Reviews (35)

Good Book
Good Book
this product is awesome,but ull need extra help to get cert.
this product is awesome,but ull need extra help to get cert.
Overall bad book
This book desrevd two stars becaiuse it is specially organized for exam, compared to all other books, therefore trying to cover every topic.
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Subjects:  1. Business Software - General    2. Certification    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books: Languages    5. Computers    6. Computers - Accounting Packages    7. Electronic data processing per    8. Electronic data processing personnel    9. Examinations    10. Microcomputer Application Software    11. Microsoft .NET    12. Microsoft software    13. Object-Oriented Programming    14. Programming - General    15. Programming - Object Oriented Programming    16. Study guides    17. C & Visual C    18. Computers / Technical Skills    19. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (2)

Better than online help
I've been fiddling with Excel for a couple of months now, and this book has made it easier to understand.

Cuts to the chase!
Having to learn new versions of data manipulators can be a nightmare when your deadlines are gone before you're given a project -- this gem cuts to the chase!Without a lot of fanfare, tells you exactly what to do, withjust enough pictures to let you know you're in the right place.It'sfilled in a lot of blanks, and I'm now ordering the Access 2000 version. Try it, you'll like it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Books: Spreadsheets    4. Computer programs    5. Computers    6. Computers - Spreadsheets    7. Electronic spreadsheets    8. Microsoft Excel    9. Microsoft Excel (Computer file    10. Spreadsheets - Excel    11. Computers / Spreadsheets / General    12. Excel   

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - General    2. Computer Books: Database    3. Computers    4. Computers - Certification    5. Database Engineering    6. Database Management - General    7. Database Management - SQL Server    8. Tests    9. Computers / Technical Skills    10. Databases & data structures    11. SQL    12. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

Reviews (2)

Good base
This is a good book, it will get you studying in the right direction.The contents do cover what you will expect in the 70-297 test however I strongly suggest that in addition to this book you use an online test preparation tool (I used Self Test).You will need the practice when facing the verbose (-vv) questions on the test.
Excellent Study Guide!
This book was excellent in preparing for the 70-297 exam.Each chapter introduces new concepts, and builds upon the previous chapters in a very logical and easy to understand method.There are many real world examples, and great practice questions for review after each chapter.The CD included with the book has excellent additional materials as well.I would purchase more books from Brad Price and Sybex for my future study needs!A+ all around. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - MCSE    2. Client-Server Computing - Windows    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Operating Systems - General    7. Computers / Technical Skills    8. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (21)

Renewed Faith
After attempting to read the MS study guide, I had come to the conclusion that the Microsoft Solutions Framework was just a bunch of UML rebranding, hastily cut and pasted together by lone wolf code hacks with no interest in organized software development.This book has led me to believe that I may be wrong.It IS a bunch of UML rebranding, but MSF still forms a lucid useful framework.
Digital Rights Management - I am not a thief!
Careful about the eBook version of this book. I downloaded it at home, and unbeknownst to me activated it. When I took it to work via USB drive, it complained it was already activated.My workplace proxy firewall won't let me re-activate it.
Good Info but not for Test
Just got back from the test.I failed it.Not because I didn't have the proper knowledge....I was passing every practice test in the book...but because, for whatever reason, this book did not prepare me for the questions actually asked on the test. Due to NDA, I can't get any more specific than that. Wonderful book for anyone wanting a quick overview (400+ pages) but not the tool for passing the test.I've been developing in .NET for 6 yrs now. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business Software - General    2. Certification    3. Certification Guides - General    4. Computer Books And Software    5. Computer architecture    6. Computers    7. Computers - Certification    8. Electronic data processing per    9. Electronic data processing personnel    10. Examinations    11. Microcomputer Application Software    12. Microsoft software    13. Programming - General    14. Study guides    15. Tests    16. Computers / Technical Skills    17. Microsoft Windows    18. Programming languages   

Reviews (19)

Oblivion and Perdition
I purchased this book with the expectation that it would help me prepare for the exam. The CD provides practice exams and other resources to give one the impression they are on their way to certification. However, there are numerous errors in the book as well as on the CD, particularly with the "Edge Test" software, which incorrectly grades tests and does not allow users to select the right answers. This issue is actually moot, since the practice tests actually do not address problems presented in the certification exam. I recommend using the on-line resources affiliated with the testing organizations. They also provide discounted vouchers.

