Rating: 
Summary: A+ Certification All-In-One Exam Guide, 3rd Edition
Review: April 25, 2002
Thank you Mike! My company recently made it a requirement that I get A+ Certified, not such a big problem, except that they wanted me to lay out [alot of cash] to take the course at a certified center and then reimburse me after I passed both tests. I decided to try the self-study approach first. Your A+ Certification Exam Guide 3rd Edition did the trick. Your book is one of best self-study guides that I have ever used. Your knowledge, approach to things and especially your comments(the comments gave me the confidence that I could do this) made it a comprehensive guide that was easy to follow and acutually enjoyable. I was able to prepare for the exams and purchase the discount vouchers for a total of [price], a substantial difference in initial cash outlay for me and total savings to my company. I have taken many courses through out life and there have been many many instructors but very few teachers. You are truly one of the few teachers. Sincerely, George Purvis - Tampa's Newest A+ Certified Technician
Rating:
Summary: A great guide for the A+ exam
Review: I recently passed both parts of the A+ exam studying at home and using this book. It covers the basics of PC hardware and software very well with simple, to the point explanations and good pictures. If you are interested in taking the exam, I would recommend having some experience building and troubleshooting PCs, but that is not required. I am confident that anyone who takes the time to study this book will be able to pass the exam.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't Pass Exam with this book
Review: This is a great book for learning the technical trade. Unfortunately, I failed both of the exams studing this book. It has very little updated informtaion regarding the new Comptia A+ Adapive Certification Exams.
Rating:
Summary: The only A+ book you'll need to pass the exam.
Review: This is the one to get. Don't bother getting any other books. In the end I used this book alone (didn't use any other practice exams except the ones included with the book/CD). I took both tests back to back the same morning and passed. I did purchase another book to use as well, A+ Certification for Dummies. However, I stopped after reading the first 2 chapters because I realized that the A+ Dummies book was a joke (I had already started reading Mr. Meyers book so I knew what I was missing). Unless you've had a good deal of previous knowledge/experience with the subjects covered on the exam, it would be very difficult to pass the A+ exam using just the Dummies book. It is just way too incomplete. Kudos to Michael Meyers!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Ok support book, questionable value for A+
Review: "All in One" A+ Certification by Michael Meyers is a mixed bag. Indipendant of the A+ exams, it would be a fair contextual history of modern computing evolution with solid contemporary support information. However, the work is marketed as an "Exam Guide", at which it falls short. Meyers fails to deliver the needed information in a concise manor, regurgitating extranious material from extant versions heedless to the needs of the student to address and assimilate large amounts of information. I often found myself 20 min into a chapter wondering if Meyers got payed by the word -at 1263 pages, there is material obscuring the valuable information that makes up the core of this book. I for one don't need to see pictures of video games Michael has played, or spend any time reading whity commentary or jokes. Trim this book by 600 pages- which would NOT be a problem- and you would have a very solid tool for passing the A+.
Rating:
Summary: A+ is so cool.
Review: I love the A+ certification. There are so many things I thought I knew, but really had no clue about my computer. It's fun to sit in conversations with those who "know" computers and be able to follow along, knowing what they are talking about and being able to correct them when they're wrong, which happens more often then you would think. This book is great. It discusses all of the important aspects of creating and maintaining a healthy computer. I liked the examples and found it challenging, but not overwhelming in it's concepts. It is a great reference book, I often find myself consulting it for specific answers even though I have almost read it cover to cover. It sounds wierd to be saying it but I really enjoy reading it like a novel as well. There are a lot of times that I go looking for a specific answer and find myself reading on, learning more and enjoying the journey. Thanks Mike Meyers, Fred
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: A friend of mine got his A+ using this book, and now that I'm going for mine I bought one. I'm most of the way through, and I love it - it's easy to read, and funny! Lots of pictures too, which really helps. It's a lot of material, but you start with the basics and build up, so it makes more sense. My friend is a tech and told me he uses stuff from the book, and I think I will too, because it's not just test material he tells you 'tricks of the trade', which is very cool. I just took a practice test and even though I have a couple of chapters left to go, I did really well, so I'm psyched to take the real thing soon. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Need an A+ Certification? This is all you need!
Review: The thing I like best about this book is how readable it is. It not only contained all the information I needed to get my A+, but it was also a fun read, written by someone who not only knows about computers but also obviously loves the subject. Even the most difficult concepts were written in a friendly, conversational manner which made the learning enjoyable for me. I had no problems with the tests after I read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very technical
Review: This book does not go into the real technical issues.
If you're an advanced user and want to refresh then that's fine.
Rating:
Summary: Textbook is dated, but it'll still help
Review: To begin, let me just say that I recently took my A+ exams and passed using this as my primary study guide. However, it would be important to mention that my scores could have definitely been better. On hardware I got about a 590/900 & OS I got about a 560/900. Passing scores are currently 515 and 505 respectively.
I purchased this book after reading how so many other people loved this edition and loathed the 5th (newer) edition. Also, this book was the cheapest as I managed to find it for under 10 bucks. Once I got it, I blazed through it in a week, went through the Total Seminars practice tests & skimmed through A+ for Dummies to cover material not in the book, and then took the tests. There were quite a few questions on the exam that tested on topics that this book just didn't cover or cover as well. For example, fiber-optics, wireless standards, Windows XP, serial harddrives, and so on.
As far as how the book was written, I really enjoyed it. Mike's style is entertaining and the images he describes really stick in your head. I can still remember the picture of a MCC spraying RAM with a gardenhose to "refresh" them. One complaint I do have though is with the organization of chapters. The 2 chapters on Windows for example were each about 100 pages while the rest of the chapters were about 50 pages. Furthermore, it would have been more convenient to clearly separate the hardware and OS sections so that you can focus on either exam (the aforementioned Windows chapters are right in the middle!). There's also a couple of DOS chapters thrown in for good measure. Had this book been more up-to-date and organized, it would have easily gotten 5 stars. My advice though would be to go with something more recent if you can afford it.
| 
