12/2/2009 -- Microsoft is currently inviting cert candidates to the beta version of two Windows Mobile 6.5 exams. The first, 70-579 (TS: Configuring Windows Mobile 6.5), went into beta on Nov.19 and is scheduled to run until Dec. 11. Meanwhile, the second exam, 70-580 (TS: Windows Mobile 6.5, Application Development), went into beta on Nov. 30 and is scheduled to run until Dec. 21.

This table lists the top-level domains for each of the exams; both of which are available through Prometric sites worldwide.

In more Microsoft certification news, the Exchange Server 2010 exam also hit the beta trail recently. Exam 70-663 (Pro: Designing and Deploying Messaging Solutions with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010) will be in beta from Dec. 1 until Dec. 21.

This exam, also available via Prometric, counts toward the Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010 cert and consists of the following domains:

• Planning the Exchange Server 2010 infrastructure.
• Deploying the Exchange Server 2010 infrastructure.
• Designing and deploying security for the Exchange organization.
• Designing and deploying Exchange Server 2010 availability and recovery.
• Designing and deploying messaging compliance, system monitoring and reporting.

Solaris 9 Exams Hit the Wall
On Jan. 31, three of the Solaris 9 exams will no longer be available for registration. Those who have already registered for them, however, will have until March 31 to take them at a Prometric testing center.

The discontinued certification exams are:

• Sun Certified Security Administrator for the Solaris 9 Operating System (CX-310-301)
• Part I - Sun Certified System Administrator for the Solaris 9 Operating System (CX-310-014)
• Part II - Sun Certified System Administrator for the Solaris 9 Operating System (CX-310-015)
• Upgrade - Sun Certified System Administrator for the Solaris 9 Operating System (CX-310-016)
• Sun Certified Network Administrator for the Solaris 9 Operating System (CX-310-044)

Go here for more info on Sun certification.

Wanted: Subject Matter Experts
CompTIA is currently asking for help with three projects early next year: considering updates for the newly released 2009 versions of the A+ exams, assisting with CDIA+ job task analysis, and helping finalize the cut score for Project+.

Interested in helping CompTIA? You can find more information here.

Book of the Week: 'The Ten Demandments'
I bought a couple of social networking books a few weeks ago and was greatly disappointed by them. To get the back-to-basics information I needed, I turned to an older title: Kelly Mooney's The Ten Demandments: Rules to Live by in the Age of the Demanding Customer published in 2002.

It didn't disappoint; the information in this book is ageless and worth the read. While it does have some Internet-related commentary that's no longer relevant, these are easy to skip over. The book's underlying concept is that customers are far more informed today than they have ever been, and thus must be treated as a priority now more than ever before.

Each chapter discusses one of the 10 customer "demandments" -- which include such requests as "Make it easy," "Get to know me," "Put me in charge" and "24/7" -- and ends with a useful table for self-evaluation that summarizes the content clearly.