Reviews (3)

Working on your MCSE? Then get this set of books
This was my sole study guide for the MCSE Server 2003 based certification path, and I was not disappointed.The format is clear and easy to read.The books do a fantastic job of outlining WHY you are learning something, not just WHAT you need to know to pass the exam.I think this is what sets MS Press books apart from the competition: the book itself is structured to the best LEARNING format, and NOT to just passing the exam.I came away from these books with a much greater appreciation for Microsoft's Server and AD technologies (I come from a Linux background since 1995 and I'm the first to knock MS), and these books will be on your reference shelf for years to come -- or at least until the next version of Server ships.
Well Done.
I've belonged to the Unix world since 1993, working with low level stuff as kernel, device drivers, virus, assembly, C, etc.. and now I'm trying to learn Windows a bit and have enough conditions to take all tests (290, 291, 293, 294). No problems. This a very good kit about MS Windows 2003, well written,well organized and deserve 5 stars.
Pretty Good
I would recommend that anyone buying this looks at the publication date as a lot of errata has been corrected in the most recent editions.Orin Thomas has a very useful forum http://www.certtutor.net/
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Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - General    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. General    6. Microcomputer Operating Environments    7. Operating Systems - Windows    8. Programming - Software Development    9. Software Engineering    10. Computers / General    11. Computing and Information Technology    12. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (27)

Good resource that is missing information
While the content that is coveredin the book is covered in very good detail there are gaps between what is tested on (based on the Measure Up practice tests on the compainion CD) and what is covered in the book. This book does not adequately cover IIS (no mentions of virtual directories for example), does not cover CHAP, MS-CHAP, EAP security. Very important details on how to use Sysprep need to be added (How to add additional drivers to sysprep images, building a single image for use on varied hardware).
In depth and easy to read
This book is excellent. While I am pretty well versed in XP, this book is filling in the blanks nicely. The accompanying CD has a PDF of the book and some excellent multimedia presentation files on various subjects.
Substance and Fluff
This book really does cover the most important topics in substantial detail.It's well worth the money in terms of enabling one to prepare for the exam.Just the same, it can put me to sleep like almost no other book - not because the technology is not interesting - but because it reads too much like a technical document with paragraph upon paragraph of hyper-specific, redundant detail such as: review the following questions, if you have difficulty answering them, go back and review this material until you feel comfortable with it, blah blah blah, zzz.This kind of content gets repeated in every section verbatim.Yuck!Just cut out the fat, and we would have at least a good three hundred pages less of fluff.Otherwise, well worth the money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - MCSE    3. Certification Guides - Msce    4. Computer Books: Operating Systems    5. Computers    6. Computers - Certification    7. Computers - Operating Systems    8. Electronic Data Processing    9. Electronic data processing personnel    10. Examinations    11. Microsoft software    12. Operating Systems - Windows    13. Operating Systems - Windows XP    14. Software Engineering    15. Study guides    16. Computers / General    17. Home Computing    18. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (78)

A NATIVE WINDOWS C GUIDING ANGEL

One of the best Window programming books
This book is one of the best because it forms a foundation for everything that comes after. If you want to understand Windows, you have to have it. It doesn't cover advanced topics, but in order to understand advanced Windows programming, you need to understand everything in this book.

Great foundation book
This is a very good book to build your win32 foundation with. But it is rather outdate if you want to make use of the latest windows os and with vista coming out, a new edition needs to be published. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Microcomputer Operating Environments    5. Microsoft Windows (Computer fi    6. Microsoft Windows (Computer file)    7. Operating Systems - Windows    8. Operating systems (Computers)    9. Programming - Software Development    10. Programming Languages - General    11. Computer Programming    12. Computers / General    13. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (8)

Are You Ready for .NET 3.0 Yet?
Just as I was beginning to get a bit of a handle on .NET Version 2.0, along comes .NET 3.0 as part of the new Windows Vista operating system. To be sure, you can run it on XP with SP2 installed after you have installed .NET Framework 3.0. The book presumes that you have experience with .NET 2.0 and with C#. If you do not, the author recommends you read some of his earlier books.
The long awaited Programming Windows, 6th Edition!
This book is the destined to be not only a classic but also the standard for WPF development.It's look and feel is reminiscent of his previous classic: Programming Windows.So much so, in fact, that you could call this his long awaited 6th edition.
The Definitive WPF Book
I have had this book for about 2 weeks now, as Amazon delivered it to me early before the official release.I am a tech book junkie.I buy a lot of tech books.This is the best programming text I have purchased in the last couple of years.Petzold does a great job explaining WPF from both a nuts & bolts prespective and a big picture perspective.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Operating Systems    2. Computer Programming Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. General    7. Operating Systems - Windows    8. Programming - General    9. Programming Languages - C#    10. Programming Languages - General    11. Computers / General   

