MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-290): Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment

Rating:
Summary: Exam takers beware!!!
Review: This is, by far, the worst preparation book I have used. The exercises in the book are misleading, and oftentimes wrong causing the reader to be lost and having to look for answers on their own. I defintely would not recommend this book to anyone much less a newbie trying to obtain their 2003 certification. I unfortunately bought this book in the Core Exam pack, so the jungle of certification will probably not end once I pass this exam and move on to the others. If I were to give a word of advice to the authors, it would be to please go over your material again. Readers who bought this book would be better off not to use any of the exercises that are in here. I feel terrible giving this book a rating of 1 star. That is too much praise for a book that is so terribly written.

Rating:
Summary: Do NOT Buy This Book!!!
Review: Want to have some fun? Get (notice that I said "get" and not "buy") this book and install the included MS Press Readiness Review suite (powered by Measure Up). Go into "Objective Review" mode and start a test. The questions are truncated, thus missing critical information needed to answer the questions, and are therefore COMPLETELY USELESS!! This happened on virtually every question, until I gave up in disgust. And this is not a window sizing issue. This happens on a 1280 x 1024 display with the window maximized. There are no horizontal scroll bars present. The text simply runs off the edge of the screen in incomplete sentences into never never land. Unbelievable. I'll be contacting Amazon and insisting on a refund for DEFECTIVE PRODUCT.

Frankly, I'd embarked on the certification path because I thought it would be a good career move. But based on the practice exams I've seen (which all vary wildly in content), I now regard the whole process as a joke. The degree of minutiae that one is apparently expected to memorize in order to pass these tests is absurd, especially with regard to the new Windows 2003 command line commands and options. I've been a successful sys admin for the past 15 years, and people don't work this way. Why memorize some obscure command that you may need once in a blue moon, when on-line help is a mouse click away? It's all a moneymaking scam, courtesy of the people in Redmond, WA.

Rating:
Summary: Another disappointing MS Press Title
Review: What do you get when you take the Exam Objectives off the Microsoft site and add a bunch of random filler? Another disappointing MS Press title. I use to be able to rely on a MS Press book to get me through an exam (along with my extensive experience). I remember when MS Press meant something. Here I am with a NT4 and 2K MCSE and after reading this book fail the test. I knew something was wrong as I read the book. There is/was NO DEPTH. If you are studying for the 70-290 go elsewhere.