Exam 70-383 Recertification for MCSE: SharePoint

Published: January 6, 2016
Languages: English, German, Japanese
Audiences: IT professionals
Technology: SharePoint Server 2013
Credit toward certification: MCP, MCSE

This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below. View video tutorials about the variety of question types on Microsoft exams.

Please note that the questions may test on, but will not be limited to, the topics described in the bulleted text.

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Design a SharePoint topology
Design an information architecture
Design inter-site navigational taxonomy; design site columns and content types; design keywords, synonyms, best bets, and managed properties; plan information management policies; plan managed site structures; plan term sets
Design a logical architecture
Plan application pools; plan web applications; plan for software boundaries; plan content databases; plan host-header site collections; plan zones and alternate access mapping
Plan SharePoint Online (Office 365) deployment
Evaluate service offerings; plan service applications; plan hybrid search scenarios; plan site collections; plan customizations and solutions; plan security for SharePoint Online; plan for SharePoint Online admin roles; plan networking services for SharePoint Online

Plan security
Plan and configure authentication
Plan and configure Windows claims authentication; plan and configure identity federation; configure claims providers; configure OAuth authentication; plan and configure for anonymous authentication; configure connections to ACS
Plan and configure platform security
Plan and configure security isolation; plan and configure services lockdown; plan and configure general firewall security; plan and configure antivirus settings; plan and configure certificate management
Plan and configure farm-level security
Plan rights management; plan and configure delegated farm administration; plan and configure delegated service application administration; plan and configure managed accounts; plan and configure blocked file types; plan and configure web part security

Install and configure SharePoint farms
Create and configure enterprise search
Plan and configure search topology; plan and configure result sources; plan and configure crawl schedules; plan and configure crawl rules; plan and configure crawl performance
Create and configure Managed Metadata Service application (MMS)
Configure managed service application proxy settings; configure content type hub settings; configure sharing term sets; plan and configure content type propagation schedule; configure custom properties; configure term store permission
Create and configure User Profile Service application (UPA)
Configure UPA application; setup My Sites and My Site hosts; configure social permissions; plan and configure sync connections; configure profile properties; configure audiences

Create and configure web applications and site collections
Provision and configure web applications
Create managed paths; configure HTTP throttling; configure List throttling; configure Alternate Access Mappings (AAM); configure authentication provider; configure SharePoint Designer settings
Manage search
Manage result sources; manage query rules; manage display templates; manage Search Engine Optimization (SEO) settings; manage result types; manage search schema
Manage taxonomy
Manage site collection term set access; manage term set navigation; manage topic catalog pages; configure custom properties; configure search refinement; configure list refinement

Maintain core SharePoint environment
Troubleshoot SharePoint environment
Establish baseline performance; perform client-side tracing; perform server-side tracing; analyze usage data; enable developer dashboard; analyze diagnostic logs

Plan business continuity management
Plan for SQL high availability and disaster recovery
Plan for SQL Server clustering; plan for SQL Server Always-On; plan for SQL Server Log Shipping; plan for SQL Server mirroring; plan for storage redundancy; plan for login replication

Plan SharePoint environment
Plan and configure search workload
Plan and configure search result relevancy; plan and configure index freshness; plan and configure result sources; plan and configure end-user experience; plan and configure search schema; analyze search analytics reports; plan and configure result throttling
Plan ECM workload
Plan and configure E-Discovery; plan and configure document routing; configure co-authoring; plan and configure record disposition and retention; plan large document repositories; plan and configure software boundaries

Upgrade and migrate SharePoint environment
Upgrade site collection
Perform health check; analyze and resolve health check results; plan and configure available site collection modes; plan and configure site collection upgrade availability; plan and configure EVAL mode; plan and configure site collection upgrade throttling

Create and configure service applications
Create and configure App Management
Create and configure App Store; create and configure subscriptions; configure marketplace connections; configure DNS entries; configure wildcard certificates
Configure service application federation
Plan services to federate; perform certificate exchange; manage trusts; manage service application permissions; publish service applications; consume service applications

Manage SharePoint solutions, BI, and systems integration
Plan and configure BI infrastructure
Plan and configure performance point; plan and configure reporting services; plan and configure PowerPivot; plan and configure Excel Services; plan and configure Power View; plan and configure BI security
Question No : 1 - (Topic 1)
You need to implement corporate sizing and performance guidelines for general usage scenarios.
Which three actions should you perform? (Each correct answer presents part of the solution. Choose three.)

