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Like many workplace professionals I have long harbored the desire to obtain accreditation and certification in many of the Microsoft and A+ fields. A friend of mine slipped me the CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide shortly before the holidays with little more than a wink and a nod. As many of you can empathize with, my holiday season was filled with many hours of road and plane trips visiting various familial groups. Frankly if it weren't for said monotonous travel times I probably would have never picked up the book. Its one thing to say you want to prepare for an exam and another to pick up the 800+ page study guide. Several hours into my read, I was glad I did. While I may be a newcomer to the certification field, I'm by no means a layman to computer-related study and preparatory guides. I have spent many an hour at the local mega book store perusing the offerings of the major companies and have, almost universally, found them to be sloppily and spasmodically written and filled with superfluous information that was more in line with A+ theory than A+ application. Not so with this guide, the authors say it best themselves "This book was written with one goal in mind: to prepare you for the challenges of the real IT world, not just pass the A+ exams." They weren't kidding. I learned, not only how to pass the exam but application of the exam's knowledge in a common-sense fashion. Everything in the guide is streamlined information delivery, always prefaced with easily understood `Real-World Scenarios' and memory aiding `Hands-On-Exercises'. The CD, which I initially had a little trouble running, is packed with close to an hour and a half of instructional video so not only could I read about tasks but see them performed real time. The combination of these features didn't just `bring the class-room to the reader' as so many study guides claim but it brought me into the guide. It didn't just feel like I was studying it, the videos, combined with a little exploratory action in my own old pc, made it feel like I was actually doing it. You will learn with CompTIA's latest A+ Complete Study Guide, I did.
As noted by some readers here, there were indeed problems with one of the CDs that accompanied this book. The problem was traced to a compilation error that affected users of the latest version of Flash. The problem has now been fixed, and the corrected software is available for download from the errata link on the book's main page on the Sybex web site. The correct CD will also be included in subsequent reprints. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our customers. Neil Edde Vice President & Publisher Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley
I received my copy on Jan. 20, 2007 from Amazon, it has a 2007 copyright date. I tried all functions supplied on the CR-ROM. Apparently the problems others had with the SYBEX TEST ENGINE have been successfully resolved! I did not download anything, the TEST questions that I tried all worked fine from the CD supplied. I also tried the SYBEX TEST ENGINE DEMO for another Series, Microsoft DBA in this case, & the test qs worked fine also. I also was able to view the book text using Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Electronic Book option & use the Flash Cards from the CD. I tried downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader from the CD & had problem but I already had the Reader installed, I just wanted to see if version 7.0.9 was included, I had problem loading 7.0.9 previously from Internet so this may not be a problem with CD process. My system was built in 1999, 500MH with 256MB RAM, running Windows XP Pro, so people with newer systems should be fine. Book appears to be well-written & organized. I also have "HP IT Essentials I" copyright 2005 by Cisco Press to compare it to, we're using it as text in college course to prepare for A+ exam. The "CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide" appears to be better book, but Cisco book may have been updated & CORRECTED, I hope, we've found many errors in it as we used it in a previous course. Maybe I can pass the A+ exam with both guides!
I used only this book and Thompson Course Technology CompTIA A+ 2006 Q&A book to study for the A+ certification exams. I did not attend any classes or use any other study materials. I passed both the 220-601 Essentials exam and 220-602 IT Technician exam on the first try with a score of 840 on each. The CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide is quite comprehensive in my opinion. It covers many topics and will make a good reference book now that my study is finished. Each chapter includes a 20 question practice test (also included on the CD) over the material in that chapter. The included CD has three 60-question practice tests for each of the A+ exams. I worked every practice test until I could do them without making mistakes. The Thompson A+ 2006 Q&A book provided several hundred more practice test questions and was a good supplement to the Docter book as it forced me to go back and re-read some sections in order to answer the additional questions. The CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide does have a few problems. I found a number of typos and some of the answers to practice test questions are wrong (although I guess if you can tell the answer is wrong you are learning the material.) Also, I had trouble getting the practice test engine on the CD to run. Had to go to the CD publisher's web site (Wiley) to download an updated test engine. Overall, I am satisfied with this book and accompanying software. It got me up-to-speed on the material that is tested on the A+ exams. Given the cost of some A+ training products and classes, the book is a bargain.
I bought this book with the intentions of learning how to pass the A+ exam. When i got it, i was really surprised how thick it was. At 800+ pages, it looks a little daunting. After picking the book up and reading it, i was pleasantly surprised. The book flows very well and is an easy read. I already know most of it, but i can see it being easy for a beginner to pick up. As far as the CD, i didn't have any problems at all with the test engine, and the E-book is a nice addition. At around 100mb, you can throw the Ebook on a thumbdrive and take it to work with you and keep reading there.
Friedman is brilliant. He’s got an amazing way of synthesizing massive amounts...
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