the actual exam).

So my questions is, what should I get from PrepLogic next? I’ve mostly worked with web development, but I might try something new. What do you guys think? Would VB.NET be a good place to start? I know a bit of Visual Basic, but a full training course would fill in all the gaps, and probably set a good foundation before I move into anything else. My friend is using Preplogic for his PMP and he seems really happy for that, but I'm not too interested in Project Management right now. Regardless, I’m really happy with the program I got from PrepLogic. If any of you are looking for some certs, I recommend checking them out.

Windows 7: so far, it doesn't suck.

aerosj — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:27:34 -0800

After twenty plus years, Microsoft finally got it right. In a movement that has stunned developers, awed users, and just generally thrilled the heck out of the general IT community, Microsoft has released the Windows 7 operating system. And it kick some righteous butt.

What makes Windows 7 different is that it isn’t just another piece of Microsoft gobbly-gook technology that supposedly makes things easier, faster, better, and can improve your life a thousand fold. I mean, oddly enough - it actually does that - but what makes Windows 7 really fantastic is that, even in the beta, the technology was so stable that it ran better than the current versions of Vista, and perhaps even more stably than XP. The key to the Windows 7 technology is that they have incorporated both the AERO desktop features, as well as the user account control, in such a way that the UAC actually feels natural, and you don’t feel like you’re taking a mallet to a square peg in a round hole.

What remains to be seen with Windows 7 is whether or not the success of the release candidate and the beta will compare to the actual release. More often than not, Microsoft has been known to mess up operating systems just before their release - like what happened with Windows XP, but the community at large seems to think they learned their lesson.

The next big piece of the puzzle is what Windows 7 is going to do to the professional world. Will there be tons more certifications? We’ve already seen two certifications emerge in the market. Chances are that more are to follow. But the trouble is that with an operating system that is as simple and efficient as Windows 7, certification may not play as big of a role as it did with Windows XP, Vista, and just about any other home iteration of Windows technology. However, instead of seeing the disappearance of Windows training, we might see an upswing in training as training starts to become less focused on certifications and achievements, and more focused on skills and appliance.

Some of my favorite features of Windows 7 upon first testing are the “shake” feature, which lets you angrily shake a window and make the others automatically minimize, and the new super-improved start bar technology. This thing is slick. Not only can you launch programs, but you can launch associated files of programs straight from the start bar. And if that isn’t enough, Windows 7 technology lets you launch an application by pressing the windows button, plus a number of a correspondingly “pinned” program to your taskbar.
Your Microsoft Outlook is the first thing pinned on your taskbar? No problem! Click Windows and the number “1” at the same time, and outlook launches! Seriously cool stuff. Seriously cool technology. Seriously cool Windows 7.

The New CCNP Wireless - Friend or Foe?

aerosj — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:22:18 -0800

Anymore it seems like every vendor has their own wireless certification. In a way, it’s kind of refreshing to know that everybody in the certification business is finally clamming onto the fact that wireless is here to stay; but in another, it’s become sort of frustrating that every major vendor has their own brand of wireless certification. Just in case you’ve been out of the picture for a little while, let’s take a look at some of the players.

CWNP - Certified Wireless Network Professional

No folks, that’s not a certification - it’s a whole vendor. CWNP makes several certifications, including their most famous, the certified wireless network associate, or CWNA. CWNP arrived early on the wireless scene, and was the first vendor to come out with an entire new certification that providing training for individuals interested in learning about new (at least for the time) technologies.
And, since CWNP isn’t run by idiots, they decided that - given that Cisco would probably be their major competitor in the wires networking market - they might as well trademark any four letter acronym starting with the letters “CW.”

Cisco - the 800 pound gorilla

OK, so everyone knew that Cisco was going to get involved in the wireless market, but nobody was really sure how. First off, Cisco already had a complete line of training setup, such that anybody who was anybody in the industry could identify them as one of the key players in the IT training market. Worse off for them is that this path was already very well respected and very, well, quite lucrative! Just to name a few of Cisco’s bad boys, there’s the Cisco Certified Network Professional, the Cisco Certified Security Professional, the Cisco Certified Voice Professional, and the Cisco Certified EverythingonthePlanet professional. Well - the last one doesn’t exist, but you get the point.

The problem is that, while Cisco had this huge presence, they already have some major brand names, namely the CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE. So, they had to come up with a series of exams that kept this naming convention intact, but specified in such a way that they showed a significant understanding of the technology at hand (namely, wireless). So, they said “Wait a minute, why not just add the word ‘wireless’ to the end of the certification!” And thus, you now end up with:

- CCNA Wireless

- CCNP Wireless

- CCIE Wireless

Bask in the genius.

For the IT certification crowd, this is mostly a good thing. Now we have a way to show our specialty with Cisco certification. But at the same time, this also poses a problem. In total, there are nearly a dozen exams to get all these certifications!

- CWNA - One exam

- CWSP - One Exam

- CCNA Voice - Two Exams

- CCNP Wireless - Four exams? We don’t know yet.

- CCIE Wireless - You don’t even want to know how many exams.

So - will this turn out good for us? It’s unsure. But one thing’s for certain - we’re gonna need more training.