A+ Certification Study Guide

Rating:
Summary: Too Shallow for Serious Study
Review: This has to be the worst A+ study guide in existence. It tells you *what* to do but not *how* to do it with regards to installing, configuring and repairing computer components. This will doom you to failure when you're presented with in-depth, real-life scenarios on the exam and likely result in unemployment when your employer discovers that you don't know what you're doing on the job. It may prove useful as a brief, shallow overview of computer technology before moving into a deeper, more effective study guide, but that's about the only positive comment that I can offer for this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Study Tool
Review: Unlike most A+ Certification texts, this is a two-part set consisting of a study guide and exam text. Probably the most gratifying feature are the many large full-color photos which I feel most people can easily relate to and find easier to understand than hand-drawn pictures. It even comes with a CD-ROM. Thankfully, the study text is quite short at just over 500 pages. This text is probably one of the most novice-friendly.

Rating:
Summary: Find another study guide or use the web
Review: While this book is organized according to the A+ exam objectives, it's apparent the author didn't do enough research or have the time to include the relevant knowledge tested on the exam. 50% of what you need to know is covered for the Core Exam. The Windows/DOS exam section is almost useless. My advice is to find another study guide or use the web. I passed both exams scoring in the 90's, but no thanks to this study guide.