The release of Windows 7 has been a big story in retail and business news, and it’s becoming a big story in IT certification news, too. The Operating System exam is a huge component for most Microsoft certifications, and with Windows 7 users no longer have to take exams with the word “Vista” in the title. According to Microsoft “Windows 7 is the new Microsoft operating system designed to enhance your organization’s desktop environment.” To certify your abilities on this technology, Microsoft has launched a full complement of Windows 7 exams and certifications. Let’s take our first look.

Windows 7 Specialist Series Exams
The first Specialist Series exam released for Windows 7 is Exam 70-680: TS: Windows 7, Configuring. By passing this exam, a candidate will earn the MCTS Windows 7 Configuration certification.  According to the exam’s details, this exam is for people who “operate in computing environments that use Microsoft Windows 7 as a desktop operating system in an enterprise environment.” In addition to the Specialist Series certification you can earn with this exam, it’s a core component of more advanced certifications including MCITP: Enterprise Administrator and two newly announced certifications, MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator 7 and MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician 7 (see below for more about them).  Keep reading after the jump for  a short breakdown of the topics areas you’ll need to know for this exam: (more…)