Benefits of Being a Certified IT Professional

No matter what you want to be, you know that there will be training involved. But when you decide to pursue a career as an IT professional you may not realize that getting a Bachelors degree is not enough to secure the top-paying positions in the field, nor is being the most tech-savvy candidate. If your dream is to drive decisions in a top-tier IT position, you’ll need something else: certifications. Depending on the type of career you want to pursue in IT, you should consider the following certifications to boost your skills, confidence, knowledge and resume:

·         App certifications for devices like Blackberry, Android, and Apple products. Those IT professionals who can build and deploy on multiple platforms will gain an advantage.

·         Security certificates. Companies that deal with sensitive information require professionals who can keep their information safe, quickly detect information breaches and even more quickly fix them.

·         Database certifications. Most IT professionals encounter databases on a daily basis and it is helpful to be certified in the database you’ll be working on.

·         Standard and special certifications like Cisco, Alcatel, and CompTIA are required for consideration to many IT positions.

Remember, in the IT profession, knowing many things well will help you get the job of your dreams. When you have been able to get your dream job then you will feel great and be able to hold your head in the clouds!

                           (We thank Leena Lee for contributing this article to Our Funarena.)

Politics In Sports: IPL Fixing Scandal, Colossal Greed And BCCI!

On his way back home yesterday from a five-day Japan-Thailand visit the Prime Minister of India, when asked to comment on the IPL Spot Fixing Scandal, said that politics should not be mixed with sports. And exactly the contrary is happening since yesterday. This time the politicking in sports is not perpetrated by politicians, but by the officials of the prime sports body, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) including its tainted Chief N Srinivasan whose colossal greed has been demonstrated graphically over the last few days in his desperate bid to stick to his position of power, money and clout. 

Late last night the No.2 and No.3 of BCCI had tendered their resignations expressing deep hurt over the raging IPL Spot Fixing scandal that has brought a bad name to the Board. They are Sanjay Jagdale, the Secretary of the BCCI, and the Treasurer Ajay Shirke who had been the very first from the BCCI to break the silence over the issue. Their action further increased the already mounting pressure on N Srinivasan to resign. Reports were rife that resignations of the five Vice Presidents including the BJP Leader of Opposition in the upper house of the Indian Parliament, Arun Jaitley, Shivlal Yadav, Niranjan Shah, and IPL Chairman cum Congress Minister Rajeev Shukla would be coming anytime. In fact, Arun Jaitley today made it clear that something huge should be expected in the next twenty four hours. Just after that an emergency meeting of the BCCI working committee was announced to be held tomorrow in Chennai. With the richest cricket Board of the world on the verge of a collapse for the first time in history the lobbying and politics started.

The BCCI working committee has 31 members including the President Narayanswamy Srinivasan. For ousting the President three-fourth of the members, that is 24, must vote favorably. Srinivasan reportedly has the support of 8 members and this has provided him the lobbying and politicking plank. This has made him set four ridiculous conditions for a possible resignation tomorrow—1. He must still be allowed to represent India at the ICC (see he still wants to represent ‘India’!), 2. No outsider to be allowed to become the interim President (because the name of former BCCI boss Shashank Manohar was in circulation), 3. He must be allowed to elect his Secretary and Treasurer and 4. Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke cannot come back to BCCI. Every condition reeks of arrogance, corruption, power-craziness and colossal greed. Reports say that the BCCI is not going to accept these conditions. However, it must first somehow ensure the required support to oust its Chief.

On this Black Friday for Indian Cricket and BCCI there were other happenings too. The police custody of Gurunath Meiyappan and Vindo Dara Singh along with two bookies was extended to 3^rd of June by a Mumbai court. Mumbai Police has asked for the police custody of the super bookie Ashwini Aggarwal alias Tinku Mandi arrested by Delhi Police earlier and accordingly Tinku Mandi was brought to the crime branch of Mumbai Police yesterday for questioning. The Chennai connection Victor alias Vikram Aggarwal was also brought to Mumbai for questioning his link to Gurunath. While a Mumbai court today gave police custody to Tinku Mandi till 6^th of June, Victor was yet to be arrested by Mumbai Police.

Sunday tomorrow is going to be another huge day for the BCCI and the IPL Spot Fixing Scandal. And of course, for Indian Cricket.

Movies: Filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh Dies Young At 49!

Morning today brought shocking and very sad news. Extremely talented and iconic film director Rituparno Ghosh passed away in Kolkata at 7.30am after a massive heart attack. He had not been keeping well for the last few days and was reportedly suffering from pancreatitis. He was just 49. An irreparable loss for his native state of Bengal, for the whole of India and Indian Cinema.

Rituparno Ghosh was known for his sensitive portrayal of interpersonal relationships in his films. Making his directorial debut in 1994 Rituparno never looked back and went on to make nearly 20 movies in nearly as many years of his career—many critically acclaimed movies in Bengali, Hindi and in English. Even when he was not well in recent months he was actively engaged in his production work. He has a superlative record of winning 12 National Awards for Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Best Film. His films brought in more National Awards in other categories involving his artistes and technicians. He chose his actors from Bengal as well as from Bollywood, depending on the exquisitely well-defined characters in his films. Rituparno also bagged various nominations to international film festivals and international awards. He also acted in recent years in controversial roles.

Rituparno Ghoshwas born in 1963, in a family connected to the film world. He grew up with his parents developing a tremendous bond with them, particularly with his mother. As his artistes say he was always lovable on the sets as he was respected for his command over celluloid. However, his personal life was never above controversies and questions. But he was always bold and frank about anything concerning his personal life as he often boasted of his gender fluidity and being in-between, although dismissing the notion that the roles he acted in were about him in real life.

We with a heavy heart bid adieu to a great filmmaker of India from whom much more exciting creations were expected. May his noble soul rest in eternal bliss.