Sunday, December 25, 2011

How to Prepare for Microsoft Office Specialist Certification

Technology has changed the face of the corporate world. The most ordinary of office jobs are now performed using computers, making it imperative for professionals from the highest rung of the corporate ladder to the lowest to have basic to advanced IT skills.
Being computer illiterate can be a huge handicap in the job market. When the competition for jobs is already intense, leaving gaps in your resume on account of your inability to efficiently use the computer can cost you dear!
Not just professionals, but even college and school students are required to complete a fair amount of their coursework using computers. They need to havea more than working knowledge of computer applications to complete tasks that range from typing out project reports to preparing class presentations.
And what about home makers and stay at home parents who are in charge of monthly budgets, bill payments, tax calculations, and helping the kids with their homework? Can they survive without knowing how to work a computer?
It's quite clear that computer skills are not just necessary career skills, but important life skills that people use for performing a multitude of tasks.
And what are the trademark computer skills that nobody, but nobody can do without? If you don't know the answer, it's the proficiency to use the different applications that are part of the Microsoft Office suite. For the uninitiated, the MS Office suite comprises the following applications:
  • MS Word: A robust word processing program for writing papers, filing reports, etc.
  • MS Excel: A spreadsheet program used for organizing, formatting and calculating data.
  • MS PowerPoint: A program that allows users to create visually rich slideshows and presentations.
  • MS Access: A relational database management system.
  • MS Outlook: An email client that allows you to view, organize, and respond to emails.
Chances are that for most office, school or home-related tasks, you need to have basic to advanced level skills in using some or all of these programs and one of the surest ways of demonstrating your expertise in these applications is through Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification.
According to the Microsoft website, there are studies to indicate that MOS certified professionals have increased competency and productivity. They also enjoy greater credibility among their superiors, peers and clients. If you're interested in earning an MOS certification, here are a few ways to prepare for it:
Microsoft Office Training Courses: Depending on your need, you can take individual courses such as Microsoft Word training or Microsoft Excel Training or you can take a bundle course that includes training in all the important MS applications.
A lot of these Microsoft Office Training courses are available online and can be completed at your own convenience. By the time you're through with your training program, you will have the skills and the confidence to earn the MOS credential.
Free Online Tutorials:The Internet is a rich source of free preparatory material for the MOS certification tests.Not only can you find tutorials for different MS applications, but you may also be able to access practice tests to gauge the extent of your knowledge. That's what they call trial by fire, or something close to it!
Microsoft's Official Website: It may be a good idea to check the official website of Microsoft for preparatory material and/or practice tests for the different levels of MOS certification exams. They may put such resources up from time to time.
Self-study: Lots of people choose this method to prepare for the MOS certification instead of spending money on Microsoft Office training courses. There is nothing wrong with this method. In fact, some of the features of MS applications are quite intuitive and can be learned by trial and error.
However, it may not be as simple to teach yourself how to run Macros on Excel; use multimedia in PowerPoint presentations; or some of the other advanced features of these applications. So, your knowledge and preparation may not be complete from the point of view of taking the MOS certification test.
Nancy is a 35-year old stay at home mom of two. She worked as a medical assistant for five years before taking a break to be with her children. Her experience as a medical assistant gave her valuable insights in to the medical transcription industry, which she likes to share with others through her writing. Medical transcription training often finds mention in her writings. Being an SAHM, Nancy is a huge exponent of online vocational training programs that provide women like her the power to be their own boss.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6725464








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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Mozilla re-releases Firefox 9, backs out fix causing crashes