Reviews (8)

Not for the newbie!
Definitely not for the newbie.This is for the seasoned access programmers.I you are new to programming (at least in access) and are looking for a book on how to program with access, this is not for you.This is a great book for those seasoned programmers who are looking to make their applications better.

Very Solid, useful book for development of Access Applications.
Easy to read first few chapters with basic design info, remainder of the book focuses on complete applications that can serve as a template/best practice for almost any other MS Access application.
I've learned much in the first 3 chapters
As a self-taught Access developer for the past eight years, I have an extensive library of books dealing with beginneing to advanced areas of Access. I bought this book to add to my library, figuring it to be another reference item. However, in a casual browsing of the content, I discovered this book has much more to offer. I was pleasantly surprised to see information on levels of magnitude for linked tables, never having known that the number of sub folders for linked tables can affect the speed of reading from them.
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Subjects:  1. Application software    2. Computer Books: Operating Systems    3. Computers    4. Computers - Data Base Management    5. Database Management - General    6. Database management    7. Desktop Applications - MS Access    8. Development    9. Microcomputer Database Management Software    10. Operating Systems - Windows    11. Access    12. Computers / General    13. Home Computing   

Reviews (5)

A really Solid Quality Book
This book and its companion "T-SQL Programming" are two great books, they are not for beginners and in some part requires a full immersion, they are not an easy reading... but at the end you you will have a really deep understanding of the topics they covers. I've found really useful to read it two times, the second one I've noticed that a lot of sentences takes a new light after you've a whole overview of all the topics. A definitively must have. Both !

If you are only going to buy one SQL Server book...
There are occassions when I like to believe that I can write really smart SQL queries. Then I see the stuff that Itzik Ben-Gan and Steve Kass (the Tecknial Rewiwer of this book) come up with, and I crawl back under my rock.
Learn to speak T-SQL from a master
More so than any other language I can think of SQL is so approachable because it is so logical.Most people can grasp the basics within hours if not minutes.Unfortunately this approachability is often confused with simplicity.Learning SQL may be easy but becoming proficient takes time and guidance.Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: TSQL Querying, part 1 of the 2 part series (Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: TSQL Programming) is so much more than examples of what to do and what not to do.Itzik Ben-Gan takes you behind the editor and inside the engine to teach you the how's and why's.I recently had the good fortune to attend a course given by Itzik Ben-Gan who is a passionate instructor and a recognized expert.Whether it is listening to him speak, reading his articles in SQL Server magazine or reading this fantastic book there is no one more capable to help you hone your SQL skills. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Data Base Management    4. Database Management - SQL Server    5. Operating Systems - NT    6. Programming Languages - SQL    7. Computers / General    8. Database software    9. SQL   

Reviews (16)

Not adequate for the Access certification test.
This book appears to be fine for a general review of the Access topics, but is lacking in detail for the test. I found that the book alone would have been totally inadequate for the certification test. The MeasureUp online training had value, but it too was limited. Access 2003 has a sorting and grouping icon, yet what I found was that I needed to use Access 2000 procedures for this and other MeasureUp tasks, without the newer icons. The MeasureUp study guide was well-presented, yet I faced a culture shock on test day. The questions were formatted differently, the questions significantly different than the way MeasureUp presented them. MeasureUp wrote their questions in a clearer manner than the test, but the problem is that I needed to see the questions as they would be on the test. The text is essentially a step-by-step book, not of test-taking value. I will keep it as a reference, which was not my reason for purchasing it. The MeasureUp training was great, but not related to the actual test.

A useful guide
This is very much a study guide and is not really aimed at the inexperienced user.It presumes a lot of knowledge and focuses on preparation of the exam elements only.If you need in depth knowledge then there are better books (QUE, other Microsoft products).As a refresher for the exams I have found it to be excellent.It can highlight the areas needing more study and its exercises get your mindset into the MOS exam process.I would recommend it as part of your arsenal in preparing for the MOS exams.

