As a preface to this article, I should admit that I am a certification junkie. I hold CCNP and CCDP certifications from Cisco, the MCSE certification from Microsoft, the CISSP from ISC2, and additional certifications from HP, Oracle (Sun), Checkpoint, TripWire, the ICSA, and several other IT organizations and vendors. These certifications have been very valuable to me professionally and I recommend achieving certification to most individuals in the IT field.
That being said, many first-time c
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Which is more valuable, an IT certification or a college degree? While the answer to that questions depends upon many factors, we can learn a great deal by examining the specifics. Obviously, not all IT certifications are the same and not all college degrees are the same. The most common IT certificate is the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert), so we will use that as the "mode" for our comparative analysis. For college degrees we will compare both the "average" baccalaureate degree an
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With unemployment currently worse than at any time since the Carter recession more than thirty years ago, many individuals are looking at IT certifications to help them get hired, earn raises, or even just keep their current positions. But does that strategy pay off? We'll take an in-depth look.
The Benefits of IT Certifications
IT certifications offer a variety of benefits to different candidates. Let's evaluate some of the various claims.
An IT Certification Will Help You Get a Job
Thi
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[caption id="attachment_36212" align="alignright" width="300"] When it gets crowded on Earth this could be some decent real estate![/caption]
Here's a yet another seemingly far fetched piece by yours truly, talking about such things as choosing between the potential destruction of all humanity and evolving endlessly into a god like race. Intrigued?
I'm obviously not the only one to think in such dramatic and marginal terms. In addition to the hordes of nerds entertaining similar thoughts a
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Less is more. This is the slogan of the future. It should be among the most valuable concepts to keep in mind and aspire towards. Where "less is more" does not describe the current state of things the goal should be to rectify that. This idea captures a multitude of fields relevant to everything from the survival of the human race to its advancement. Here are a few key examples.
Key to Survival
In a time of crisis predicated on the depletion of readily available resources doing more with less
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Bitcoin's recent price surge attracted a lot of attention, including the attention of the mainstream media, and as people struggle to understand and explain this strange new digital currency, they formed a number of misconceptions about it. I will try to address seven of the common ones in this piece.
1. "It's not a currency"
Since a currency, as it is widely understood, is basically anything that can be used as a means of exchange for goods and services, and Bitcoin is used for that purpose,
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This is a follow up to 10 Projects That Are Building The Future, published over six months ago, showcasing another 12 projects that could change the world in various ways. Some are potentially revolutionary, and others represent a logical, but significant, evolution. Some offer a promise of a better future, while others might be downright scary or dangerous. In a constantly changing world these kinds of projects and initiatives are the ones making it happen, for better or worse.
1. Bitcoin (and
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Famous scientists and inventors who dropped out of school changed the way we understand and perceive reality. They proved that imagination, hard work, and trusting your hunches are more important than formal education. Their inventions gave recreation and work to millions of people around the world. These famous scientists and tech people donated to charitable causes to eradicate poverty and diseases and to help disadvantaged people.
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison is a prolific inventor, busi
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It seems as though the more daily life becomes inter-connected with the Internet, the more that our personal information is available to just about anyone who wants it. Forget about National Security Agency conspiracy theories, the real danger to keeping our private lives to ourselves are the various commercial data collection warehouses that exist throughout the world. These agencies provide information to third parties which include background check websites without explicitly obtaining your o
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In addition to simply exercising common sense when posting things about yourself online encryption is the most powerful tool we have for protecting our privacy and security. It doesn't rely on rules and regulations to protect your privacy, or any other form of trust in third parties to take up the cause for you. Instead it technologically makes the compromise of data that is encrypted damn near impossible to see by those whom you don't want to see it.
In other words, encryption is a beautiful
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