While trying to obtain my MCTS and then soon after that my MCPD, I have found a good combination of training methods that I previously wrote about here.  First, I have a background in Java (not an expert, but I know the syntax and actually received a minor in my undergraduate studies in Computer Science).  I also know some html, css, javascript, and php.  So while I am not proficient at any of these, the fact that I can get by and know about them puts me ahead of someone starting from scratch

If anyone is in my position, I think this information may help you.  First, before you sign up for any classes, make sure you are familiar with whichever language you choose to focus on (I am choosing C# due to the close relationship of syntax with Java).  I have received two books to teach myself what I need to know before I go to any class or do any practice tests.  These two books are: MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536) Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation and Programming Microsoft ASP.NET 3.5.  The second edition for the Self-Paced Training Kit you can pre-order, but I am not able to wait for it to be released.  Start off with the Training Kit book, and then move on to the ASP.NET book because of the way they are structured and the indepthness of the first one.

To go along with these books, I would suggest purchasing a membership for at least a year to the site LearnVisualStudio.Net.  It has been highly recommended by some .NET Developers that I know and it looks to have a very large amount of tutorials already made, as well as ongoing videos.

After I get a good grasp of the material from these 3 sources, I am going to take a practice test to see how I fare for the 2 exams for the MCTS.  If I feel the need, I will take a class for each exam (I believe they are 2 or 3 days long) and give feedback to those that are interested.  If you have any further websites or learning sources, feel free to post them in the comments.

Right now, I am in the tough decision of what combination of training methods I should choose in order to be a MCTS and then MCPD certified ASP.NET 3.5 developer.  Listed below are the possible methods and their pros and cons:

Books: They are cheap and can be taken anywhere for learning.  Bad thing is that you do not have much direction besides reading straight through and cannot ask for help on the book (some come with forum discussion areas, but feedback is not guaranteed to be fast, easily understood, or correct).

Online Training: Cost is higher, but these series of courses (to prepare for a certain exam) are scheduled to take a really long time.  While you do get some feedback and can ask questions, if time is a factor in your decision, probably one of the worst ways to train.

Classes: If you complete the prerequisties, classes are the fastest way to learn.  Instructors that are certified know exactly what you are needing to work on for the exams, give great pointers, and will answer any questions you may have.  Downside is that they are the most expensive way to learn and if you are starting, the prerequisties probably have their own classes (which leads to even more money having to be spent).

Vocational, Community College: While these classes may give you a better understanding and allow for quick feedback, they are basically in the same basket as online courses, except you can’t choose what time of the day to work on the class like you can with online classes.

Online Videos/Tutorials: These can come from places such as Microsoft.com, or be hosted on third party non-affiliated websites to show you how to start application development from scratch.  These should be mixed in with any variety of training methods you choose due to their short time, and (most of the time) free of charge while providing useful information for our knowledge enhancing.

So needless to say, I am going to approach these exams in a structured manner.  I am going to first get the books and read/practice code/syntax and get a solid grasp of the language and structure before I move on to the next method.  Throughout the training process, I am going to mix in tutorials and online videos to see how a professional instructor or programmer organizes and writes their application.  I believe after this, I will take a class and learn within the time (2 days to a week normally) before I take the exam.  Another helpful thing: practice exams.  Take these to make sure you are ready to take the actual exam, because nothing is a bigger waste of money than going into an exam and not knowing where your skill level resides.  If anyone has any suggestions or other combinations, please let me know.

People have made wordpress plug ins for everything, but there are certain ones that every blog needs. The following plug ins are compatible with WordPress 2.6.1:

Askimet - http://akismet.com/ and use your Wordpress API key http://wordpress.com/api-keys/
aLinks - http://alinks.headzoo.com/ - Automatically links keywords
All in One SEO Pack - http://semperfiwebdesign.com/ - Add SEO techniques to your blog. Change your settings once, get the benefit each time.
cforms - http://www.deliciousdays.com/cforms-plugin
Google XML Sitemaps - http://www.arnebrachhold.de/redir/sitemap-home/
Sociable - http://yoast.com/wordpress/sociable/
SRG Clean Archives - http://www.idunzo.com/projects/clean-archives/
**Replace Smart Archives on nickswitzer.net

Subscribe to Comments - http://txfx.net/code/wordpress/subscribe-to-comments/
WWW Redirect - http://www.justinshattuck.com/wordpress-www-redirect-plugin/
WP-Cumulus - http://www.roytanck.com/2008/03/15/wp-cumulus-released
or Another Tag Cloud Program

Optional Plugins
FlickrRSS - http://eightface.com/wordpress/flickrrss/
Exec-PHP - http://bluesome.net/post/2005/08/18/50/
LinkXL - http://www.linkxl.com/wp_plugin/ - for TLA

This is just a quick little list, if you have any questions or want some advice, please contact me.

After needing much documentation on both installation instructions, I need to reiterate the importance of documentation for both yourself or future readers.  I had a large project that I was completing with a colleague and after having to upgrade, reformat, and reconfigure many machines (around 20-30), I had many programs that had no documentation at all.

Reasons you may not realize why you should document:

-Just because you finally figure something out, does not mean that you will at a later time or that the next person will figure it out. If it’s not already written, write it down, even if it’s a temporary fix. It may turn into the only fix or help you find a permanent solution later with more information or further knowledge.
-Something that may seem simple to you at that time, may not be simple later or to the next person. So if it is not common sense, DOCUMENT!.

And documentation should extend to keep all licenses together and safe. It’s very hard to tell a customer that you cannot help them because they do not have their license with them. And for all types of documentation and licenses, do one thing and keep them protected. I would recommend buying something like a firesafe that they can keep those and extremely important records such as portable media backups of tax information, databases (if you do not have off site storage as well as on site for redundancy). While a fire may be devastating, it may be a breath of fresh air to know that you still have some things safe.

Ever wondered what the purpose of User Agent settings were for?  Well it has changed over the years, and was used to determine what type of browser or service was accessing your website.  Mainly it is used by people to determine what browser their main subscription base is using in order to tailor their website to that viewing.  One thing that I have seen is that some people use a spoofed user agent setting are trying to see things that they only want a website crawler such as Google’s GoogleBot to view.  This may be taking advantage of if they are showing the crawler special files that they may try to SEO optimize in order to get better ranking.

If you are looking to see whether or not the GoogleBot that has visited your site is legit, visit this list to check and see.  Also, if you are looking to tweak your user agent settings (that I mentioned in my “Top Firefox Pluggins (Addons)”) through your Mozilla Firefox, download it here.

Make sure that you use the correctly formatted user agent information, which you can get a huge list here.  For more information, please feel free to contact me with questions or tips.