A day after it shipped Firefox 9, Mozilla quickly released an update after backing out a bug fix that was causing some Mac, Linux and Windows browsers to crash.
Mozilla issued Firefox 9.0.1 Wednesday, making one user wondering if it was bogus because it appeared hard on the heels of version 9.
"Seeing links for [Firefox 9.0.1], why is it being released? Or is it a hoax?" asked a user identified as "hclarkjr" on a Mozilla support forum.
Other support discussion threads also included messages from users asking why Mozilla updated Firefox.
Although Mozilla did not specify in 9.0.1's release notes why it needed to re-release the browser, developers said that the update was prompted by crash reports, primarily from Mac users, although the Linux and Windows versions were also affected.
"We built Firefox 9.0.1 with bug 708572 backed out," said Alex Keybl, an engineering project manager on Mozilla's release team, on Bugzilla yesterday, "We've pushed Firefox 9.0.1 for all platforms. Although we think Windows is mostly unaffected, we still decided to move forward with Windows->9.0.1."
Bugzilla is Mozilla's change- and bug-tracking database.
To fix the problem -- which caused crashes when users ran certain add-on toolbars, including one distributed by the Dallas Cowboys NFL team -- Mozilla's developers removed a patch that had been applied earlier.
Wednesday's rush update was the second by Mozilla in the last 30 days: On Nov. 21, the company shipped Firefox 8.0.1 to deal with a high number of crashes on Mac OS X. The crashes were traced to an Apple update of Java earlier that month.
Users who upgraded to Firefox 9 in the time between its release and 9.0.1's can update to the latter by choosing "About Firefox" from the Firefox menu (Mac) or "About Firefox" from the Help menu under the Firefox button (Windows), then approving the new version's installation after it downloads.
   
Mozilla rushed out a follow-up to Firefox 9, backing out a patch that was causing some machines to crash.

Kinect for Xbox 360 vs. Playstation Move

The more time I spent with Playstation Move and Kinect for Xbox 360, the more I'm convinced that they're both hitting the market about six months too early.
Not that there's anything wrong with the hardware. Kinect, a special camera that tracks motion, worked fine -- if not a tad laggy -- in the games I played on the show floor. Same goes for the Move, which behaves a lot like a Wii remote, but also with a camera that traces the positioning of the controller in 3D space, and of course the benefit of better graphics. But before the show, I , and neither the Move nor Kinect have it -- yet.
I played two of Microsoft's Kinect games developed in-house -- a suite of mini-games called Kinect Sports and yet another suite of mini-games called Kinect Adventures -- plus Dance Central, essentially a full-body Dance Dance Revolution by Harmonix, makers of Rock Band. The Microsoft games felt like tech demos. While it was definitely neat to grab a virtual bowling ball out of thin air and see it move in my hands on the screen, it's still Wii Sports all over again, and the hurdle-jumping game I played was eerily similar to the Nintendo Power Pad from the late 1980s. Dance Central had more substance, but if the novelty of music games can wear off, the same will be said for aerobic dancing games.
My time with the Move consisted of one in-house game called The Fight: Lights Out, plus Capcom's Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition and EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, existing games that will gain Move support through software updates. If you've played Resident Evil 4 on the Wii or Tiger Woods golf with Wii MotionPlus, you've basically experienced their counterparts on the Playstation Move. The Fight: Lights Out was more unique, accurately tracking my arms as I held a controller in each hand, though I was advised to take slow, deliberate swings rather than lightning-quick jabs. Sudden movements were suppressed to keep the on-screen avatar from flailing, it seemed. The freedom to improvise moves -- I once hit my opponent with a double-armed haymaker -- was a nice touch. Still, there wasn't an overall structure to the game, just round after round of mindless slugging.
Obviously, Microsoft has more distinctive technology with the controller-free Kinect, making it all the more frustrating that Microsoft's own games felt more derivative than the third-party Dance Central. Worse still , the most awe-inspiring Kinect game introduced this week, Child of Eden, wasn't playable, and has no release date announced.
Sony, meanwhile, has promised that the Move will give enthusiast gamers a reason to throw down their joypads and love motion control, but there was little evidence to back that claim on the show floor. The company impressed me last year with a technical demo of sword-and-shield fighting, but the only incarnation of this idea was housed inside -- you guessed it -- a collection of mini-games called Sports Champions.
Another six months in the lab might not improve either product on a technical level (or it might), and I can only imagine the flak Microsoft and Sony would get from investors for letting the Wii dominate motion control for yet another holiday, but more time would at least give game developers the chance to play around and create great things for launch day. Instead of starting strong, both Move and Kinect will limp to the gate.