Great Start for Beginners!
Simple, straight forward, easy to understand and follow. The practice exercises are really helping you to master the skills of office. Better reading this book with a computer which has Office2003 on it, so that you can try it yourself once you learn something new. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business    2. Business Software - MSOffice    3. Certification    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer programs    6. Computers    7. Electronic data processing per    8. Electronic data processing personnel    9. Examinations    10. Microsoft Office    11. Microsoft software    12. Operating Systems - Windows    13. Professional - General    14. Study Guides    15. Computers / General    16. Home Computing   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (28)

Dummy No More
This book is well written and well laid out. It can be used as a reference or as a learning tool for those less knowledgeable on computer stuff. I just advanced from Windows 98 and this made the leap/transition much easier and less confounding.

"REAL DUMMIE" BEFORE..WITH THIS BOOK,MAKES A BEGINNER FEEL LESS LIKE A "DUMMIE"
MY FIRST COMPUTER...(DID NOT HELP THAT THE COMPUTER WAS A LEMON, AND THE COMPANY REPLACED IT)I NOT ONLY DID NOT UNDERSTAND "COMPUTER" LANGUAGE, I DID NOT EVEN KNOW HOW TO TURN IT OFF WITH OR WITHOUT POWER-BUTTON.ANY ONE WANTING TO KNOW "HOW TO" SHOULD GET THIS BOOK.LIKE IT SAYS..YOU DON'T SIT AND READ IT LIKE A NOVEL...YOU HAVE A QUESTION...YOU LOOK IT UP IN THE BOOK...NOW IF SOMEONE WOULD COME UP WITH A COMPUTER DICTIONARY FOR ALL THE TERMS ETC. USED IN "COMPUTER LANGUAGE"!!!!BUY THIS...YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

Its not a teaching book.
The book for the most part is having a discussion with you about Windows XP.Offering comments or critiques.It is not a book that I would recommend for learning via book.A Few areas actually go into depth.I see it as a PowerPoint presentation discussion about basics XP and should have been sold as.It lacked detail in networking and wireless needed for many user/owner issues. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Operating Systems    2. Computer operating systems    3. Computers    4. Computers - Operating Systems    5. Microsoft Windows (Computer fi    6. Microsoft Windows (Computer file)    7. Microsoft Windows (Computer so    8. Microsoft Windows (Computer software)    9. Operating Systems - NT    10. Operating Systems - Windows XP    11. Operating systems (Computers)    12. Computer Hardware & Operating Systems    13. Computers / Operating Systems / NT   

Reviews (92)

Good things, bad things...
Good:
Good, but too much fluff...
I've been a Server OS administrator since 1991, starting with Novell 3.12. I started with OS2, Novell and then Windows NT in 1995 at the second largest retailer in the US and I've worked my way through NT 3.5 to 2003. I bought Minasi's NT 4.0 books and thought they were the greatest thing going, but I was still green and the other publishers were not up to speed. Now I own the Windows Server 2003 books Inside Out, Unleashed and Administrators Companion. I have read much of Minasi's 2003 book, but I doubt I'll buy it. I have to say that Minasi's writing style now forces serious administrators to waste a great deal of time wading through the fluff. His book is one of, if not the thickest and it's not because of the technical information. Just like his articles in magazine publications, his writing is oriented towards new or amateur administrators. I think if you have 2 of, or the 3 books I mentioned previously, you can skip Minasi's Server 2003 book. The single area where Mark has an edge over the other books is his discussion of compatibility with older, downlevel or non-MS workstation client OSes such as DOS, Mac, Workstation, etc. This same information was covered in his earlier NT 4.0 and Win2000 books, so if you have any of them, you're ok there.

A response to Joaquin Menchaca from an Apple Certified Tech Coordinator
You know, there are times I despair at the treatment of Macintoshes in Windows-centric books. Obsolete information, badly written explanations of Mac technology, and general "macs can't do that" comments. I'll flip through Windows books at the store and shudder at the nonsense they spread about Macs.
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Subjects:  1. Client-Server Computing - General    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer operating systems    4. Computers    5. Computers - Communications / Networking    6. Internet - General    7. Microcomputer Application Software    8. Microcomputer Operating Environments    9. Microsoft Windows server    10. Operating Systems - General    11. Operating Systems - Windows    12. Operating systems (Computers)    13. Programming - General    14. Computer Communications & Networking    15. Computers / Operating Systems / NT    16. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (2)

Very good learning version
This affordable version of SPSS allows students to learn how to use SPSS without investing a large amount of money on the full version ($600 or so).This version is limited in the number of variables and cases it can store, so students looking to perform serious analysis would be better off to purchase the SPSS Graduate Pack.