A. For the Remote BLOB Storage (RBS) storage subsystem on network attached storage
(NAS), limit the maximum time-to-first-byte (TTFB) of any response from the NAS to 100 milliseconds.

B. Limit the maximum size of each content database to 4 TB.

C. For the Remote BLOB Storage (RBS) storage subsystem on network attached storage
(NAS), limit the maximum time-to-first-byte (TTFB) of any response from the NAS to 20 milliseconds.

D. Limit the number of documents in each document library to 20 million.

E. Limit the number of documents in each content database to 10 million.

F. Limit the maximum size of each content database to 200 GB.

Answer: C,E,F


Question No : 2 - (Topic 1)
You need to ensure that service applications meet the technical requirements by using the least amount of administrative effort.
What should you do?

A. Use the Farm Configuration Wizard to add service applications.
B. Use Windows PowerShell to configure service applications.
C. Use the SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard to complete the server configuration.
D. In Central Administration, manually create each service application.

Answer: B

Question No : 3 - (Topic 1)
You need to ensure that content authors can publish the specified files.
What should you do?

A. Create multiple authoring site collections. Create a site that contains lists, document
libraries, and a Pages library. Create an asset library in a new site collection, and enable
anonymous access to the library on the publishing web application.

B. Create multiple authoring site collections. Create a site that contains lists, document
libraries, and a Pages library. Create an asset library in the authoring site collection, and
enable anonymous access to the library on the authoring web application.

C. Create one authoring site collection. Create a site that contains multiple lists, document
libraries, and Pages libraries. Create an asset library in a new site collection, and enable
anonymous access to the library on the publishing web application.

D. Create multiple authoring site collections. Create a site that contains multiple lists,
document libraries, and Pages libraries. Create an asset library in a new site collection, and
enable anonymous access to the library on the publishing web application.

Answer: B

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650-159 ICA Cisco IronPort Cloud Associate

Exam Number 650-159
Duration 90 minutes (25-35 questions)

The 650-159 ICA Cisco IronPort Cloud Associate exam tests your knowledge of the following:
What ScanSafe does and how it works
The various deployment methods at a technical level so you can recommend the most suitable deployment to customers according to their needs and existing infrastructure
Basic administration, how to manage a web-filtering policy, and how to run reports on web usage within the ScanCenter GUI

Exam Topics
The following topics are general guidelines for the content likely to be included on the exam. However, other related topics may also appear on any specific delivery of the exam. In order to better reflect the contents of the exam and for clarity purposes, the guidelines below may change at any time without notice.
How to Sell ScanSafe QLMs
Web Filtering
Advanced WIRe
ScanCenter Lab Exercise
Deployment Options
Outbreak Intelligence

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QUESTION 1
What important consideration do you need to be aware of when using a Connector?

A. Multiple DHCP servers
B. Multiple DNS servers
C. Multiple break-out points

Answer: C

Explanation:

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QUESTION 2
How can AnyConnect be bypassed by a user when installed locked-down?

A. When locked-down, AnyConnect can be bypassed by a user by changing the Browser Proxy settings
B. When locked-down, AnyConnect can be bypassed by a user if they know the admin password
C. AnyConnect cannot ever be bypassed by a user when installed locked-down

Answer: C

Explanation:

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QUESTION 3
How are different time zones supported by WIRe?

A. Each entry is converted to UTC as it is stored, so you can select any time zone in the GUI when
searching and see the times according to the user's local time
B. All entries are recorded only in their local time zone, so you need to calculate the time offset
when searching for data of users in different time zones
C. There is no support for different time zones in WIRe

Answer: A

Explanation:

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QUESTION 4
If a customer wants roaming protection for laptops with Windows 7 64 bit, and is not using Cisco's
VPN, which one of the following would be the best solution:

A. Anywhere*
B. AnyConnect Web Security standalone client
C. Anywhere* or AnyConnect are both suitable
D. This scenario cannot be supported by Anywhere* or AnyConnect

Answer: B

Explanation:

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QUESTION 5
How many reports can be included in a Scheduled Report?

