Customer Reviews

MCSE Exam 70-296 Study Guide and DVD Training System: Planning, Implementing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment for a MCSE Certified on Windows 2000

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used this book along with some hands-on experience with Windows 2003 and was able to pass the test after about two weeks. This rating is based solely on the book material, as I did not use the DVD.

I have been studying for this exam for over a month now using various sources, but this book brought everything together in a clear and concise manner. Unfortunately, some of the chapters are a bit lengthy and could have been seperated for easier retention, and the DVD was "ok". Other than that, it did a great job of preparing me for the exam.

One thing is for sure about this book... Some of the chapters are (1) VERY dry, (2) have looooong run-on sentences and (3) at times are quite difficult to figure out their logic/order. Chapter 2, for example, took me nearly a week to pick apart the run-on sentences, eliminate the 'garbage', piece together the 'meat' and then try to make sense of what was being said. It was painfully dull! Some of the other chapters, too, were about as exciting as reading a dictionary.

I haven't taken the test just yet, but I did find this book to be quite nice. Explanations are very good and overall, it's organized quite well. I'll post more after I take the test!

The material in the book was good enough for me to be able to pass the exam, however it is evident that it was written atleast 12 months ago. The publisher should consider releasing a revised edition soon.

The material in this book and in the 70-292 Study Guide is very good and complete. However, the number typos, punctuation errors, references to missing or incorrect figures, and just plain wrong answers to some practice questions -- is all very distracting. It would appear that the final edit of this book was skipped in order to get it out on schedule. Unfortunate. Make sure you have plenty of hands-on experience before taking this exam, esp. if this is your only source of study material.