ClevelandDotNet

Microsoft recently announced the 2007 Second Shot promotion deadline has been extended from January 31st to June 30th, 2008. Register for this offer before your next exam and receive a free exam retake if you don't pass on your first try. • Sign up now . • Read frequently asked questions about this offer . Customers who have already registered for the offer will receive a separate e-mail with more information about the extension.If you don't already have a certification strategy, consider one of the new Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications--many requiring just one exam each--to demonstrate your skills on the newest technologies from Microsoft. • Learn more about MCTS certifications . In addition, certification exams for Visual Studio 2008 will soon be released as well. There will be six MCTS certifications providing options on the key .NET Framework 3.5 technologies from Microsoft: ADO.NET ASP.NET Windows Forms Windows Communication Foundation Windows

On January 16th, Scott Guthrie, General Manager within the Microsoft Developer Division, announced the release of the source code for .Net Framework 3.5 for the following libraries: Base Class Libraries System System.CodeDom System.Collections System.ComponentModel System.Diagnostics System.Drawing System.Globalization System.IO System.Net System.Reflection System.Runtime System.Security System.Text System.Threading ASP.Net System.Web System.Web.Extensions Windows Forms System.Windows.Forms Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) System.Windows ADO.NET System.Data XML System.Xml Developers can now step through the code in Debug mode. However the code is for viewing purposes only and cannot be changed. This feature is relatively simple to setup in Visual Studio 2008 and only takes a few minutes to setup. Shawn Burke has a detailed blog post that covers the exact steps here . To read more about this, go to http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2008/01/16/net-framework-library-source-code

Microsoft has long been a partner with Pearson Vue and Prometric , certifying them both as Microsoft Exam Centers. However, this has changed and Pearson Vue is no longer a test provider. Recently I logged on to Microsoft's MCP site to check the status of my account. I realized that my test transcripts did not show 2 exams that I have previously taken and passed. These exams were taken through Pearson Vue . After some additional digging, I discovered that Microsoft has dropped Pearson Vue as a testing provider. Effective January 1st, 2008, Vue patrons could no longer access their Microsoft exam records through vue.com. To resolve the problem, I contacted Microsoft Support and e-mailed them the results of the exams in question. After this experience, I strongly urge all MCPs to log on to the MCP site to ensure all information is recent and accurate. If you have any questions about exams, please use the following info to contact customer service. Vue Customer Service Office Hours: M

Listed below is a summary of the .Net events scheduled for January 2008 in the Clevetland area. Attend a few and increase your .Net knowledge! Jan 8th: .Net User Group Meeting - Silverlight (6:30-8:30 PM). To register, please click here . Jan 10th: ONSQL User Group Meeting - Automating SQL Server Administrative tasks with PowerShell (5:00-7:30 PM). Please reserve your seat but walk-ins are always welcome. Jan 12th: Greater Cleveland PC Users Group - PC Security Software (9:30 AM - Noon). For more info, please visit http://www.gcpcug.org/ Jan 17th: Berbee/CDW - Enabling Information Workers with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (8:30 AM - Noon). For questions or to register, contact Laura Benisek at 440.746.7208 or laura.benisek@berbee.com . Jan 22nd: C#/VB.Net User Group Meeting - "Visual Basic 2008" (6:30-8:30 PM) by Mark Harr, MCSD. For more info, please visit http://www.clevelanddotnet.info/