Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely superb UNIX training, April 10, 2007
This version as well as my review is outdated, new 2008 edition is available Linux and UNIX for a beginner training suite, 4DVDs + 2CDs includes 4 Unix Academy Certifications ed.2008
Friend of mine got this one and it is the same course as for $217 but with no certification. In a case you don't need the certification it is an unbelievable deal. For price of thick UNIX book you get the whole UNIX training on DVD!
The course happened to be very helpful. You're getting the entire prospective and learn in two-three days things that would be very time consuming otherwise .
This course is what it claims to be: the solid, comprehensive course for the beginner and a guide to UNIX workflow. I purchased this course along with some books on UNIX and have to admit that it is SO MUCH easier to follow the DVD course. To mention I liked my diplomas very much and framed both.
I'm 38 years old and despite I had some general computer experience it was my first venture into such sophisticated thing as UNIX is and for most it had passed smoothly. There are some things that I worked out for three times and some that I collected from the single pass but the overall impression this course had made is positive and productive
Learning UNIX/Linux for a beginner is a huge challenge as it is so comprehensive, implies familiarity with many details, and requires understanding of numerous concepts. There are many books on the subject but near all of them are difficult to penetrate and usually there's huge gap between theory you learn and the ability to apply that theory in practice. So many books I have tried happened to be too simplistic to be useful or too heavy. I would agree that average book on unix isn't necessarily has to be page turner but in general it is difficult to get unix out of printed page. It normally and traditionally has to be learned on some training courses because the commands have to be tried as you learn and so on. I found it to be boring to read then to type then to read again. I can do it for 5 pages not for 250 pages course book. Not anymore.
This DVD course shows all the stuff in action. It teaches all the necessary concepts and closes the gaps with immediate examples, commands, on screen illustrations etc. This course takes a beginner into much revered advanced level by some very easy to follow lessons. Generally speaking, learning from this DVD is a pleasure. I found this course to be so helpful and another included course "TCP/IP and UNIX Networking" reinforced that impression. Many people admire the DVDs as a very efficient shortcut into UNIX technologies and opportunity for jobs that would be hardly attainable otherwise.
The magic of the video is that he knows the precise path to put you on as he is aware on every point what may impose a difficulty and explains all the major ideas before you hit them. No doubt it is not an exhaustive training on UNIX but there's hardly anything that can be. This DVD course provides an immeasurable advantage though: it takes virtually complete dummy out of the street and in some two, three days in "follow me" style makes this newbie speaking professional terms, using advanced commands and performing complex tasks. This course, as you will discover it suddenly, has another very important side effect it will make possible to you following some quite sophisticated technical books with relative ease. I had some books on UNIX, networking, shells etc. and simply could not force myself going over couple of pages before putting them aside and today I can read them normally.
I also asked some questions Boris himself and it is nice he addresses the questions personally, help and cares. My general impression is "Very Nice".
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The course that makes you learn!, January 22, 2008
It is very insightful and by all means useful course of unix and linux for a beginner. I am a beginner. I am one who after installed linux on my PC couldn't figure out a thing. I tried two commands from some book and felt exhausted. This dvd is a source of inspiration and provides prospective vision of unix in first place. If you are ready to learn, boy there's nothing else that will teach you this real command prompt commands.
Yep Boris has an accent, so what? Half of my family has, but a different one! He teaches the real stuff. You go to [...] and watch previews.
It is also beyond me, why those people who think of themselves as advanced professionals buy this course and then leave bad reviews saying they did not learn too much from it, so watch my lips, you advanced folk IT IS A COURSE FOR A BEGINNER !!! If you an advanced user or slightest Russian accent drives you nuts it is not a course for you.
As many others I tried CBT courses on the subject and they do not compare because: 1. they do not teach an actual command prompt work well. Yep, the presenters on CBT they do speak English better than Boris could ever hope for, but I buy the course not for its linguistic virtues but because he teaches what you need to know!
2. all CBT lessons are about form, presentation not about substance, they are shapeless. They teach sort of things, go there type that, ok, now type that, end of the story. Boris teaches WHY should you do this or do that. Man, he teaches you TO THINK not to type! If you do not understand WHY in UNIX you will learn nothing. You will forget commands in one hour.
I'm repeating myself that it is course for a beginner. But guess what? I bet there are many "experienced users" who could learn from this course. I chat about linux commands with friends who were exposed to linux for years and they still don't know much of what I learned from this course.
This DVD is not a Hollywood's movie to watch! You watch a lesson, you write down the commands, you read man pages, you type this and try that. This course requires WORK. If you expect a leisure time you will be disappointed. Work is a key word here. The learning takes effort, it takes work. This DVD facilitates the process by keeping you on a track and shows `why's `how to's. I started my course 8 days ago and so far I feel a need for another run, as amount of information is enormous.
Happy learning!
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing..., December 29, 2007
I purchased this course - all 4 DVDs for over $200, thinking it would teach me something. Well, unfortunately, besides brushing up on some old fundamentals it disappointed me. Definitely not worth $200 in my opinion...but I will let you be the judge of that.
Further "Dislikes":
1. He "mimes" to try sync with his pre-recorded voice narration, without
much success. Get's a bit irritating after a while (remember the old
Eastern Kungfu movies?)
2. His mixture of English words does not go well with his strong foreign
accent. This, at times, makes it difficult to follow what he is saying
especially when he uses "tech words" that newbies won't have heard
before.
3. He spends too much time explaining basic concepts, without getting
into the the actual material enough.
4. The examples on screen are often cut off, which means you cannot follow
what he is explaining as you cannot see the examples.
5. He, at times, makes mistakes at the command line, but does not always
correct them, which leaves you guessing what is correct - unless you
knew better yourself.
Having been through 3 of the 4 discs (couldn't push myself any further than disc 3), I gave up. Other CBT Unix / Linux training that I do recommend (over Boris' course) are those offered by CBT Nuggets and LinuxCBT. That and a few good Unix/Linux books will get you far more productive in the Unix/Linux World.
For those wanting a very "Basic Intro" into Unix, then stick with Boris.
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