A. 20
B. 75
C. Only1
D. Only 1, but this can be a Composite Report

Answer: D

Explanation:

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650-157 ISIES Cisco IronPort Security Instructor - Email Security

This exam tests your skills in guiding students to recognize email compliance and security requirements for an enterprise. You also will learn to help students design and integrate a solution into a medium to large network environment. With this certification, you can deliver email security courseware, troubleshoot the laboratory, and advise customers about email security solutions that are outside of the course material.

Exam Topics
The following topics are general guidelines for the content likely to be included on the exam. However, other related topics may also appear on any specific delivery of the exam. In order to better reflect the contents of the exam and for clarity purposes, the guidelines below may change at any time without notice.

Monitoring
Incoming Mail Policies
Outgoing Mail Policies
Security Services
Networking
System Administration
Troubleshooting and Support
Command Line
Training Lab Administration

 

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QUESTION 1
In the default settings, which of the following sender groups will match on a reputation score of+2?

A. BLACKLIST
B. WHITEUST
C. SUSPECTLIST
D. RELAYL1ST
E. UNKNOWNUST

Answer: E

Explanation:

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QUESTION 2
Select two filters that come directly before and after the content filter in the email pipeline.

A. Message Filter
B. Reputation Filter
C. Anti-Spam
D. Outbreak Filters
E. Anti-Virus
F. RSA DLP

Answer: D,E

Explanation:

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QUESTION 3
How would you configure the Recipient Access Table to accept all subdomains and the root
domain mydomain.com?

A. One entry: mydomain.com
B. Two entries: mydomain.com and '.mydomain.com
C. Two entries: mydomain.com and .mydomain.com
D. One entry: "mydomain.com

Answer: C

Explanation:

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QUESTION 4
An enterprise has two email domains but only one is covered by their LDAP directory. Of the
following, which is the best method to address this?

A. Disable LDAP verification in the HAT
B. Remove LDAP Acceptance from the incoming listener
C. Create a mail policy for this domain that skips LDAP Accept checks.
D. Configure Bypass LDAP Accept in the RAT

Answer: D

Explanation:

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QUESTION 5
Which one of the following commands is the "Administrator Role" restricted from exercising?

A. upgrade
B. shutdown
C. suspend
D. reload

Answer: A

Explanation:
upgrade ( however, starting AsyncOS 7.5 this has changed )
( ref
:http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/esa/esa7.5/ESA_7.5_Configuration_Guide.pdfStarting
in AsyncOS 7.5, administratorscan perform system upgrades, create
clusters, and join appliances to existing clusters)

010-151 Supporting Cisco Datacenter Networking Devices (DCTECH)

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QUESTION 1
Which method is a TCP/IP-based protocol for establishing and managing connections between IPbased
storage devices, hosts, and clients?

A. FCIP
B. iFCP
C. iSCSI
D. FCoE

Answer: C

Explanation:

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QUESTION 2
Which method does FCIP use to enable connectivity of geographically distributed Fibre Channel
SANs over IP?

A. routing
B. tunneling
C. handshaking
D. transporting

Answer: B

Explanation:

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QUESTION 3
Which important feature on the front end is provided to the clients by multiple servers that access
the same storage devices across the SAN?

A. recovery
B. redundancy
C. resiliency
D. security
E. storage

Answer: B

Explanation:

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QUESTION 4
The Ethernet specification details several different fiber optic media types. What is the wire
transmission speed for 100BASE-FX Ethernet?

A. 10 Mb/s
B. 100 Mb/s
C. 1000 Mb/s
D. 10000 Mb/s

Answer: B

Explanation:

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QUESTION 5
Which fiber optic cable type is used most often with a Subscriber connector?

