Certification Prep – The 20 Minute Workout

I originally wrote this back in 2003 and it has been posted ever since over at MCMCSE.COM . Below is the original write up as it is seen there. I am thinking of making an update to it (or maybe a “Part II”) but in the mean time here it is in its entirety. Taking computers from a hobby, to a job, to a career has been an interesting journey for the relatively short period I have been doing it and not a day goes by where I don’t learn something new. Given the speed of change within the industry, I doubt that will ever change either and I’m glad. I bought myself my first computer in May of 1995 at the suggestion of two friends. Mike was a full time computer professional and Dave was an avid gamer who I worked with at the power plant, but both suggested I would love it. I was wishy-washy about laying out nearly $3000.00 for a brand new computer system and didn’t purchase one “intentionally.” Had I really been smart about it, I would have waited for Mike to go with me to get one, s...

There is a story on the Forbes.com website written by Jessica Mintz that outlines a report from IDC Market Research which shows that regardless of the situations around the globe with shaky economies that they are improving, albeit very slowly. The report shows that the global PC market grew 22.4% in the second quarter of 2010 which was in-line with projections and that on a worldwide basis, Desktop PC shipments exceeded expectations. This showed that despite the fact that some sectors are stalled or just restarting their growth that businesses are moving ahead with PC replacements in anticipation of some level of slow and steady improvement. The report additionally noted that Portable PC sales trailed the original projections slightly. From the report, the regional look for the United States market showed a slight up-tick in sequential growth as well as a double-digit jump of 12.6% from the previous year, confirming that the market continued to recover. Projections for a stronge...