In the October issue of Certification Magazine, Editor Tim Sosbe says:

“Whether you’re fighting middle-of-the-night network assaults or simply burning through brain cells trying to build a new system, IT is a job that isn’t about banker’s hours. As a career choice, it’s draining and demanding, exhaustive and exhausting. Whether you’re fighting middle-of-the-night network assaults or simply burning through brain cells trying to build a new system, IT is a job that isn’t about banker’s hours. As a career choice, it’s draining and demanding, exhaustive and exhausting. And yet, you love it.

That’s not just my assessment — the recently released “Tech Appeal” report from Dice shows an overwhelming sense of career satisfaction among IT experts. For an industry beset by recession, threatened by outsourcing and plagued by a variety of challenges, that’s pretty remarkable.

According to Dice, 94 percent of IT professionals surveyed are satisfied with their positions. Contributing to that sense of satisfaction is job enjoyment (for 40 percent of respondents), good pay (for 34 percent) and the ability to be creative (for 23 percent).

Also according to the survey, 88 percent of respondents would recommend their field as a career choice to others”

Let me re-do that first paragraph

“Whether you’re fighting middle-of-the-night network assaults or simply burning through brain cells trying to build a new system, IT is a job that isn’t about banker’s hours. As a career choice, it’s draining and demanding, exhaustive and exhausting.”

The fact that people would want to inflict this kind of life-style upon themselves should seem absolutely ridiculous. I work so that I can have time off from work, don’t I? I do this so I can spend time with my friends, family and work towards a better golf game, right? How on earth can 94% of those of us in this job be satisfied with the aggravation and grief that can come from long nights, frustrated customers, constant researching for something that will be obsolete in 18 months, TOPS?! The answer to these questions lies in the next line of that first paragraph, “And yet, you love it.”

I’ve met IT workers who fall into both categories; the ones who are only looking for the paycheck and the ones who REALLY love the IT field. The successful ones tend to be those that absolutely love the whole tech industry - the ones who read the magazines on tech and haven’t looked at Time or Sports Illustrated in years. The ones who subscribe to TechTV or G4. The ones that only go to Vegas because there is a server trade show on that week that “I JUST CAN’T MISS!” You know, “sickos”. 

I LOVE tech. I am excited when I get to play with a new product. I’m like a kid at Christmas when I get signed up for a Beta program. I can find joy in a NFR (Not For Resale) copy or 180 day eval copy of software. Sure, I have to read mountains of documentation weekly, deal with users who either just don’t get it or are missing the gene that allows them to be satisfied with someone’s work. Sure, stuff breaks and I’m responsible (even when I’m not). BUT, then I wrack my brain and find a solution for the problem and THAT is a good day. I provide something that modifies that missing gene for the difficult customer, put two products together and make them talk and watch the folks get some real work done.

…and I collect my modest pay, knowing I will do it again next week all over again, simply because “I love it”

Do you?

Source: CertMag.com IT as a Career Choice

 Some things are just too cool. I have been thinking for some time that for eval purposes, it would be nice to have a pre-configured Virtual Hard Drive (vhd) that you could download and run in VPC or Virtual Server or something like that and kick the tires without having to learn how to install/config/etc the how thing. Well, apparently the chip in my brain that MS put there has a direct feed to the folks at Redmond. Have a peek at the link.

Link to Windows Server Division WebLog : Faster Eval Setup of SQL, Exchange and Windows Server

 So as I poke around the different newsgroups. someone has posted a TechNet article that has me giggling even now. I have a password that is JUST a touch long (personally I like short passwords as it is easier for my poor brain, but pass-phrases are indeed more secure), but this is silly! After all, anything more than 10,000 characters is just WAY too hard to remember ;)

Link to Error Message: Your Password Must Be at Least 18770 Characters and Cannot Repeat Any of Your Previous 30689 Passwords

while the clock is still ticking, it looks like Vista is going to make the year end release dates with the article going so far as to declare October 25th as the RTM (release to manufacturing). This will be followed up with the Office 2007 series (including the next version of SharePoint and the next version of Project Server - I am looking forward to the PPM solution there) and then the whole integration of the ProClarity suite next summer. If they keep going this route, by next winter we will have KPI dashboards and scorecards on the desktops of Vista clients running MOSS2k7! COOL! Next stop, Katmia...