A. dual-mode
B. single-mode
C. straight-mode
D. multi-mode
E. subscriber-mode

Answer: B

Explanation:

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The Big Question Rises How To Become Microsoft, Cisco, ComTIA Certified

The big question rises how to become the Microsoft certified , All Microsoft certifications are acquired by simply taking a series of exams. If you can self-study for said exams, and then pass them, then you can acquire the certification for the mere cost of the exam (and maybe whatever self-study materials you purchase).

You'll also need, at minimum (in addition to the MCTS), the CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+ certs; as well as the Cisco CCNA cert.

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) - This is the basic entry point of Microsoft Certifications. You only need to pass a single certification test to be considered an MCTS and there are numerous different courses and certifications that would grant you this after passing one. If you are shooting for some of the higher certifications that will be discussed below, then you'll get this on your way there.

Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) - This certification was Microsoft's previous "Developer Certification" meaning that this was the highest certification that was offered that consisted strictly of development-related material. Receiving it involved passing four exams within specific areas (based on the focus of your certification). You can find the complete list of courses and paths required for the MCPD here.

Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) - This is Microsoft's most recent "Developer Certification" which will replace the MCPD Certification (which is being deprecated / retired in July of 2013). The MCSD focuses within three major areas of very recent Microsoft development technologies and would likely be the best to persue if you wanted to focus on current and emerging skills that will be relevant in the coming years. You can find the complete list of courses and paths required for the MCSD here.

The Microsoft Certifications that you listed are basically all of the major ones within the realm of development. I'll cover each of the major ones and what they are :

Most people, however, take some kind of course. Some colleges -- especially career and some community colleges -- offer such courses (though usually they're non-credit). Other providers of such courses are private... some of them Microsoft Certified vendors of one type or another, who offer the courses in such settings as sitting around a conference table in their offices. Still others specialize in Microsoft certification training, and so have nice classrooms set up in their offices.

There are also some online (and other forms of distance learning) courses to help prepare for the exams.

The cost of taking classes to prepare can vary wildly. Some are actually free (or very nearly so), while others can cost hundreds of dollars. It all just depends on the provider.

And here's a Google search of MCTS training resources (which can be mind-numbing in their sheer numbers and types, so be careful what you choose):

There are some pretty good, yet relatively inexpensive, ways to get vendor certificate training. Be careful not to sign-up for something expensive and involved when something cheaper -- like subscribing to an "all the certificates you care to study for one flat rate" web site -- would, in addition to purchasing a study guide or two at a bookstore, likely be better.

If you want a career in IT, then you need to have both an accredited degree in same (preferably a bachelors over an associates), and also a variety of IT certifications. The MCTS is but one that you will need.

You should probably also get the Microsoft MCSE and/or MCSA. The ICS CISSP. And the ITIL.

There are others, but if you have those, you'll be evidencing a broad range of IT expertise that will be useful, generally. Then, in addition, if the particular IT job in which you end-up requires additional specialist certification, then you can get that, too (hopefully at the expense of your employer who requires it of you).

Then, whenever (if ever) you're interested in a masters in IT, here's something really cool of which you should be aware...

There's a big (and fully-accredited, fully-legitimate) university in Australia which has partnered with Microsoft and several other vendors to structure distance learning degrees which include various certifications; and in which degrees, considerable amounts of credit may be earned simply by acquiring said certifications. It's WAY cool.

One can, for example, get up to half of the credit toward a Masters degree in information technology by simply getting an MCSE (though the exams which make it up must be certain ones which correspond with the university's courses). I've always said that if one were going to get an MCSE, first consult the web site of this university and make sure that one takes the specific MCSE exams that this school requires so that if ever one later decided to enter said school's masters program, one will have already earned up to half its degree's credits by simply having the MCSE under his/her belt. Is that cool, or what?

I wouldn't rely on them over experience (which is far and away the most valuable asset out there) but they are worth pursuing especially if you don't feel like you have enough experience and need to demonstrate that you have the necessary skills to land a position as a developer.

If you are going to pursue a certification, I would recommend going after the MCSD (Web Applications Track) as it is a very recent certification that focuses on several emerging technologies that will still be very relevant (if not more-so) in the coming years. You'll pick up the MCTS along the way and then you'll have both of those under your belt. MCPD would be very difficult to achieve based on the short time constraints (passing four quite difficult tests within just a few months is feasible, but I don't believe that it is worth it since it will be "retired" soon after).

