Mehran Nikoo's Notes

Microsoft Announces Even More MCTS and MCITP Credentials

I found these on the slides of today's MCA live chat:

Developer Track
MCTS: Windows Mobile 5.0 Applications
MCTS: Office SharePoint Services (MOSS) Applications
MCTS: Windows SharePoint Services Applications
MCTS: Office 2007 Client Applications

IT Pro Track
MCTS: Windows Vista Client
MCITP: Consumer Support
MCITP: Enterprise Support
MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator
MCTS: Office SharePoint Server 2007
MCTS: Windows SharePoint Services
MCTS: Deploying A Business Desktop with the BDD
MCTS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 Implementation
MCTS: Windows Server 2003 Hosted Environments
MCTS: Live Server 2007

The certification web site does not seem to be updated though!

A New Era of Technical Leadership at Microsoft

Remarks by Bill Gates

Highlights:

"I have one of the best jobs in the world." 
Indeed, but let's say "the best job" :)

"Of course, with the success of Microsoft, I’ve also been given the gift of great wealth. I believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility, a responsibility to give back to society, a responsibility to see that those resources are put to work in the best possible way to help those most in need."
I hope we start thinking like he does.

WinFX is Now Part of .NET Framework 3.0

It kinda makes sense. WinFX (WCF, WPF, WF and WCS) will be delivered as part of .NET Framework 3.0. It is good to know that .NET Framework 3.0 doesn't come with a new CLR. So:

.NET Framework 3.0 = CLR 2.x + ASP.NET 2.x + WinFX

This raises a question: Why is framework version changing from 2.0 to 3.0 if CLR is not changing? Although BCL (Base Class Library) is extended to include WinFX classes, but other parts of framework stay as they are (or go through minor changes) so why don't we call it .NET Framework 2.x (say 2.5)? Doing so would allow Microsoft to keep .NET Framework 3.0 for C# 3.0, LINQ and other new features.

Although not included in the announcement, it would be nice to see Atlas as part of the new framework too... 

Read more.

My Blog URL is Changed

My blog URL is changed from:

http://mehranikoo.net/cs/blogs/Mehran to http://mehranikoo.net/cs.

This is due to the fact that I mainly use the blogging feature of Community Server and I don't host any other blog on my web site. This means the RSS feed is moving too, from:

http://mehranikoo.net/cs/blogs/Mehran/rss.aspx to http://mehranikoo.net/cs/rss.aspx.

If you are suscribed to my blog, can you please update the feed address in your aggregator? My previous feed will be working (that's why you can read this post!) for a while anyway. The requests to the home page of the previous blog are being redirected to the new address but links to individual posts will be broken unless you remove '/cs/blogs' from the URL.

.NET Framework 2.0 Poster Pack by Jeffrey Richter

Looking for something nice to stick on your wall?

"Make it easy to find the class library details that are essential to every .NET Framework developer—with four full-color posters. Created by .NET expert Jeffrey Richter, each poster includes an easy-to-scan class derivation hierarchy of the most useful types, a comprehensive list of value types, an interface cross-reference map, and an assembly cross-reference map. Keep them on your wall as quick references that you'll use again and again to find important class library details and relationships in the .NET Framework 2.0."

Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Computer Manuals (UK)

I am now an MCPD: EAD, Win & Web

I have passed the (beta) upgrade exams from MCSD.NET to MCPD so I am now an MCPD: Enterprise Application Developer, Windows Developer and Web Developer.

Generally, I like the new format of the exams as they are now focussed on specific job roles. It is also good to see that candidates are asked about design patterns, UML, unit testing, application framework design, infrastructure design and architecture (this is as much as I can say without breaking the NDA! - for more information about the skills being measured see here).