A+ Exam Cram 2 & Upgrading & Repairing PCs, 15th Edition Bundle (Exam Cram 2)

Rating:
Summary: How can I convince you not to buy this book?
Review:
Three weeks ago I read the reviews of this book on Amazon.com, which were mixed, and decided to give it a shot. Oh cruel fate, why me? Why didn't you warn me, faithful reviewers? And why did I open the enclosed software, making it impossible to get my money back?

This book is awful. Number one problem: It's simply too long and has too much useless information. I'm talking 50% - 75% useless. The history of what company invented which cable and what lawsuits they had and why they invented the cable and on and on and on and on and IT NEVER STOPS! Dozens of paragraphs start with the phrase "you won't need to know this for the exam..." Worse still, dozens of paragraphs END with phrases like "you won't be expected to memorize any of this for the exam." Well gee, why did I just read it then?

The second problem is the author's use of analogy to explain concepts. So the parallel port is the yellow brick road, and the data bits are Dorothy and her pals, and the bus is like the gateway to the emerald city, and the port is like the evil gatekeeper, and the CPU is the wizard of Oz ... Are we supposed to rent the movie so we can understand this or what?

The book is darned clever. Oh my it's clever. The author is a regular Dave Barry. I've read dozens of technical books, and sometimes it's nice when the author breaks up the monotony by surprising you with a "zinger." But every page? Quite annoying.

The book has trouble deciding who its audience is. Sometimes it points out the painfully obvious. ("Alcohol is a liquid that evaporates" - No kidding!) Other times the book drifts into obscure acronyms and jargon which even someone with a degree in Computer Science (like myself) would have trouble following.

To be fair, the information seems fairly up-to-date and complete, and the book seems well proofread. If I was just doing this for a hobby, and I had lots of time to read amusing anecdotes and side notes, this book would be great. It would also be good if I was maybe a high school kid who didn't know much about computers.

I'm betting 99% of you out there are like me, you probably know half of this stuff already and you just want to pass the test. And you're going to hate this book just like I did. You have been warned. :)




Rating:
Summary: Ough!
Review: Dont ever,ever,ever use the Exam Cram 2 Exam Questions book. If there's any book out there preparing you to FAIL the exam, its this one. I stopped reading halfway after realizing the amount of mistakes it had. You may be able to wing it and see right off the bat which ones are wrong. But just by the fact that this is publish material, makes it so insulting. I passed the exam the first time, but no credit to this book whats so ever.
For exam readiness before sitting in the exam room, purchase
"The A+ Exams Guide: (Exam 220-301), (Exam 220-302) ". This is an excellant book. You can see my review under the book details section.





Rating:
Summary: I passed 2day...
Review: Hey..I passed the OS test 2day and i pased the Core one a while ago..anyway..this book is a good help if U R using it besides a full exam guide,and the practice exams R cool and good..
Kinan.

Rating:
Summary: Long-winded, rambling, does not prepare you for A+ exam
Review: I do not recommend this book, but it have the practice exams CD, so it is not total waste of time. The reason I am not happy is because this book has too much random, off the point's information, and many discussions in this book which do not cover enough to satisfy my needs to past COMPtia A+ exam. After this, I am going to go buy me Sybex A+ book, which I've heard it is A+ complete book, so hopefully I'll get the money back. Do not buy this book if you are just starting out A+ courseware. 2 stars for the CD included.

Rating:
Summary: Best A+ Book I have read
Review: I have read numerous A+ books and even though they talk about everything you need to know, most don't piece everything together for you. If you are looking for a book that helps you memorize just the answers to the questions, don't buy this book, it's way more than that. If you want a book that burns a visual image of how everything works and the history of it all, this is the book for you.

And to all of you saying this book sucks because it has too much information, I really hope you never make it into the field because any computer tech that complains about learning more about stuff than they need to doesn't need to be working on people's computers. Sure you can pass the exams by just memorizing all the answers, but how do you expect to be successful when you refuse to learn past that?

Rating:
Summary: I passed, with frustration
Review: I just barely passed my A+ harware certification, technically using only this book (I've dabbled in computers for years, also took 2 college classes). The low price attracted me, but I wish I got something more comprehensive (or clearer).

Cons: I found this book very frustrating. For a "cram" there sure is a ton of (useless) background information and laughablly verbose and complicated explanations. It simply took me forever to piece together what they were saying. It was only when I turned to the internet to supplement the concepts did I finally see how much clearer certain things could be explained. Also after taking the exam, I felt the book prepared me to understand the questions, but not necessarily be able to know the right answer.

Pros: I appreciated the occasional humor that helped wake me up after a dry discussion. After scoring an 85% on the book practice test (which assures "if you can get through our test, you'll have no trouble with the real exam") I scored a 55% on the real exam. Not reassuring, but I did pass, so I give it 3 stars.

Perhaps it was my inexperience, so this book may make more sense if you are already familiar with the concepts. For me, I've already bought Sybex's A+ book to help pass the OS test. I passed hardware, but I would definitely recommend a supplement (or replacement) for Exam Cram.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding series and review
Review: I took the A+ two months ago after roughly one month of self-study with the help of only two books, this Exam Cram 2 preparation book and the A+ Practice Questions that complement it. A short time after purchasing it, I noticed that the CD that was included was cracked, so I sent an e-mail to the publisher and another cd was promptly shipped to my address.

Exceptional service aside, the material covered is fairly comprehensive and with a disciplined reading regime, is more than enough to help you in obtaining the A+ in both OS and Hardware technologies. The practice tests are also an accurate indicator of what to expect on test day. If you are a complete novice to PC hardware and operating systems you may want to consider the A+ Study Guide (also by QUE) for more detailed explanation of each objective; otherwise, this is more than enough for anyone familiar with computers in general to pass the exam.

Rating:
Summary: This book will help New Test Takers.
Review: I've take the A+ test and I am both a techie and someone who has a life outside of IT. If you are looking to bone up on the A+ and to understand computers at the same time this book will help.

The A+ exam is simply the first hurdle you must get over in your IT career. In many cases you must jump this hurdle before you even get or start your career.

This book as with most Exam Cram books is worth your money, and your time! And yes if your wondering I do suggest a second book to accompany this one, such as the A+ Bible. Make sure your second book is dedicated to teaching you to become technically proficient rather than pass a test. If you study both you will pass the exam guarenteed.