Alpern Joey - IT career jumpstart an introduction to PC hardware, software, and networking

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Jeff Kellum

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Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-20615-7

ISBN: 978-1-118-22859-3 (ebk.)

ISBN: 978-1-118-23299-6 (ebk.)

ISBN: 978-1-118-26572-7 (ebk.)

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Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing IT Career JumpStart. This book is part of a family of premium-quality Sybex books, all of which are written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching.

Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, were still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles, were working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the paper we print on to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books available.

I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. Id be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how were doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other Sybex book by sending me an email at . Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex.

Best regards,

Neil Edde

Vice President and Publisher

Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley

To our bears, the work that went into this book was always for you.

Naomi and Joey Alpern

To PennyYour patience, love, and understanding made this possible.

Randy Muller

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our superb Acquisitions Editor, Jeff Kellum, without whose determination and follow-through this book would never have come to fruition. He was a steady force throughout all the ups and downs during the roller coaster ride this book took before taking shape and becoming a realityeven if he did originally ask if we could write two chapters a week and be done in six to eight weeks. Huge thanks, also, to our co-author, Randy, for working through chapters in parallel, allowing us to meet Jeffs new set of more down-to-earth timelines and also helping to lighten the load. Randy: Were looking forward to the next chance meeting!

Many thanks go out to Susan Herman, our Developmental Editor, and Liz Britten, our Production Editor, for pushing hard to get drafts turned in on time and reviewed and returned promptly, even when the universe decided not to cooperate and continued to throw obstacle after obstacle in the way.

Thanks also to the rest of the team and all the rest of the editorial staff at Wiley for all the work behind the scenes that is required to bring a book to print. Finally, we want to thank our kids, Darien and Justin, for putting up with long weekend afternoons spent with mommy and daddy clicking away on keyboards. In the end its all for them.

Naomi and Joey Alpern

About the Authors

Naomi J. Alpern currently works for Microsoft Consulting Services as a Senior Consultant specializing in Unified Communications and IT Architecture and Planning. Since the start of her technical career, she has worked in many facets of the technology world, including IT administration, technical training, and most recently, full-time consulting. Naomi holds a Bachelor of Science in Leisure Services Management from Florida International University. Additionally, she holds many Microsoft certifications, including an MCSE and MCT, as well as other industry certifications such as Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator, Security+, Network+, and A+. Naomi lives in Charlotte, NC, where she spends her spare time, along with her husband, Joey, chasing after their two young sons, Darien, 8, and Justin, 4. On the odd occasion that she runs into some alone time, she enjoys curling up with a cheesy horror or mystery novel for company.