No job experience at all is necessary for any of the Microsoft Certifications, you can take them at any time as long as you feel confident enough with the materials of the specific exam you should be fine. The tests are quite difficult by most standards and typically cover large amounts of material, but with what it sounds like a good bit of time to study and prepare you should be fine.

Certifications, in addition to degrees, are so important in the IT field, now, that one may almost no longer get a job in that field without both. The certifications, though, are so important that one who has a little IT experience can get a pretty good job even without a degree as long as he has all the right certs. But don't do that. Definitely get the degree... and not merely an associates. Get the bachelors in IT; and make sure it's from a "regionally" accredited school.

Then get the certs I mentioned (being mindful, if you think you'll ever get an IT masters, to take the specific exams that that Strut masters program requires so that you'll have already earned up to half the credit just from the certs).

If you already have two years of experience in working in the .NET environment, a certification isn't going to guarantee that you will get employed, a salary increase or any other bonuses for achieving the honor. However, it can help supplement your resume by indicating that you are familiar with specific technologies enough to apply them in real-world applications to solve problems.

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6 ways 'shadow IT' can actually help IT

Users love shadow IT, but IT departments hate the very idea. It doesn't have to be that way.
In most IT departments, the very words "shadow IT" conjure visions of out-of-control users merrily spreading sensitive data on insecure services and unapproved devices, risking huge losses and costing IT personnel lost sleep. From the CIO to the help desk, IT folks typically make their disdain clear to any user who will listen.

But most users aren't listening. They're too busy riding the wave of slick cloud-based apps and services and powerful consumer-oriented devices to do their work faster, easier, and cheaper than they can with the outmoded enterprise offerings available through official channels. They see shadow IT as essential to achieving maximum productivity.

Is there any way to resolve this fundamental disconnect? For shadow IT to provide real benefits to both users and the IT department?
I have long been convinced there was, so when Wayne Byrne, director of product at cloud provider KeyedIn, wanted to discuss the biggest threats from shadow IT, I changed gears and asked for his opinion on the biggest opportunities presented by shadow IT. Here's what he came up with:

Productivity. "You can't manage absolutely everything," Byrne said. You have to have a release valve for the things users care about most. Users are often stuck between a rock and a hard place, he noted, but "not getting the job done is not an option…A salesperson might get in trouble for using an unapproved app to manage his leads, but he'll definitely get fired if he doesn't make his numbers." If your company is still using clunky "dinosaurs" like Microsoft Sharepoint or Lotus Notes, Byrne said, they're wasting productivity.

Worker buy-in. The hard truth is that many shadow IT tools really do perform better than the company-approved alternatives, at least by the criteria that matter to users. Letting them use tools that make sense can generate a huge amount of user trust, buy-in, and enthusiasm—which can carry over to official solutions. Younger employees in particular are less willing to use bad technology just because the company mandates it. "Bringing employees into the IT conversation can be helpful for everyone," Byrne said.

Visibility. Shadow IT provides a window into what employees really need to do, and a peek at possible solutions. "It's a little like skunkworks," Byrne said. You can see what people need and what might work without having to spin up a massive IT project. If employees try various social collaboration tools, for example, seeing which ones are most popular and why could help IT choose the company's preferred solution to integrate and support.

Testing and troubleshooting. It can be difficult for IT to properly test and troubleshoot new applications and services unless they're being used at scale. Shadow IT can provide a base of users to test possible approved and managed solutions without a formal IT rollout. That's particularly helpful for testing the potential for user adoption. "The best proof that someone will use something," Byrne said, "is that they're already using it." Byrne recommended setting up a "sand box" where users can try out solutions they're interested in without causing problems, and IT can track the results.

Mobile. The key here, Byrne said, is to "bring Darth Vader to the light side of the Force" by offering users a flexible range of choices and devices. Give them access to the features and devices they want, but on a proper Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) system that can protect their data, include automated kill switches, and so on. Perhaps closer to BYOD than pure shadow IT, this point is still a step toward recognizing the value of letting employees find their own solutions.

