It's my opinion that if Microsoft is going to retire my NT 4 MCSE then they shouldn't be able to collect fees for the licenses anymore either. This pattern of pumping out the latest and greatest operating system when it's not ready just to satisfy stockholders is bad enough. To bite the hand that feeds you is even worse. Network Administrators and IT Directors are the number one reason that these software and hardware companies can brag about their genius at all. And it's not only Microsoft.
Cisco is equally as guilty.
Cisco Systems places value on its certifications as being the most difficult in the industry. Yes, this is true, but not as you would think. The difficulty in these tests is not in technical knowledge, but is instead the cheap little trick questions with the plays on words. After passing one of these tests you feel almost ripped off. And, of course, I've failed one, too, and the feelings are the same.