A very useful book despite all the errors!
Let me just get it out of the way by mentioning first that this book contains many errors - perhaps more than an average technical book.However, most are typographical and do not degrade the value of the book that much.
The best book to start
This book was a good way to start studying for the exam. After finishing the book you are almost ready.
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - MCSE    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Database Management - General    7. Database Management - SQL Server    8. Electronic data processing per    9. Electronic data processing personnel    10. Examinations    11. Microsoft software    12. Programming Languages - SQL    13. Relational Databases    14. Sql (Programming Language)    15. Study guides    16. Computers / Technical Skills    17. Database software    18. Databases & data structures    19. SQL   

Reviews (20)

Good Resource for XML Editing
I have found "Developing XML Web Services and Server Components with Microsoft VB.NET" an invaluable tool in XML editor development. It is quite detailed about accessing and manipulating XML data.

More confusing
I was reading it as first book for most of the topics, It was total waste of time to read it.
Very Poorly Written
Judging by the positive reviews, this book must have some merit but it is certainly not in the quality of its writing or its accuracy.Perhaps the editor was reassigned to Longhorn duties.Here are some examples of what you can expect in the first two chapters:
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - MCSD    3. Computer Books And Software    4. Computer Networks    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Desktop Publishing    8. Electronic data processing per    9. Electronic data processing personnel    10. Examinations    11. Internet - General    12. Internet - World Wide Web    13. Microsoft .NET Framework    14. Microsoft software    15. Programming Languages - Visual BASIC    16. Programming Languages - XML    17. Study guides    18. Tests    19. Computer Programming    20. Computers / Database Management / General    21. World Wide Web (WWW)   

Reviews (14)

Not perfect, but still a great study tool
Before you do anything, make sure you are looking at the 2nd Edition of this book.If the top of the book does not say "Updated For Windows Server 2003 R2", then this review will probably not be helpful.
Another good one from Sybex
This book is a very good guide if you are looking to take the 70-290 exam. The topics covered align with what is covered on the exam but as always, you should use several sources when preparing for an exam.

A great book, but you will need more references to pass the exam
Sybex books are usually my favourite books for the exam.
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Certification Guides - MCSE    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Computers - Communications / Networking    8. Electronic data processing personnel    9. Examinations    10. Microsoft Windows (Computer software)    11. Microsoft software    12. Networking - General    13. Study guides    14. Utilities    15. Computing and Information Technology    16. Operating systems & graphical user interfaces (GUIs)    17. Study Aids / Study Guides   

Reviews (2)

Average, not more. Cut and paste from 2000 Pro?
I teach at a small college and just gave a course on XP from this book. My impression is that this is a repackaged Windows 2000 Pro book, updated with XP Pro screen shots. Since the two systems are so similiar, this approach works most of the time.
Kibble and bits, no real meat.
With so many unclear and shallow explanations and very little effort in actually teaching, and instead packaging a scrambled mess of facts and information; this book has left me disappointed and unsatisfied.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Operating Systems    4. Networking - General    5. Operating Systems - General    6. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (17)

MCDBA, MCSE, MCSD, MCAD Training Guide
The book met the requirements of the course it was being used for... it was how ever a little bit lax on the code portion...when it came to doing the project it left a bit to be desired in clarity of how to build a data base in SQL...

Horrible!!
Why can't authors ever flow through a book in an ordely manner?What is the point of jumping from chapter to chapter?For example, many times through out this book references are being made to up coming chapters about specific topics in chapters that don't belong there.Why do you tell the reader about an up coming topic in a chapter that doesn't belong there and then ask a question about it in the chapter test.Why even make a chapter about that specific topic if your going to include it in a chapter that doesn't belong there?Thats a little redundent!!Also the author likes to give you examples on how to do certain things the right way, and then tests you on something he never covered in the chapter.If the topic has nothing to do with the chapter, do not include in the chapter.If you do include it into a chapter in which it doesn' belong, don't include it into the chapter test.How do you expect the reader to completely understand and answer the question if he or she knows nothing about it?Unless, your wanting the reader to stop what there doing, flip to the chapter and read it, then go back to the previous chapter your testing on just for that one little question that doesn't belong.Rediculous!!

Good, but not as dead on as others in the series
I just passed the 70-229 exam this morning with an 862. My study strategy involved reading this book cover to cover over a 2 week period and taking some uCertify practice exams.
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Certification Guides - MCSE    4. Computer Books: Database    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Database Management - General    8. Database Management - SQL Server    9. Database design    10. Electronic data processing per    11. Electronic data processing personnel    12. Examinations    13. Microsoft software    14. Relational Databases    15. Study Guides    16. Computers / Technical Skills    17. Database software    18. Databases & data structures    19. SQL   

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - MCSE    2. Computer Bks - Certification    3. Computer Books: Web Programming    4. Computers - Certification    5. Database Management - SQL Server    6. Computers / Networking / General    7. Education   

Reviews (7)