Email and Microsoft Office. Many corporate email systems are so antiquated and insecure that even cloud-based consumer-oriented services offer an improvement, Byrne said. Older email systems often back up email on the smartphone, he said, creating security risks if the device is lost or stolen. Similarly, collaborating on Microsoft Office apps can be inherently insecure. Before you criticize shadow IT too much, be sure that your corporate system isn't worse, he concluded.

Let's hope most companies' existing corporate solutions aren't so bad that shadow IT alternatives represent improvements even in the areas that IT cares about most, like security and manageability. But even if your company isn't in such dire technological straights, there's still a lot to be gained by finding ways to embrace shadow IT instead of automatically trying to stamp it out.

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Weird science: The 10 oddest tech stories of 2014

Online telepaths, culinary AI, criminal drones -- the tech world was full of offbeat surprises this year

Weird science: The 10 oddest tech stories of 2014
Every now and again, strange events from the world of high tech bubble over to the general news cycle and make headlines for a day or two. No doubt these crossover hits favor reports that enforce the general populace's sentiment that technologists are fringe lunatics with their eyes on our collective future demise. This phenomenon has become more common in recent years as the intersections of technology and pop culture have become busier and more crowded. In 2014, plenty of technology weirdness cycled through the "odd news" section of mainstream media outlets. But for the real connoisseur of weird tech news, there's a very specific sweet spot.

It concerns those instances in which emerging technology seems to misbehave, wandering to places we don't anticipate, thereby generating a moment of cognitive dissonance. Here we take a look at 10 of the weirder tech stories of 2014, featuring online telepaths, moonlighting artificial intelligences, and criminal drones. And now, here's the news....

IBM creates AI foodie chef
Advances in artificial intelligence and cognitive computing continued to make headlines in 2014, with Johnny Depp getting all transcendent and ex-"Jeopardy" champ AI Watson doing on-the-fly Twitter translations and demonstrating its first machine learning API. IBM launched another cognitive computing initiative earlier this year, partnering with the Institute of Culinary Education to create what is essentially a hipster foodie AI chef.

Designed to think, experiment, and learn, the computer chef has generated recipes like Belgian Bacon Pudding, Swiss-Thai Asparagus Quiche, and the deeply disturbing Austrian Chocolate Burrito. The foods, prepared by a team of carbon-based chefs, have been touring around to industry events in the IBM Food Truck -- three words that really should never appear in sequence.

3D printer hacked into tattoo machine
"Trypanophobia" is the medical term for fear of needles, and for us dedicated tryanophobes, this may be the scariest tech story of the year. Back in April, a group of psychotic French design students hacked a commercial 3D-printing machine and added, yes, an actual tattoo gun.

Check out the accompanying video and you'll see that the machine pretty much works how you think it might. A young insane person volunteer sticks his arm into the tattoo machine, whereupon his flesh is inked automatically by the computer-controlled needle, in place of the printer's original extruder. In case you're interested in making your own tattoo machine, the team has posted full instructions on the hack at Instructables.

Fans of Franz Kafka will note that “In the Penal Colony” got a little less metaphoric

Robot hitchhikes across Canada
Then there's the curious case of the Canadian hitchhiking robot. In July, researchers from a pair of Canadian universities deployed hitchBOT onto the highways of the Great White North, where the experimental 'bot ultimately traveled from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Victoria, British Columbia -- hitchhiking the entire way.

The project was part of a larger research study concerning the utility of social robots and the psychology of human kindness. Using its LED-screen face to petition for rides, hitchBOT made the coast-to-coast trip in 21 days, plugging into cars' cigarette lighters to recharge, posting videos on social media, and relying on the kindness of strangers. Canada, generally regarded as the planet's nicest nation-state, may be the only country where this could have worked.

University builds city of robot cars
More from the robotics desk: Back in May, an odd little news story started making the rounds about a fake city sprouting up in southern Michigan. Designed by engineers and robotics researchers at the University of Michigan, the 32-acre simulated city center is intended to be a future home for hundreds of autonomous robots.

