News (Blog)

The AppleCert Group is on break through the summer to recharge our batteries. We are expecting to tackle some new topics from September. Probably the format will be slightly different with a few intro meetings to the topic, then an intensive couple days of instruction, followed by a few meetings of follow-up before the test.

We have a new session done by our yearly guest speaker Rick Wylie. Sign-up here.

Managing Podcast Producer 2
March 18th, 2pm - 4pm @Apple Japan Seminar room
With the release of Mac OS X Server v10.6, Podcast Producer 2 is now a complete, end-to-end solution for encoding, publishing, and distributing high-quality media. This session will look at the best practices for managing access, workflows and cameras in Podcast Producer to meet the needs of education and and the Corporate environment. The session will walk through all the components of Podcast Producer 2, associated software and hardware, to give a smooth hassle free Podcast experience. The Session will also cover integration with Xsan 2.2 and Final Cut Server 1.5 environments.

Podcast Producer 2の管理
3月18日(木)14時-16時　東京オペラシティタワー32F アップルジャパンセミナールーム
Mac OS X Server v10.6のPodcast Producer 2は、エンコード-出力-高品質の配信まで、エンドトゥエンドのソリューションを提供出来るようになりました。
このセミナーでは、実際のアクセスの管理、ワークフロー、教育分野や企業での利用について解説します。Podcast Producer 2の全ての構成、関連するソフトウェア、ハードウェアについての概要に触れます。また、Xsan 2.2やFinal Cut Server 1.5とのインテグレーションについても及ぶ予定です。

We are now holding weekly study sessions on Final Cut Server 1.5 from 7:30pm - 9pm each Wednesday night at the AppleCert room in Meguro. The book we are following is the Apple Pro Training Series: Getting Started with Final Cut Server by Matt Geller and we expect to follow a 1 chapter per week pace through the material.

If you are working in video environments or need something to put on the end of your Podcast Producer workflow, please drop us a note and see you on Wednesday nights.

There are a number of new Certification books out for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. We've compiled an Amazon List to help you find them. Also, if you talk to one of the AppleCert team you may be able to group order with them for a 30% discount through Peachpit's Store of Apple Training Books.

The sessions for Mac OS X Deployment will start again this week. If you didn't hear about it until now, no worries, please join at any time.

The details for the certification are found on the Apple Training website, the book we are using is called, "Mac OS X Deployment v10.5" by Peachpit from the Apple Training Series.

We look forward to meeting up with new and existing members after a refreshing summer break!

Our Xsan and Final Cut Server sessions were a great success with over 20 people joining us for the two sessions jam packed with tons of practical experience and information to take home and try on our own systems.

A big thank-you to all who enjoyed these sessions and stay tuned for more like this in the future.

If you missed these sessions and want to keep in touch for future events, please sign-up on this site to subscribe to updates once the next events are announced.

It's been a busy 2009 in AppleCert land. The first group is careening through the Advanced System Administrator text by Ed Marzak and the second group is about to start the Server Essentials book.

Also, for those of you who remember Rick Wylie and Michelle Binskin's visit to Tokyo last year, we are determined to make this year even better. Hot off a few jam-packed sessions at Macworld San Francisco, Rick has been generous enough to offer us a taste on this side of the big puddle.

Not only is Rick a star for his generosity to drop in for the visit, he's also a good guy to raise a glass with at the end of the day. We'll keep you posted here as well as send a mail to registered attendees of his sessions so that you can join us once his arrival in Tokyo and schedule are confirmed. Stay tuned...

For those who have not joined in the recent sessions but are wondering how things are progressing, here's the update.

Group 1 has been hard at it since last February and has completed:
Support Essentials for 10.5
Server Essentials for 10.5
Directory Services for 10.5

Group 1 continues on with Ch2 of Advanced System Administration for 10.5 this week.

Group2 started in Oct has almost completed Support Essentials for 10.5 and will start Server Essentials for 10.5 on Feb 4th.

If you're looking to build your career, strengthen your knowledge, or improve the quality of your company's Mac environment we welcome you to stop in on a Wed night and try out our study sessions.

A few new members that will start this week (Wednesday 6:30pm) have been asking for a bit more detail on AppleCert than is outlined on the website. Here is the updated FAQ for all of you who may be asked these questions by people who would like to join.

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Who runs AppleCert?
http://applecert.org

It is an non-profit organization that belongs to all the members. The group was founded by Jason Wik and this year's treasurers are Allan Tsuda and Gary Kellenberger. There is a core group of 10 engineers that have been contributing and making decisions on AppleCert's direction since it started back in August 2005.


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Can AppleCert certify people?

No, it's a study group. After the sessions, you need to write the test with Prometric at any of the large number of testing centres.

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Are the tests around all year?

Yes, you need to book about a week or so before you want to write it.
http://it.prometric-jp.com/guide/index_en.html

The Prometric test for Apple Certified Support Professional (ACSP) is outlined here:
http://training.apple.com/certification/acsp

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How does AppleCert cost?

The deposit system is defined in the FAQ,
http://applecert.org/Default.aspx?pageId=98679
The cost depends on how many people are in the group and whether you pass the test within two weeks after the session. The deposit for most members is 30,000 yen and the deposit for students is 15,000 yen.

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Are the weekly sessions held in Japanese or English?

There is 3 Japanese and about 6 English speaking members in the ACSA group now. The text is only available in English. Most members are bilingual to some extent.

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Thanks to the AppleCert community for getting the word out about our next batch of Certifications we are tackling.

Special thanks to Joe, Haba-san, Mark, Leon for adding us to these sites.
http://tokyo.craigslist.jp/cps/833211474.html
http://metropolis.co.jp/classifieds/
http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=164720
http://macotakara.jp/