RIM's BBM service targeted for name infringement

Research In Motion could once again face a legal fracas over the name of one of its software products.
Broadcast measurement firm BBM Canada has taken offense with RIM's use of the "BBM" shorthand moniker for its BlackBerry Messenger service, Reuters reports. That's RIM's software that lets BlackBerry users communicate with one another, and comes pre-installed on many of the company's devices.
BBM Canada, which formerly went by the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement until a name shortening in the 1960s, sent a cease and desist letter to RIM for using the BBM naming on the software last year. In an interview with Reuters, BBM Canada's chief executive, Jim MacLeod, told the outlet that RIM's ignored that letter, as well as requests to meet with RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie to discuss the matter.
MacLeod also said that the company would be willing to sell its rights to the name versus taking the matter to court.
In a statement provided to CNET, RIM said that the two services may share the name, but are totally different, and thus "eligible to co-exist under Canadian trademark law," and that the company is seeking to dismiss BBM Canada's legal complaint. That full statement is below:
Since its launch in July 2005, BlackBerry Messenger has become a tremendously popular social networking service. In 2010, RIM started to formally adopt the BBM acronym, which had, at that point, already been organically coined and widely used by BlackBerry Messenger customers as a natural abbreviation of the BlackBerry Messenger name. The services associated with RIM's BBM offering clearly do not overlap with BBM Canada's services and the two marks are therefore eligible to co-exist under Canadian trademark law. The two companies are in different industries and have never been competitors in any area. We believe that BBM Canada is attempting to obtain trademark protection for the BBM acronym that is well beyond the narrow range of the services it provides and well beyond the scope of rights afforded by Canadian trademark law. RIM has therefore asked the Court to dismiss the application and award costs to RIM. Further, for clarity, RIM's application to register BBM as a trademark with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is pending and we are confident that a registration will eventually issue. The inference by BBM Canada that CIPO has refused RIM's BBM trademark application is quite frankly very misleading.
This is the latest in legal battles for RIM, which just dealt with a name change for its BBX mobile software. Earlier this month, RIM announced it would be changing the name of that software to "BlackBerry 10." That decision came following a legal spat with a New Mexico software provider Basis International, which won a temporary restraining order against RIM that left it unable to use the BBX mark at the DevCon conference in Singapore.
RIM introduced its Messenger service for BlackBerry devices in 2005, later launching the feature worldwide in 2008. Over the years the software has been expanded to work from inside applications, and integrate with phone features such as playing music. It's also been an occasional target of controversy, including being responsible for BlackBerry network downtime. A report earlier this week, which RIM has vehemently denied, also claimed that the software was partially the source of delays in rolling out BlackBerry 10.
Updated at 11:57 a.m. PT with comment from RIM