Link to Exclusive: Microsoft Overcomes Final Vista Hurdles, Heads to RTM

ok, this was a cool find. Someone has combined Google Maps and a video to create in interesting breakneck tour of Paris. Have a look 

Link to Google Maps + Google Video + Mashup - Claude Lelouch's Rendezvous

There are rumors that TechEd 2007 will be held in Orlando. This would be the same venue as TE2005 and I can say from experience that it was an awesome location for this event. I haven't been able to confirm this off of the MS site, but I trust the source I heard this from. Should be a really good event if you can make it. Start saving your pennies, I doubt I will be able to go (new job and all).

Just last night I mentioned that TE was supposed to be in New Orleans. Today, I read this:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=36

So the venues are still up in the air. Too bad for Nauwleans.

Scott Swigart is becoming one of my favorite bloggers. In the past few days I have found a ton of useful VSTS details on his blog and today was no exception. Scott has found a good article on the TFS Branching and Merging features. Well, it's the MSDN wiki, so it is a little dry. On the plus side, they are at least using analogies :)

Link to Tech Blender: Branching and Merging with TFS

I was going through some of my old comments and noticed that someone asked where TE2k7 will be back in April. I didn't know but I also didn't follow up. My apologies.

So, TechEd 2k7 in North America will be in New Orleans. I sincerely hope that New Orleans and the area will return to place it once was, but it seems that it has been slow going based on the news reports I have seen. I do recall that HP was to have a conference in New Orleans when Katrina hit and so I am glad that TE is early in the hurricane season. Hopefully, the massive amount of humanity that TechEd brings in will help to get N.O. back on the tourist type "right track".

Link to Microsoft Tech·Ed 2006

Well I have been doing a LOT of research into VSTS as we might be looking into Team Foundation Server (TFS) and the associated bits. From a collaboration and management perspective, it looks like there are good things in this solution. If you have 5 or more developers working collaboratively and would like to get good metrics out of what is happening project wise, you really should have a look.

I'm not convinced that some of the VSTS dev editions (specifically Software Developer) is worth the extra money, but since I am a non-developer, WHAT DO I KNOW! I am looking forward to the DB Professional edition (code named "DataDude") but that's a few months out still, and for those of you currently in the know already know, I wont be doing the database thing for much longer (I might even tell everyone else who read this one day - you know, both of you). I do think that the Tester edition is worth the money.

TFS with the CALs will give most shops the majority of the "bells and whistles" that a developer collaboration solution should provide. For PM's it gives the plug-ins for Project or for Excel that would allow tasks to be uploaded and turned into work items in the VS environment (can follow both a MSF for Agile or MSF for CMMI framework). it also leverages SQL 2005 Reporting services and Analysis services to dish up over 40 reports that will make managers lives a bit easier and could keep stakeholders informed. The Developers also get the Check-in/Check-out capabilities, Branching, Shelving and shareable code libraries.

So while I am poking around learning more, I spotted a new video on Channel 9 regarding a free download to extend TFS functionality. I love free! take a look:

Link to A Closer Look at the Team Foundation Server Power Toys

For those of you who have stuggled trying to understand the different configuration of RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives) Arrays, Here is a link that should help ;)

Link to RAID!

 CEEEripes. I have only started digging into VSTS as our group might be moving from VS2k5 to the full VSTS and TFS. while doing some prep work to review all of the selection options, I read a book I picked up at TE 2005 and there was mention there about the next version of Visual Studio and .Net framework called "ORCAS". Not being a programmer myself, I don't follow the VS code names, but to see this post shortly after reading the book kind of freaked me out. Sept. CTP for Orcas is available now.

Link to Fredrik Normén's blog - NSQUARED2

I hate being behind the times. Too many things on the go I guess, but I just stumbled on the Beta for Windows Live Write and as blogging tools for MSN Spaces goes, it beats what I was using before. IT HAS A SPELL CHECKER!!! My blogs will improve..

Check it out:

Windows Live Writer