Ever since 1992, when Cisco Systems Inc. set up the Cisco Learning Networks (a certifications website that everyone ought to know about), a new era in IT certification began , especially for those looking to further improve their knowledge and in turn, maximize their chances of improving their careers.

When entering the site, a single click on the “certifications” tab link brings up a comprehensive overview of the general certifications and advance courses available at that moment. These include many IT-related subjects, from routing & switching to wireless networks to network design and security. These courses are further distinguished by their level of complexity, from entry level, associate, professional to expert level.

In order to help IT professionals to better understand the various paths they have when taking Cisco certification courses, the Cisco Learning Networks has a detailed overview of the potential career paths in regards to the different levels of certification, making the entire process really streamlined and comprehensive. Career paths as well as sample salary scales are given as a rough but credible estimate from reliable sources such as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To describe it in a few words, the Cisco Learning Network provides a one-stop avenue for people to access Cisco’s certified Information Technology (IT) courses. In addition, the website features a strong and active online discussion forum where real-world users gather to share their experiences and help in solving each other’s IT problems. Furthermore, there is an entire repertoire of articles and resources for everyone to read and find a solution to many common networking problems.

In short, The Cisco Learning Network website is full of information, resources, schedules, prep centers, and even recertification. Cisco is indeed credible enough to be called a career-builder and that’s probably the very reason why many people are asking for training. In consequence, passing Cisco certification courses can become your stepping stone towards success in your IT career.

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Thought I’d post a quick extension method that I made today. Hope it helps someone.

public static string RemoveWhitespace(this string str)

{

    try

    {

        return new Regex(@"\s*").Replace(str, string.Empty);

    }

    catch (Exception)

    {

        return str;

    }

}

Article posted on Zack Owen’s ASP Blog

Note from Editor: The same can be accomplished in PHP using the following function:

RemoveWhitespace(this string str)
{
   return preg_replace("\s+\", "", $text);
}

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It seems that companies now prefer to hire those with experience rather than new graduates with little or no real-world experience in IT. I told a few of my friends that they should take some IT certification programs during their summer break because with these additional IT certifications, they can help themselves to  obtain a new, better job.

IT Certifications look really good on a résumé and they can be the deciding factor for some IT companies if they’re going to choose between two applicants. I know this because I’ve looked at hundreds of résumés myself during our staff hiring sessions and having certifications can really give you an edge when it comes to landing a job.

So what kind of IT certificates should you take to improve your score? I always advise my friends to take the Cisco certification as networking is a tough field to compete and having a certification from Cisco is a huge plus.

Cisco certifications help to plan your future by presenting you sample career paths and certification information in order to provide a glimpse of how Cisco certifications play an important role in anybody’s career development. Then they show you the required skills for entry level network support positions such as the knowledge and skill sets to install, operate and troubleshoot a small but still rather complex enterprise branch network, including basic network security.

If you’re planning to take a Cisco certification yourself, I would strongly suggest you join a good community of Cisco certified people or those who are also planning to get one themselves. One such site is The Cisco Learning Network. The Cisco Learning Network is a very comprehensive site and it provides everything you need if you want to learn about requirements, trainings, different kinds of certification available, career opportunities, etc. The information and connections you get from The Cisco Learning Network can really “give extra punch” to your Cisco certifications

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The National Retail Federation is recognizing a couple of individuals, both from law enforcement and within their own ranks, for their contributions in smashing a $100 million organized retail crime ring. These crime fighters are being honored at the NRF Loss Prevention Conference & EXPO in Orlando, Florida.

The two being honored are Detective Ostojic, of the Polk Country Sheriff’s Department, and Ron Averette from the loss prevention department at Publix Supermarkets. In June 2007, the two began comparing notes on a group that was stealing large amounts of merchandise. Subsequently, Detective Ostojic was able to tie in cases at other retailers and Averette (along with Ostojic) presented the pattern of activity to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida State Attorney’s Office. This led to a task force being formed under the leadership of Special Agent Telly Sands from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.The result of the task force’s efforts were that 18 people were identified as being involved in the ring and subsequently arrested.

The FBI estimates that organized retail crime costs retailers an estimated $30 billion dollars a year. To date, this is the largest documented case where organized retail crime was identified as being the cause.

These rings use flea markets, Internet auction sites like eBay and Craigslist, rogue e-commerce sites, and even seedy merchants to sell their goods. Some retail loss prevention departments have dedicated personnel to investigate stolen merchandise on auction sites.

In this case, a lot of the stolen merchandise were health and beauty aids. Some of these products have expiration dates, which might lead to health and safety concerns for the end user.

Mark Albright wrote an article about this case in the Saint Petersburg Times, where he mentioned specific brands the group deemed desirable for resale. By doing a search on eBay, I found a wide selection of Gillette razor blades, Prilosec, Crest WhiteStrips, and Oil of Olay available on the site. Please note that I have no way of telling if these items were the result of organized retail crime or obtained legitimately. I do know that large companies generally frown on having their products sold on auction sites and I saw some extremely good prices listed for these products.

According to the article in the Saint Petersburg Times some of the shoplifters (boosters) involved have rap sheets (criminal records) ranging from sex crimes to armed robbery and attempted murder.

A recent survey indicated that retailers are seeing an increase in organized retail crime activity. The cost of this type of crime is eventually added into the cost of the product being stolen, which means we all end up paying for it.

This activity has been known to run smaller businesses bankrupt. Even at larger retail organizations, out of control losses often dictate that operating budgets need to be trimmed. Since payroll is often the largest operating cost in an organization, this leads to reductions in hours and positions to keep a company afloat. Simply stated, activity like this can cost people their jobs.

Legislation has been passed in many states and more is forthcoming to make organized retail crime penalties stiffer.

Note from the Editor: This is another downside of globalized communications and online shopping. Obviously, it shouldn’t be taken as detrimental to Internet shopping but it does call for your attention and awareness when buying something online. As a word of advice, if the price is too tempting beware! you might be buying stolen goods and you may run into trouble.

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Today, crowded in big cities is becoming increasingly uncontrollable. For instance, in Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia there are about twice as many cars as there were ten years ago. For business owners, especially that field is in transportation business, such as freight forwarding, car rental, tours and travel, and public transportation like taxi and bus, this kind of crowded traffic can make operations cost increase by quite a large percentage. That’s why business owners should find a solution to solve this problem, and hence make their operational costs to remain within reason.

Now there is GPS Tracking, a system that you can use for vehicle tracking. Global Positioning System (best known for its acronym GPS) is a device that’s connected to several satellites and that can be used to track the position of almost any object on the earth. By using GPS Tracking, you can trace the position of your vehicle in real-time, making it an excellent logistics tool.

Many Taxi companies use GPS Car/vehicle tracking technology to make their business much more efficient. I know that Blue Bird Taxi in Indonesia use that technology to optimize their taxi-pickup service, by always sending the nearest taxi to the location where it’s been requested. Although this is one way to use it, there are countless more.

GPS Tracking can also be combined with a navigation system, and hence be used to drive a car or fly a plane with zero visibility. It can also be used to ask directions (when connected to location-based services) so when you are on the street you can find the best way, an alternative way to avoid crowds, or you can even find the nearest ATM, gas station, and so on.

So if you live in a big city and you always face crowds every day, you should think about getting a GPS device. Not only you’ll look very high-tech but you’ll also be able to move around in any city without ever getting lost.

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