Customer Reviews

CIW Foundations for Dummies

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book explains all the objectives Prosoft has on their web site for the Foundations exam, plus a few others that are on the test but not specifically listed. It's very easy to understand and does a great job at detailing all the important concepts on the exam. The thing I like most is the test engine that comes on the CD. I took at least 4 sample tests and got new questions each time. I think the best way to get yourself ready for the test is to take practice exams and this one must have a lot of questions on the CD so you can take it over and over. It also lists a lot of good exam preparation sites that have good sample tests.

Since I was on a really tight budget when I decided to take this test (and the test costs 125 dollars!) I got this book because it was one of the cheapest ones. Even at this price, it did the trick. I read it over the weekend, went through lots of the practice exams it comes with, and just passed the exam with 92%.

I just got this book a few days ago. I pretty much read it cover-to-cover although I was pretty familiar with about half of the information -- the networking info was new to me. I was really happy to see how the author explains the networking concepts so easily. Every other book I looked at for CIW Foundations Exam was a little confusing when it came to things like the OSI model. This is the only one I've found that breaks it down so it's actually understandable! I took my exam today and got a 94% -- every question on the exam I took was covered in this book -- but a couple of the questions were a little tricky. I know they rotate through a large pool of questions, but this book, IMO, was a lifesaver that didn't waste my time explaing unneeded theories.

When I bought this book, I assumed, since it was cheaper than the other Foundations books, that it wouldn't be as good as one of the more expensive ones (like the Bible book, which I also bought). I was surprised, though, at how good it is. The thing I like the most is that it gets right to the point. It doesn't cover things you don't need to know for the test, but covers everything you do need to know. I couldn't find any errors to speak of, which right away makes it better than the other books on this topic I've seen. It's easy to read, sometimes funny and covers all the info without wasting your time.

Having finished CIW Foundations for Dummies, I can recommend this book to anyone who is a beginner or completely new to web design/Internet certifications. There were bits of humor sprinkled throughout and I found the writing easy to get into. Before I knew it, I finished the 400+ pages within a week. I will add that you may want to find supplemental information off the Internet. The author offers a broad overview of network architecture, security, HTML authoring and Internet fundamentals with occasional detailed looks on certain topics. By books end, you should be ready (or close to it) to pass the Foundations exam. Caveat emptor for the seasoned professional or one with even intermediate level knowledge, you may find yourself wishing for something meatier and more technically accurate.

I'm a self-taught web designer/developer/programmer -- I have too many titles, I guess. I've been developing websites and multimedia for 5 years, and this was the first time I took to get a certification (cheap employer wouldn't ante up for training). ...

I read this book in about 3-4 days combined time and learned quite a bit about things I already new a little about with regards to networking fundamentals (part III of the book). I do a lot of default technical support in my office as the computer nerd, but this section really helped explain some things that I'd never really taken time to learn about networking.

The HTML fundamentals section (part II) is the easiest section to get through, regardless of experience. It's also the least important of the 3 sections in the certification exam. Don't speed loads of time on this section.

The Internet fundamentals (part I) section was pretty decent, and it highlighted a lot of the networking information you'll learn in the third portion of the book. This section was most annoying because I learned that the people who run the CIW certifications have some really weird ways of referring to things (the chapter on domains and URLs was a little wonky because of THEIR terminology).

The author takes a lighthearted approach to the topics and inserts the occasional funny here and there that makes the reading go by quicker. I was disappointed that some of the helpful websites were no longer up and running (it's an old edition by Internet standards), and the CD-ROM testing application was so-so.

Specifically, in regards to the CD-ROM testing, some answers which were right were counted as wrong, there was no set time limit on the testing engine, and the testing engine basically mixed and matched (with some repetition) 298 questions from the three areas of the exam. Thankfully, the questions were close enough to those at my testing center that I felt confident I was on the right track while taking the exam.

For these reasons, I gave the book a 4 rating and would recommend it to anyone wanting the basics for sorting out the CIW Foundations certification lingo in order to pass successfully. I think I'd have gotten a slightly better score if I'd read a second book and/or spent more time on the networking fundamentals.

I just passed the exam today
I used CIW(tm) Foundations For Dummies plus some internet resources, the book was very helpful, no less no extra information, only the required info that Prosoft is looking for.
Thanks to the Authors.

This is the most concisely written and comprehensive certification study guide I have yet discovered. I teach web technology in the classroom as well as in seminar settings and I recommend this book to all my students and attendees without hesitation. Ms. Roark writes in clear, understandable language and offers valuable advice about studying and taking the CIW certification exam including how to interpret the tricky questions and which topic areas to focus the most attention on. A must have for anyone in the web/internet field as well as for those preparing for the foundations exam.

I passed the foundations test (IDO-410) this week from using this book. The sample test on the CD is great. You can retake it over and over again and get different questions each time. "CIW Foundations for Dummies" made all the difference for me. Even though I am fairly knowledgable about designing Web sites, I wouldn't have thought about studying some of this information unless I knew it would be on the test.

I am reading the book right now. I can actually understand what you are talking about! That to me, is a big relief. I was reading some books my work gave me to help me prepare for the exam and they were all so technical. I am not a technical person! I like the design aspect a bit more. But I need to pass the Foundations exam to go on to the Site Designer and E-Commerce. Thanks for putting it in DUMMY terms! I really appreciate it! Keep up the good work! Thanks again!

I used this book a couple of months ago to help me pass the Foundations exam. I found it very well written. The information is broken down very well and is very easy to understand. The first time I took the exam, I studied the Exam Cram book and I failed. Now that I know what was on the exam, I can tell you this book matches the exam as well as any I've seen. If you know the contents of this book inside and out and take the sample tests that come with it, I don't see how you could fail the exam.

When I recently set up a wireless network at home, I frequently referred to this book for guidance.