[m_for_monkey]

"[...]it appears from the FAQ page that it will be possible to undertake the open course and then pay a “modest” fee to demonstrate mastery of the subject matter and be credentialled with an MIT award."

Not true. For the "modest fee" they'll give an MITx certificate. The FAQ clearly states this: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/mitx-faq-1219

[Mvandenbergh]

I guess the value of that will depend on how those certificates are perceived. If you're hiring a coder who is entirely self taught, and you see a few of these certificates in the kind of basic CS areas that are often lacking among entirely self taught programmers, it might sway a hiring decision a bit one way or the other.