November 28, 2008
The most wanted tech skills for MCP’s
Network World
Andrew Mikols looks at findings from a recent MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) survey from Redmond Magazine that focused on technology skills.
“Given Microsoft’s 90 per cent market share of the desktop market, it’s no surprise that Windows Desktop support is one of the most wanted tech skills. This area includes desktop support analysts, Help Desk Support (Tier 1, 2, and 3), and PC Technicians. A typical employee to desktop support ratio is 100 to one. So a 1,000 employee organization would typically need around 10 desktop support specialists. Desktop support personnel who can also do either Training or Systems Administration can more easily advance and can often increase their salary by 10-20 per cent by virtue of these complimentary skills.”
Nokia pulls out of Japan, nobody notices
Engadget
Thomas Ricker writes that Nokia has taken its business out of Japan. Read why.
“ It’s not like Nokia was dominating sales in Japan anyway — far from it. So it’s not too big a loss to walk away from its near one per cent market share when it’s sitting atop a (dwindling) 39 per cent share globally. According to Nokia vice-president Timo Ihamuotila, ‘We have judged that we cannot continue to invest in product development just for Japan amid the current tough economic conditions.’ Nokia will continue to sell its luxury Vertu branded phones though, presumably on that MVNO Nokia is rumoured to be rolling out this spring.”
No cheap Blu-ray players for Blighty this Xmas
Register Hardware
Tony Smith gives the bad news for those holiday shoppers outside of the U.S. who wish to buy Blu-ray Disc players over the holidays.
“Don’t expect to pick up a cheap Blu-ray Disc player this Christmas – unless you live in the U.S. or Japan. So claimed market watcher Screen Digest this week, which stressed that the dip in sales of Blu-ray players it expects to see this quarter isn’t a result of a lack of demand but tight supply. The recession is having an impact, but it’s only holding back mainstream buyers.”