Visual Studio 2005 new certification series MCTS and MCPD

MCSD, MCAD is what most of the microsoft developers have been looking forward to for quite some years now, being one i was planning to opt for MCAD, but a hit on MS site revealed a new picture, with the introduction of VS 2005, a new set of exams have popped in, the MCTS [Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist] and the MCPD [Microsoft Certified Professional Developer], though MS claims that MCSD and MCAD are going to be valid for years to come, i am not very much sure what the picture will be when these exams get out of the beta phase. Also there are upgrade exams available from MCSD to MCPD, so there is a definite short cut for current certification holders to hit the

MS has again come up with the one one one free try thingie, register for one and get another attempt free, the trick is that course material for these exams will not be available till May 2006 and the offer is valid till July 2006, and without any dumps available till then there is a less chance of lots of hits for this.

References:

here's my pick for 536 and 528

1. Visual Basic 2005 Programmer's Reference (Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback) - by Rod Stephens
   
2. Programming Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Core Reference (Paperback) - by Dino Esposito
   
3. Programming Visual Basic 2005 (Paperback) - Jesse Liberty
   

1. Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)
   
   
   
   1. Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Web Applications
      
      
      
      • Exam 70–536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation
        
      • Exam 70–528: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Web-Based Client Development
        
      
      
   2. Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Applications
      
      
      
      • Exam 70–536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation
        
      • Exam 70–526: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Windows-Based Client Development
        
      
      
   3. Technology Specialist: .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications
      
      
      
      • Exam 70–536: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Application Development Foundation
        
      • Exam 70–529: TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 - Distributed Application Development
        
      
      
   4. Technology Specialist: SQL Server 2005
      Exam 70–431: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 - Implementation and Maintenance.
      
      
   5. Technology Specialist: BizTalk Server 2006
      Exam 70–235: TS: Developing Business Process and Integration Solutions Using BizTalk Server 2006 (available early 2006)
      
   
   
   
2. Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD)
   
   
   
   1. MCPD: Web Developer
      
      MCTS + Exam 70–547: PRO: Designing and Developing Web Applications by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework
      
      
   2. MCPD: Windows Developer
      
      MCTS + Exam 70–548: PRO: Designing and Developing Windows Applications by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework
      
      
   3. MCPD: Enterprise Developer
      
      MCTS + Exam 70–549: PRO: Designing and Developing Enterprise Applications by Using the Microsoft .NET Framework