Not for graduate students
Unfortunately I didn't see the part about the student version being limited to 50 variables and 1500 cases until I'd bought it.The class I'm taking uses far more variables than that.I am wiser now.
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Subjects:  1. Mathematics    2. Microcomputer Operating Environments    3. Operating Systems - Windows    4. Probability & Statistics - General    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Statistical Methods In The Social Sciences    8. Statistics    9. Mathematical & statistical software    10. Mathematics / Statistics   

Reviews (3)

Absolutely superb
I am a huge ADO.NET nut and David's first book was absolutely priceless. After his last book, he set a very high bar that was going to be hard to meet, yet that's exactly what he did.
Good, but not as good as his former book
I was just a tad bit disappointed because his former book was so helpful to me. Still a lot of users who develop windows form applications use Access, but I see the big push to make everything SQL server. Though I like SQL Server, but in most small apps for what I do it is highly unnecessary.
Accessing a Database from the .NET Environment
This book is intended for people writing data access code in a Microsoft .NET application.ADO (Active Data Object) .NET is a set of libraries within the Microsoft .NET framework that helps you to communicate with various data sources from .NET applications.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Operating Systems    2. Computers    3. Computers - General Information    4. General    5. Microcomputer Application Software    6. Operating Systems - Windows    7. Programming - General    8. Computers / General   

Reviews (7)

A Must Have
I have seen some reviews that said this can't be used to learn Photoshop from the ground up, but that is untrue, because I used this book to teach myself Photoshop with absolutely no prior knowledge whatsoever, and it does a wonderful job of explaining everything. It pretty much covers everything, and I consider it a must have. The only reason it may not be for someone is if they don't learn well from just reading; that, I admit, is a downside of this book. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand what they are talking about by just reading the instructions. If you are sitting by the computer though, it's very easy to follow step by step. If you choose to buy a book with lessons, such as classroom in a book, then I definitely recommend this book as a follow-up.

A Really Great Book!!!
I'm a member of an online gaming community and I was wanting to learn how to make my own "Sigs". After a few hours of reading I was able to use layers to make my first kool looking sig. I also was able to use Photoshop for all the graphics on my web site. If you want to learn to use Photoshop, then this book is a MUST have...

The Manual that Should Have Been.
This is the book that should ship with Photoshop CS2. Excellent. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Desktop Publishing    9. Desktop Publishing - General    10. Microcomputer Graphics    11. Operating Systems - Macintosh    12. Operating Systems - Windows    13. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    14. Photoshop   

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Reviews (3)

Rally is Best Server 2003 Book!
Susan Snedaker has written an excellent text covering almost everything you'll need to know to get and keep your Windows Server 2003 Enterprise up and running. Its called the 'Best Damn Book Period' and after reading some of the others written on the subject, I agree it is the best--especially for the non-MCSE user.
Best written, most useful book so far
If you are planning to implement a network system based on Windows Server 2003 you will find everything you need in the pages of this book. It covers every topic you need to know to successfully create a secure and efficient Windows server (or at least as secure and efficient as a Windows server can be). The author does assume some basic knowledge of networking and so leaves out a lot of the basics, which is entirely appropriate in a book of this nature. The focus is on the Windows Server 2003 operating system and not on things like using IP addresses to subnet a network.
Truly the Best Damn Windows Server 2003 Book Period
From the author: If you're involved in managing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 network, you need this book. You don't have time to waste reading through arcane tidbits of interesting but useless information. You certainly don't have time to waste reading a book that's been morphed from other versions of Windows. You need something built from the ground up that addresses exactly what you need to know about Windows Server 2003. Period. Read more

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

Reviews (2)

This is the 70-526 Training Kit
The 70-526 Training Kit is now available, but there are still reviews on this site for another book (the 70-536 Training Kit). Please be aware that this is a new title and has not yet been reviewed.

