Returns Null

Awhile back, I backed up a lot of my DVDs to my hard drive and placed the actual DVDs into storage. I finally decided it was time to burn the DVDs and reclaim my hard drive space, but it ended up being quite a daunting, manual task..

Enter ImgBurn. I was quickly able to script out the VIDEO_TS -> ISO conversion and then queue the ISOs for recording. This is the cmd script I came up with to do the VIDEO_TS -> ISO conversion:

@for /d %%i in (*.*) do “C:\Program Files (x86)\ImgBurn\ImgBurn.exe” /mode build /buildmode imagefile /src “%%i\” /dest “c:\users\rod\desktop\%%i.iso” /FILESYSTEM “ISO9660 + UDF” /UDFREVISION “1.02″ /VOLUMELABEL “%%i” /rootfolder yes /noimagedetails /start /close

I simply dropped this script into the directory containing my DVDs and kicked it off. I soon had a hojillion ISO files sitting on my desktop waiting to be burned. I ended up being too lazy to hook up my Primera Bravo II, and opted to use the burn image queue function included with ImgBurn.

Hopefully, someone else will find this information useful.

I’ve decided to devote, at minimum, 1 hour a night to learning C#. I’ll probably exclude weekends, as those days belong to the girlfriend, but if I can hit Monday through Friday, that will give me 5 hours a week. Knowing me, that will probably turn into 10 hours a week.

When all this is done, I’m sure I’ll reaffirm what I already know: Scripting is way more fun that coding. Mainly, I’m interested in XNA development and, to a lesser extent, iPhone development. Having a foundation in C# will help with both of those.

Besides, after 15 years of wanting to learn C, isn’t it about time?

The first function is Start-Proc, which came in extremely handy when I was writing a script to automate the setup of utilities across 26 workstations.

Start-Proc was written by Andy Schneider (who kicks ass) and can be found here.

The second function is Out-Excel, which is used to output an object (or selected properties) to an Excel worksheet and can be found here.

Wow. Apparently, it has been over a year since my last post on this blog. Quite a bit has changed with how I view technology and with the areas I choose to focus on these days.

For example, I’m currently studying Visual C# and considering taking the Microsoft .NET Framework – Application Development Foundation exam (70-536.)

Tomorrow I’ll take the time to get this site into working order. I’m also using TwitterFeed to announce my new posts. I’m hoping that having a larger base of readers will guilt me into updating a bit more often.

Obtained the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator about a month ago, but I’ve been lazy to write much about. Will post my thoughts on exam 70-649 soon.

Since I have added a Certification category to the page, I think I should probably highlight the exam path I took to obtain my certifications. First though, I should probably highlight the certs I hold and (roughly) the order in which I obtained them:

1. Microsoft Certified Professional (8/1997)
2. CompTia A+ (10/2005)
3. CompTia Network+ (11/2005)
4. Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (12/2005)
5. CompTia Security+ (3/2006)
6. Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator on Windows Server 2003 (4/2006)
7. Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator : Security on Windows Server 2003 (9/2006)
8. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer on Windows Server 2003 (1/2007)
9. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer : Security on Windows Server 2003 (1/2007)
10. Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional : Enterprise Support Technician (1/2008)
11. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist : Windows Vista Configuration (10/2007)

So that’s the big list of certs, the concise version, which doesn’t show certifications that “overrule” other certs looks like this:

1. CompTia A+
2. CompTia Network+
3. CompTia Security+
4. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer : Security
5. Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional : Enterprise Support Technician

I’ll try to recreate my test path the best that I can, but Prometric (and Microsoft) is being a bit of a pain and I can’t actually view my transcript right now.

1. Exam Microsoft Windows 95 (8/15/1997)
2. ** Obtained Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) status
3. Exam CompTia A+
4. ** Obtained CompTia A+ Certification
5. Exam CompTIA Network+
6. ** Obtained Network+ Certification
7. Exam 70-272: Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System (12/5/2005)
8. Exam 70-271: Supporting Users and Troubleshooting a Microsoft Windows XP Operating System (12/5/2005)
9. ** Obtained Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST)
10. Exam CompTia Security+
11. ** Obtained CompTia Security+ Certification
12. Exam 70-270: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional (3/2/2006)
13. Exam 70-290: Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment (3/28/2006)
14. ** Obtained Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator on Windows Server 2003 (4/29/2006)
15. Exam 70-291: Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure (4/29/2006)
16. Exam 70-293: Planning and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure (5/6/2006)
17. Exam 70-294: Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure (5/27/2006)
18. ** Obtained Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator: Security on Windows Server 2003 (9/23/2006)
19. Exam 70-299: Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network (9/23/2006)
20. Exam 70-298: Designing Security for a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network (1/2/2007)
21. ** Obtained Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer on Windows Server 2003 (1/2/2007)
22. ** Obtained Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer: Security on Windows Server 2003 (1/2/2007)
23. Exam 70-621: Pro: Upgrading your MCDST Certification to MCITP Enterprise Support (10/22/2007)
24. ** Obtained Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional : Enterprise Support Technician (10/22/2007)
25. ** Obtained Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist : Windows Vista: Configuration (10/22/2007)

Well, it’s time to upgrade again. The goal this time is MCITP: Enterprise Administrator. I will be taking the upgrade path this time, transitioning from MCSE on Windows Server 2003. I’ve already taken the 70-621 exam to gain the MCTS: Windows Vista Configuration and MCITP: Enterprise Support credential.

The next step in my quest for world domination certification is the 70-649 – Upgrading Your MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, Technology Specialist exam. This exam will garner me three additional credentials as well as counting toward the MCITP: Enterprise Administrator credential:

• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Application Platform Configuration

I plan on utilizing the following resources while studying for this exam:

O’Reilly’s Windows Server 2008 : The Definitive Guide (Book)
Technet – Windows Server 2008 (Online)
Windows Server 2008 Technical Library (Online)
Technet Virtual Labs (Online)
Microsoft Webcasts / Podcasts (Online)
Windows Server 2008 Learning Portal (Online)
Evaluate Windows Server 2008
Additional Server Manager Info

And that’s all (whew) I have for now.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/funzone/games/bios2008/stewart.mspx

Mainly so I can remember to look this up later:

m0n0wall

ALIX.2C3 Kit: Board + Power Supply + CF card + Black Case

Found these sites this morning and had to share them:

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