Excellent book
I am a newbie to the IT field. I have no experience whatsoever with WIN2000 products. I am familiar with WIN98SE that is it. So I was a little worried about a self-paced program. I ordered the book. Best decision I could have made. If I find the book easy to follow then you will too. Do I recommend you use this book exclusively to take your test? Of course not. Instructor led classrooms wouldn't and neither should you. However, if you are planning to prepare for the certifications on your own and are willing to use the information available on the WWW or at the library to supplement your studies then I highly recommend this book. I have not taken the test yet. I'm still not ready, but I KNOW that I will do well with the help of this book. Good luck to you in your own studies. We'll be collegues soon enough!

terrible
Common sense tells us that who would know more about a product then it's inventors. Who whould be better to teach us about that product then the inventors. Well Microsoft has not and does not believe in common sense. you rely on this book to pass the test or to know anything pratical about 2000 and buddy you're in for a world of hurt. It leaves out significant details and aspects of 2000 that are need for a complete understanding of 2000. Yes, what little detail and knowledge it prvides are accurate, but they are so few. Old Billy Gates again with a half attempt like everything he does. It seems their idea of common sense is: Well we charge $135 a test and sell the book for $45 and since they'll never pass the test on the first or second try then we'll make a bundle. Save your money and save your time. Buy the Sybex book for preparation for the test.

by FAR, the worst certification book i've ever read
this book is by far the worst certification book i have ever been through.it is not simply worse than the rest, it is orders of magnitude worse.concepts that are glanced over are covered in detail on the test.this happens multiple times.the only reason i passed the test is because of the study questions i practiced with.there is no excuse for not covering the information, since microsoft also wrote the test.they know what is going to be asked.they should cover it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Certification Guides - MCSE    4. Certification Guides - Msce    5. Computer Books: Operating Systems    6. Computers    7. Computers - Certification    8. Electronic data processing per    9. Electronic data processing personnel    10. Examinations    11. Microcomputer Operating Environments    12. Microsoft Windows (Computer file)    13. Microsoft software    14. Operating Systems - Windows    15. Operating Systems - Windows 2000    16. Study guides    17. Tests    18. Computers / General    19. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (3)

Out of touch
After finishing the 70-290 book in the set and taking the exam, I am shocked at how "out of touch" this book is with the actual exam.Topics that were barely touched upon in the book ended up being huge sections in the test and vice versa.I started buying Sybex cert books because of how well the CCNA book was done and how it actually related to the exam.I'm hoping the other books in this kit are a little more up to par.

Good, but you'll need more to pass the tests...
I'm pretty fond of the Sybex books--They're well written and tend to explain things fairly well, however these books are often lacking in detail.The books don't cover some topics at all (ie: Expect a visual basic question in 70-291, yet it's not covered at all in the book) and the upper level books really rehash some of the earlier topics by a copy and paste methodology.For instance, although some topics in 70-293 overlap 70-291, it focuses on planning, which rehashing the 70-291 material doesn't help with.New topics in 70-293 are barely covered (Just 30 pages for clustering, which deserves much more!)I've taken to reading these books first as an overview, then reading the MS-Press titles for the nitty gritty details.The included questions are weak, expect questions about 5 times as difficult on the actual exams...The 70-294 book is about 420 pages, while the MS Press title for 70-294 is almost twice as thick...Not that MS Press titles are good reading, the assume you already know what they're talking about.The point--I haven't found a silver bullet for these certs, but these are a good start.

Excellent!! A SOLID foundation for a BIG field.
I'm probably unusual, because I bought this kit AND the upgrade book. However, this kit was just indispensible, because there are sooo many topics you need to have understood and integrated in order to become an MCSE: Active Directory --sites, domains, users and computer, replication. IIS, remote desktop, resource management. TCP/IP, routing, DNS, DHCP, IPSec. Clustering, certificates, load balancing....You just can't get that kind of understanding casually, or even just by working with certain parts of the OS...you need a full course. Sybex was recommended to me by an instructor in my first class as having the best reputation and being the bestsellers, and I'm glad he told me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - MCSE    2. Client-Server Computing - Windows    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Microcomputer Operating Environments    7. Operating Systems - Windows    8. Programming - Software Development    9. Software Engineering    10. Computers / Technical Skills    11. Computing and Information Technology    12. Microsoft Windows   

Editorial Review

In the certification craze of 1999-2001, tens of thousands of people earned their Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) ratings. Those certifications are expiring now, just as Microsoft is coming out with Windows Server 2003 to replace the Windows 2000 family of operating systems. There may be a real opportunity for those who earn the Windows Server 2003 certification--and that's where Read more

Reviews (31)

MCSE Training Kit
I bought this set a few years back. It consists of four books, one for each of the exams, and a resource cd. While this is an okay set, I was surprised by how little actual information there is with so many books and so many pages. Ultimately, this is not what I ended up using regularly for studying. What I use regularly for studying is Stanek's MCSE Core Exams and Stanek's Windows Server 2003 Inside Out. I use the core exams book for studying and when I have a question or need more indepth, I refer to the other one. Either way, I don't see how this could be used as an only resource (I don't think any single resource could prepare one for the exams either.) At any rate, a combination of resources is what is getting me through: 70-290 done, now I've got 70-291, 70-293 and 70-294 to go.

