In the beginning, the two main administrator-level certifications from Microsoft were the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). While a number of tracks and derivatives have popped up to confuse the issue, for the past decade or so MCP generally meant that you had a specialty in one area (i.e., passed a single exam), while MCSE meant you were more well-rounded (i.e., passed several more exams beyond your MCP).

With the release of the Windows Server 2008 exams, Microsoft is severing the old certifications and opting for two new ones: Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) and Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP). You first take the MCTS exam(s) of your choice (sounds a lot like the MCP) and then move toward MCITP (sounds a lot like the MCSE). Note that a brand-new third level, the Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA), is being added that doesn't match with anything currently offered.

While Microsoft has discussed this "new generation" of certifications, it's failed to mention why, specifically, it has removed "engineer" from the wording of the top-level certification. Some people, such as Redmondmag.com columnist Greg Shields, have suggested the change is the result of several countries protecting the title of "engineer." As Shields writes in his recent "Windows Insider" column: "One can be called an engineer only after they've passed the Order of Engineers' Professional Engineer's Examination."

I don't buy it.

Microsoft wasn't the first company to come up with an IT certification. At the time it entered the market, Novell was already there with its Certified NetWare Engineer entry, which was getting a lot of flak for not meeting the requirements of a true "engineer." That company has since changed the name of the title to Certified Novell Engineer -- allowing the certification to apply to other products besides NetWare -- and has added Certified Linux Engineer (CLE) and Novell Certified Engineer (NCE), to boot. I guess Novell didn't learn the lesson that Microsoft did.

Surprisingly, though, the top Red Hat certification is that of engineer. To show your expertise with PHP, you become a Zend Certified Engineer (ZCE). And what's the top level for integration and administration certifications from HP? Engineer.

And so it goes. "Engineer" is a word that carries a specific connotation that I'm not sure "professional" does. In fact, wasn't "professional" the very word Microsoft used for over 10 years to denote a beginner who passed a single exam?

Before it can make sense to me, Microsoft still has some 'splainin' to do.

Oracle Linux Certification in Beta
One of the strongest Linux certifications to debut in a while isn't from a Linux vendor. To become certified as an Oracle Enterprise Linux Administrator Certified Associate (a mouthful, if ever there was one), you must first hold an entry-level Linux certification (LPI, Linux+, Novell, Red Hat or Ubuntu) and then pass exam 1Z0-403.

This exam, available at Prometric testing centers, is in beta until Jan. 20. While in beta, it consists of 175 to 200 questions and costs $50.

What makes the exam strong are the topics that it focuses on:

• boot process and SysV init
• client networking
• filesystem administration
• installing enterprise Linux
• Linux kernel compilation
• LVM and RADI
• PC hardware and Linux
• post-install system configuration
• security concepts
• task automation and process accounting
• the X Window System
• troubleshooting
• user/group administration and NFS

The Oracle Enterprise Linux Administrator Certified Associate certification will be required before you can obtain the Oracle Enterprise Linux Administrator Certified Professional certification (which is still in the works).

More information about Oracle's Linux certification offerings can be found here.

Promissor and Vue Now One
Two years after purchasing Promissor, a leader in the licensing exam field, Pearson has finished merging the company into Vue. This expands the offerings available through the testing channel; the redesigned Web site now lists a plethora of options ranging from driving tests to state-regulated certifications, with IT, academic and everything else tossed in.

More information about the new Promissor/Vue can be found on their homepage at http://www.vue.com.

Good Reads: Predictions from Days Gone By
Around this time, there usually is no shortage of "predictions" for the coming year. If you do a Google search, odds are you'll easily find dozens of technology-related articles guessing at what's to come in 2008.

But just for kicks (and some reading enjoyment), it's worth it to look back on previous years and see how (in)accurate those predictions have been. Here are some of the better predictions from recent years:

• "2007 Web Predictions" from ReadWriteWeb
• "Predictions, 2006: A Focus on the Technology Sector" from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (PDF)
• "Top 10 IT Predictions for 2005" from Nucleus Research
• "Top 10 Technology Predictions for 2004" from ESJ.com

Book of the Week: 'CISSP Certification All-in-One Exam Guide'
Computer security and growth area trends seem to be inextricably linked these days, with Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) being one of the leaders in the certification domain.

The latest version of this tome by Shon Harris weighs in at just under 5 pounds and is well-worth your time. Even if you have no intention of pursuing the CISSP, you'll learn enough real-world security information to easily justify the cost of adding this digest to your bookshelf.