CompTIA announced that IT professionals have until Dec. 31, 2004 to take the CompTIA Linux+ beta exam for $75.

Candidates are encouraged to sign up online as soon as possible with either the Pearson VUE or Thomson Prometric testing organizations, referencing exam ID # XK1-002. CompTIA urges candidates to carefully review the certification objectives prior to taking the exam and to use the objectives as an effective content study guide.

The following exams will be retiring on 15th Jan 2005 -

• 218 Citrix MetaFrame 1.8
• 910 Citrix Resource Management Services
• 920 Citrix Installation Management Services
• 930 Citrix Secure ICA/Security

The retirement means that the exams will no longer count towards the Citrix tracks

A new version of the exam is likely to be released during the 1st Quarter of 2005. - Current tallies of cerfificate holders is A+ 500,000. Network+ 135,000, Security+ 10,000, Server+ 10,000

If you fail your exam between now and the end of the year, then CompTia will issue you with a 50% discount voucher which must also be used before the end of this year ! i.e. 31st Dec 04

The new version of the Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA) exam -- Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server 3.0: Enterprise Edition Administration (#223) is now available at testing centers.

The previous exam, #222, is still available at testing centers. A retirement has not yet been be set..

The total is now 6. Additionally candidates can now study towards the Office Specialist Master 2003 title as the requirement for which is Both Word & Excel Expert, Powerpoint and Access i.e. 4 exams.

The total released to date is 4 i.e. core & expert for word and excel.

Zend Technologies has created the PHP certification program, which at this point is based on one exam #200-100. The exam consists of multiple-choice, and other standard format question types, testing a candidate with about 6 months experience. The cost of the exam is anticipated at $200 and will be available at Vue testing centres.

Comptia is reviewing the 2002 Network+ Exam objectives with a view to updated the exam during 2005, probably around April 05. There are now approx 140,000 Newotk+ holders world-wide and the certification does not expire.

There are now over 600,000 Cisco certification holders world wide. Objectives. Cisco does not break down the allocation of certificates, apart from for the top end CCIE for which there are 11,450 certified holders.

The grace period have been extended to Sept 30th to someone who passed one exam based on the 2001 Objectives for the 2nd Exam based on the 2003 Objectives

The exam is now live and available at select IQ testing centers worldwide.

The exam, no' 350-026, will consist of 100 multiple-choice questions and last two hours. Those who pass will be allowed to sit for the CCIE Service Provider (formerly CCIE Communications and Services) lab exam.

The exam, along with Exam 70-272, Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a Windows XP Operating System, comprise the exams required for obtaining the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician, a new title that Microsoft announced in October 2003.

Microsoft in the past had indicated that the exam would also count as an elective under the MCSA or MCSE on Windows 2003 tracks.

70-271 is aimed at tech's who offer on-site, phone, or remote support to users of Microsoft's Windows XP Home and Professional Editions. Candidates should also have working knowledge of networks i.e. either workgroups or Active Directory domains.More info