Those who pass the beta exam (after the cut-off score is determined) won't need to take the exam when it goes live. It also counts as credit toward the MCTS certification in Windows 7. Testing is available through Prometric centers, and the exam -- which is free in beta -- is four hours long. You can go here for more information.

New Oracle Database Exam
Registration for exam 1Z0-144 (Oracle Database 11g: Program with PL/SQL) also began last month, on April 15, with the beta period running from May 14 to Aug. 15. The $50 exam is three-and-a-half hours long in beta and consists of between 180 and 220 questions. Primary topic areas are "Oracle Database 11g: Oracle Database 11g: PL/SQL Fundamentals" and "Oracle Database 11g: Develop PL/SQL Program Units."

Books of the Week: 'Spychips' and 'RAPT'
With the push toward RFID because of its ability to simplify everything while creating so many opportunities, it's refreshing to look at it from the other angle once in a while. The other angle is all you find in Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID by Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre. While focusing on just one side of any argument can be bothersome, this aspect of RFID technology just isn't discussed often enough in IT circles.

The chapters are small enough that you'll easily devour the book in a few days, and the titles and subtitles of each leave little to the imagination. (See "Chapter 1: Tracking Everything Everywhere." Subtitle? "The RFID threat." Or Chapter 12, titled "The Nightmare Scenario" and subtitled "What if Hitler had RFID.")

Regardless of whether you're for or against RFID technology, this is one book you should read. You're guaranteed to come away with a few thought-provoking questions to ask at the next shopping outing.

Meanwhile, what Spychips does with privacy and technology, RAPT: Attention and the Focused Life by Winnifred Gallagher does with brain behavior and technology.

The idea is simple: There's so much out there competing for our attention that we can't possibly take it all in. That's where selection comes into play. What we select to listen to and act on differs, but the most successful among us follow a deliberate process for deciding what to focus on and what to suppress. Extraordinary achievers have the ability to pay rapt attention, shut out distractions and seek solutions for long periods of time without getting tired.

With chapter titles like "Motivation: Eyes on the Prize," RAPT provides an interesting discourse on the need for focus and makes for an attention-grabbing read. The writing is such that you won't be able to breeze through it quickly (take, for example, "The same symbiotic relationships among attention, engagement, and enjoyment come across when Honsaker discusses the evolution of a very different canine portrait..."), but you'll find the time and investment well worth it.