MCSA recommendation
It is a very usefull package, I recommended for all who wants to bye specialy through Amazon

My review
I was not really surprized by the quality of the products , because Amazon.com have been always doing the best to deliver good products to thier customers. i was really surprized by the delivering time, because i expected it will be later than the expected schedule. the products came in a good shape to the specified P.O Box address with no difficulties.
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Certification Guides - MCSE    4. Certification Guides - Msce    5. Client-Server Computing - Windows    6. Computer Books And Software    7. Computers    8. Computers - Certification    9. Data processing    10. Electronic data processing personnel    11. Examinations    12. Microcomputer Operating Environments    13. Microsoft software    14. Operating Systems - Windows    15. Study guides    16. Tests    17. Computers / General   

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - MCSE    2. Client-Server Computing - Windows    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Communications / Networking    6. Networking - General    7. Computers / Networking / General    8. Microsoft Windows    9. Network security   

Reviews (9)

Very Very confusing book
Sorry for any harsh comments. But the book is so confusing explaining even simple concepts. I got frustrated when he tries to beat around the bush to explain STRONG NAMES.
Good .NET Security book.
This will be the book that you must have if you are a newcomer in .NET Security.The explanations are clear, supported by the author's own experience in the field.Also, the code is easy to follow and straightforward.
I rate the book 5-star without the least hesitation.
I just passed the exam 70-340, and this was the book I used in the last 2 weeks.
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Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - MCSD    3. Computer Books: Languages    4. Computer Data Security    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Electronic data processing per    8. Electronic data processing personnel    9. Examinations    10. Microcomputer Application Software    11. Microsoft .NET    12. Microsoft software    13. Programming - General    14. Programming - Object Oriented Programming    15. Programming Languages - C#    16. Security - General    17. Study guides    18. Computers / Database Management / General   

Editorial Review

Microsoft is in the process of migrating its Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification to the Windows XP and .NET environment, which means you need to be prepared for the new material if you're coming up for renewal or want to earn your MCSE ab initio. Curt Simmons, the author of Read more

Reviews (9)

Passed the Exam using it as guide, but some errors
All in all, with the information in this book plus some hands-on experience, I was able to pass 70-270 without much problem.However, there are several misprints and inaccuracies in the text that I didn't find covered in the "Errata" section on the book's website.
Nice Stuffs on CD-ROM, Easy to Read, but Not Deep Enuf
i am a cisco certified, and graduated and working in data communication field. Makes a great door stop!
This is a very broad overview of the operating system, the test questions are ridiculously easy - how they managed to fill 700+ pages is beyond me!Find a REAL study guide before taking the test!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - MCSE    3. Certification Guides - Msce    4. Client-Server Computing - General    5. Computer Bks - Certification    6. Computer Books: General    7. Computers    8. Computers - Certification    9. Electronic data processing per    10. Electronic data processing personnel    11. Examinations    12. Microcomputer Operating Environments    13. Microsoft Windows (Computer fi    14. Microsoft Windows (Computer file)    15. Operating Systems - Windows    16. Operating Systems - Windows XP    17. Operating systems (Computers)    18. Study guides    19. Computers / Technical Skills    20. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (1)

This book is good!
I found this book to be very useful (and I like the cheapprice). It gets right to the point. You want to find instructions, youcheck the index, and turn to the page where the answer is. Saved me lots of time. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - General    2. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    3. Computers    4. Computers - Word Processing    5. Word Processing - Word    6. Word processing    7. Computers / Word Processing / General    8. Word processing software   

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Msce    2. Client-Server Computing - Windows    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computers    5. Computers - Certification    6. Operating Systems - NT    7. Computers / General    8. Computing and Information Technology    9. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (1)

Max's book reveiw
This book is very user unfriendly and the chapters go into to much detail and are also too long. The chapter summaries at the end of each section are very poorly written and don't discuss the highlights of the material as it should. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Client-Server Computing - General    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - Operating Systems    5. Internet - Web Site Design    6. Networking - General    7. Operating Systems - Windows    8. Computers / Networking / General    9. Microsoft Windows