RIM now faces legal challenge on "BBM" trademark

TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion, still smarting over having to change the name of its yet-to-come operating system, faces a similar trademark challenge to its popular instant-messaging service BlackBerry Messenger.
The service, which allows BlackBerry users to send each other text and multimedia files and see when they are delivered and read, is widely known and even promoted by RIM via the shorthand BBM.
That has proven an encumbrance to BBM Canada, which measures radio and television audience data and expects its day in a Federal Court against RIM by February.
The company's chief executive, Jim MacLeod, said he wants RIM to stop advertising the BBM moniker but would also consider changing his much smaller company's name, for a price.
"We have to be practical, they operate worldwide, we don't. But we're not prepared to just walk from our name," MacLeod said.
RIM seems equally determined to keep using the BBM name and not to pay MacLeod's company anything.
"We believe that BBM Canada is attempting to obtain trademark protection for the BBM acronym that is well beyond the narrow range of the services it provides and well beyond the scope of rights afforded by Canadian trademark law," it said in an emailed statement.
RIM has launched its BBM Music song-sharing service in recent months, and heavily promoted third-party apps that tie into its instant messaging product, which boasts some 50 million active users.
BBM Canada was established in 1944 as the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement. It changed its name to BBM in the 1960s and to BBM Canada in the early 1990s, MacLeod said. The company, owned by a collection of broadcasters and advertisers, has annual revenue of around $50 million. RIM's sales were more than $5 billion last quarter.
"I'm sure to a really big company this looks like relatively small numbers, but to us it's a big deal," said MacLeod. BBM Canada employs around 650 people, compared with RIM's roughly 17,000.
Earlier this month RIM dumped the "BBX" name for its new operating system after being served with an injunction in a trademark fight with U.S.-based Basis International. RIM has renamed the platform as BlackBerry 10.
Industry Canada denied RIM's 2009 request to register the BBM trademark, saying the name was already in use, but has granted RIM until January 5 to respond.
BBM Canada launched its legal action late last year.
MacLeod said his company contacted RIM in July, soon after RIM launched a large-scale BBM advertising campaign. In response to BBM Canada's cease-and-desist letter RIM said there couldn't possibly be any confusion between the two names - a similar tactic was later used in the BBX spat.
RIM repeated that line of argument in Friday's statement.
"The services associated with RIM's BBM offering clearly do not overlap with BBM Canada's services and the two marks are therefore eligible to co-exist under Canadian trademark law. The two companies are in different industries and have never been competitors in any area."
MacLeod sought a meeting to discuss the issue with RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie several months ago, but said he has received no response.
McLeod pointed out that RIM had even taken legal action of its own against software startup Kik Interactive over its instant messaging service that includes claims of trademark infringement.
"It's a trademark they don't even own, it's ours," MacLeod said.

i Phone 4S

The iPhone 4S is the first dual-band world iPhone, making it a great gift for anyone who travels internationally. Sprint and Verizon say that they will unlock the iPhone 4S' preloaded SIM card on request for customers in good standing. Just remember that the handset uses a Micro-SIM, which may not be easy to find for prepaid international service.
The good: Apple's iPhone 4S has a faster processor and an upgraded camera, all the benefits of iOS 5, and a useful and immensely fun voice assistant. Call quality on the Sprint model is admirable, and the data speeds, while certainly not 4G, get the job done.
The bad: It's about time we get a larger screen.
The bottom line: The iPhone 4S isn't the king of cell phones, but it's part of the royal family nonetheless. Even without 4G and a giant screen, this phone's smart(ass) voice assistant, Siri, the benefits of iOS 5, and its spectacular camera make it a top choice for anyone ready to upgrade.

Friday, December 23, 2011

The 10 best games of 2011

It's that time of the year again: a time to look back at 2011 for its gaming prowess, to pay tribute to those elite pieces of electronic interactive entertainment that reside in a league all by themselves.
Just like last year, 2011 treated us to a few new franchises, but ultimately the sequels once again hogged the spotlight. While 2010 stumbled toward the end of the year, 2011 went out with an absolute bang, seeing nearly a dozen blockbuster titles hit store shelves within just a few weeks.

To see my list, check out the slideshow, or click through.
Top 10:
  • 10. Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360, PS3)
  • 9. L.A. Noire (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
  • 8. Shadows of the Damned (Xbox 360, PS3)
  • 7. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
  • 6. Gears of War 3 (Xbox 360)
  • 5. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)
  • 4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
  • 3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
  • 2. Portal 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Mac)
  • 1. Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Don't see your pick for game of the year on my list? Be sure to yell at me in the comments section. But first, make sure you take a look at my list of very worthy honorable mentions:
Honorable mentions:
  • Dark Souls (Xbox 360, PS3)
  • LittleBigPlanet 2 (PS3)
  • Bastion (XBLA)
  • Outland (XBLA)
  • Mortal Kombat (Xbox 360, PS3)
  • Catherine (Xbox 360, PS3)
  • Minecraft (PC)
  • NHL 12 (Xbox 360, PS3)
  • Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
More:
Best games of 2010
Best games of 2009