Amazon, please fix your problems!
This book is great! Unfortunately, the 'spotlight review' that is featured above, DOES NOT BELONG TO THIS BOOK! It belongs to the training kit for 70-536. For some reason, Amazon can't seem to get rid of this erroneous review. Please, please, please, fix this problem! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - General    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Database Management - General    6. General    7. Programming - Software Development    8. Relational Databases    9. Software Design    10. Computers / General    11. Computing and Information Technology    12. Microsoft Windows   

Reviews (11)

What it covers it covers well
This book is outstanding for what it covers. It's a great reference for some core topics, as well as for techniques most programmers may never use, but just might. If you ever happen to need to use reflection or multithreading, for example, look no further than this book for a thorough explanation.
Delivers on its Promise
Why is this is an excellent book?
The best programming book
This is definitely the best programming book I've ever read. If you want to understand how things work behind the scenes, this is the perfect guide. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Operating Systems    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Microsoft Visual BASIC    5. Microsoft Visual BASIC (Computer software)    6. Operating Systems - Windows    7. Programming - Visual Basic - VBA (Visual Basic for Applicati    8. Programming Languages - Visual BASIC    9. Computers / General   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (79)

Out of date now
Python has come a long way. This book does not instruct you on any of the newest features or capabilities.
Great
I am new to Python and really, really like this book. I have read it cover to cover twice. It is obviously biased in favour of Python, but goes out of its way to explain the "gotchas" and things that are not intuitive. All in all, a WAY above average computer book!

Definitely not a reference book
This book isn't horrible, but it meanders all over the place. It often confuses the issue by using several concepts in one example. There are too many instances where a technique is shown but then explained several chapters later. Sometimes this is necessary in language books, but this book abuses the idea.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Internet General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Programming Languages - General    5. Programming Languages - Python    6. Python (Computer language)    7. Python (Computer program langu    8. Python (Computer program language)    9. Computers / Languages / Programming    10. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript    11. Computers / Programming Languages / Python    12. Internet languages    13. Python, scripting language, object-oriented programming, Mac OS X Panther, Unix, Linux, Windows NT, OS/2, classes, functions, modules, operators   

Editorial Review

Applications software may get all the glory, but it's the hardware and operating systems that do the heavy lifting in any computer system. Technicians who have earned CompTIA's A+ certification are recognized as qualified to solve complicated hardware and OS problems and can earn a good living doing so. Read more

Reviews (14)

Good Book
I think this book is worth buying. It builds on a foundation of basic computer knowledge and takes you into more advanced topics. It covers all of the objectives for the A+ exam but I would recommend that you use it in conjunction with other exam readiness material. Again, this book is not a waste.

Terrible study material for the exam
I can't believe others gave this A+ Complete Study Guide great reviews? This book was horrible. I had to study other textbooks and materials so I can pass the real exam. If I just study this book alone, I would fail the actual exam. The book is so wordy! Blah! Blah! Why do I want to hear long sentences. Just get to the point! And the sentence structure was terrible. I don't understand what was going on most of the time. Just focus on the subject without the jargon. Not enough on Windows XP and networking, but many questions had these on the actual exam.

Not as advertised
I am sure that this book will serve the needs of most of the buyers as a competent treatment of the subject area. I am studying for the exam and wanted two things: A large set of practice questions for drill purposes (the cd had 30 questions) and a portable reference copy of the book. The ebook included can only by read from the cd according to the text file that comes with it, but in fact for me the book was totally unreadable from the CD on a PC or a Mac with serveral different versions of the adobe reader that I tried. I am not interested in reading a 900 page book just to pass an exam and found that the dummies book plus the testking questions were enough. This book did not suit my needs at all. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - A+    3. Computer Books And Software    4. Computer Science    5. Computer Science (General)    6. Computer technicians    7. Computers    8. Computers - Certification    9. Data processing    10. Electronic data processing personnel    11. Examinations    12. Study guides    13. Computers / Technical Skills    14. General Theory of Computing    15. Microsoft Windows    16. PCs (IBM-compatible personal computers)    17. Study guides, home study & revision notes   

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Reviews (5)

RIGHT TO THE CORE OF THE EXAM!!
Are you looking to complete your Microsoft Certification? If you are, then this book is for you! Author William R Stanek, has done an outstanding job of writing a 3rd edition of a book that helps IT professionals complete their M