Well, sort of. The Mobility Transformation Facility is a test site for the future of automated vehicles and self-driving cars and trucks. Situated only a few dozen miles from the original Motor City of Detroit, the ersatz metropolis will eventually include a four-lane freeway, merge lanes, stoplights, a railroad crossing, and even mechanical bicyclists and pedestrians.

Drug-smuggling drone crashes outside of prison
Probably the single most prevalent tech topic in 2014, drones made for weird news throughout the year -- from controversial FAA decisions to eerie footage of Chernobyl to insanely great Halloween projects.

In July, authorities at the maximum security Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina reported on a new and potentially problematic drone development. It seems someone attempted to fly a small drone loaded with contraband -- marijuana, tobacco, and mobile phones -- over the walls and into the prison yard. The scheme didn't work, though. The drone crashed short of the prison walls.

Smartphones are the new plumage
Sometimes the worlds of hard science and social science converge to make news in a weirdo, Venn diagram kind of way. Such was the case in October when researchers at the University of Würzburg in Germany released a report that was both intriguing and entirely predictable. According to the study, men who are single or in uncommitted relationships are more likely to purchase high-end smartphones than other men.

The phones are a mating signal of sorts, the researchers conjecture, intended to communicate that the bearer of the phone has sufficient resources to provide for potential partners. "Studies have suggested that, as part of short-term mating strategies, men are particularly willing to engage in conspicuous consumption to attract mates," according to the research abstract. The full report will be published early next year in the prestigious quarterly journal Incredibly Obvious Things We Get Paid to Quantify.

Scientists test Internet telepathy
Another odd trend in 2014 involved news stories about an emerging kind of online telepathy -- really. In November, researchers at the University of Washington sent direct brain-to-brain transmissions over the Internet in which one test subject was able to move the hand of another, simply by thinking about it.

In a similar study back in August, scientists from several different countries employed Internet-linked neural devices to essentially broadcast one person's thoughts to other people around the world. The single-word thoughts (like "hola" and "ciao") were detected by electroencephalogram units, translated into binary code, then reassembled in the receivers' brains by way of transcranial magnetic stimulation technology.

Google Glass app promises brainwave control
In yet another variation on the theme, an intriguing open source app surfaced over the summer that -- in terms of strict dictionary definition -- appears to give users telekinetic powers. The MindRDR system uses Google Glass plus a commercially available EEG headset to let users take pictures and post social media -- using brainwaves.

The dermal patch on the headset can be positioned to detect when you're concentrating hard on a particular image in your field of view. When the displayed indicator reaches a threshold, MindRDR snaps a pic via the Glass camera and uploads it automatically to whatever online destination you've previously chosen. When news broke about MindRDR in July, nerdier observers noted that the effect is arguably telekinetic -- you're effecting change in the material world by the power of thought. Jean Grey would be proud.

Smartphone chip beams real hologram
Speaking of nerdy, the new "Star Wars" trailer has fans geeking out yet again, nearly 40 (!) years after the first film's debut. That movie featured one of the most iconic images in all of science fiction: R2-D2 projecting a free-floating hologram of Princess Leia imploring Obi Wan Kenobi, "You're my only hope."

Hope for actual free-floating holograms has waned in the years since -- the technology is further away than the Death Star, it seems. Or maybe not. In June, the Wall Street Journal reported on a low-profile but impressively funded project to create a hologram projector chip small enough to fit into a smartphone. The report even featured video evidence -- a short clip of the technology generating a 3D hologram of floating dice.

Letterman hosts hologram musical guest
In the absence of actual free-floating holograms, you can always rely on show business to bring you the next best thing. In October, the indefatigable David Letterman welcomed his first hologram musical guest: the Japanese pop star sensation known as Hatsune Miku.

The technology behind this particular brand of hologram is similar to that used for famous previous appearances by, for example, hologram Tupac. The image appears to be free-floating, but it's actually projected onto a transparent 2D surface. Hatsune Miku's "voice," meanwhile, is synthesized from vocal samples. Nevertheless, the virtual pop star is regularly booked in theaters and arenas. Hatsune Miku's name, by the way, translates roughly to "First Sound From the Future." There you go.

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