This was my first exam, Windows 98. I used only this book and I passed. It was easy to read and follow. The review questions were very helpful. I read a lot of reviews that said not to use just one book, but that is what I did. I also used the Transceder practice exams. I would say that 99% of what was on the exam was covered in the book, but that the exam was VERY hard. If I had not known the material so well, I would not have been able to apply the knowledge to the questions on the exam.

The Windows 98 exam is very tough with lots of simulation and scenario questions. Sams book on MCSE Windows 98 is an excellent book to learn the more advanced topics needed for the exam. I though I knew a lot about Windows 98 after using it for a few years until I read this book. The exam is heavy on using Windows 98 as a client in a Windows NT4.0 or Novell domain. You must learn everything in the network properties dialog box to pass the exam and the book does a good job on this with lots of diagrams and hands on exercises. Other important topics covered well are TCP/IP setup including DHCP & WINS, file systems, installing, boot sequence, dial up networking, registry, printer installing/control, hardware and user profiles, network neighborhood, browser functions (using netbios broadcasts), and system policies. Everthing you need to pass is in this book, however for an extra margin of safety I recommend investing in Exam Cram also. The test questions in Sams book are helpful, but the ones in Exam Cram do a better job of telling if you know your stuff enough to take the exam. The writing style of the author is enjoyable with lots of important points boxed off for emphasis and easy review later. I also recommend the book to anyone who just wants to learn a lot more about advanced topics of Windows 98.

SAMS Teach Yourself MCSE Windows 95 in 14 Days by Marcus Barton is an excellent choice to aid you in preparing for the Microsoft Windows 95 certification exam. If you are studying for the exam you will find that each chapter is right to the point. However, unlike other Windows 95 exam books, Mr. Barton includes background material and advanced technical information about the Windows 95 operating system.

This book is an excellent choice for those studying for the Windows 95 exam or as an addition to your collection of Windows 95 resource books.

Well organized and written. I'm counting on this book to get me a passing score. I have read other CCNA books but fell short of a passing score by just a few points. When I heard the CCNA 1.0 was no longer going to be offered, I rushed to study and take the test. Big mistake #1. I didn't think there was much of a difference between 1.0 and 2.0 so I rescheduled (since I do have industry experience with switches and plus I was so close). Big mistake #2 (totally different test, I felt "green" like a MCSE in a CCIE's world). Out of $200 I was like...BUMMER. I invested in Exam Prep to fill in what I was missing. Now that I have finished this book I feel confident that I am equipped with the real deal. I am eager to take the test, it will be a great way to bring in the New Year. The review questions and hands-on projects are great (providing you have access to equipment). The coverage in WAN Protocols is awsome which happend to be one of my weak points. I understand ISDN now. EXAM PREP is the tool to put me over the top. Buy it, read it, and welcome aboard the fantastic world of "real" networking.

This book has a ton of good information about Cisco devices, the IOS and the many routed and routing protocols. Most of it is covered in real detail and is not really for those (who are) new to computer networking. I'd say this is a little of the advanced course although it does start with the beginning Cisco information you do need to have some decent backround in computer networking to be able to read this and pass the exam. All the different protocols which are on the exam were covered in detail here. It covered the IOS real well, the different parts of Cisco switches and routers and troubleshooting. The chapter on Access Lists covered the exam questions real well. I felt real comfortable and passed with a 92%. Warning though: The test is not easy and if you don't understand the material in the book, you won't pass. If you know the book and do the questions and exercises you'll pass. It's all in there.

I thought after finishing my MCSE last year I knew all about computer networks. This book sure opened my eyes. It's a smooth path from that curriculum to the Cisco networking world. It starts with the OSI model and moves into network structure then has a real good chapter on the different Cisco products: switches, routers, modular devices, DSL, ATM etc. Then it explains the Cisco IOS, how to program the router copy and transfer images, NVRAM, Flash etc. This was all well explained so I could move on with confidence. Next came the protocols, IP, IPX and routing protocols which I never knew existed, but learned well. The book finishes with lots of coverage on WANs particularly Frame Relay which was heavily covered on the exam. Then came access lists which were well explained and also covered on the exam. Simply put, this book had all the coverage for the exam and only having unrelated A+ and Microsoft training I was able to pass the CCNA on the first try. Word of warning though, don't take it lightly, study hard, the test is hard but the material is all in here. The CD is great to determine if your ready too.

I'm happy with this book. I'd been running Linux in an academic environment for several years, so I had a bit of a head start before reading this book. I took the first LPI Level 1 exam this afternoon, and passed with about 45 minutes to spare. As a professional AIX and Linux consultant, I was surprised to have acquired new knowledge from reading this book. However, I did encounter a few questions on the exam that weren't covered in the book, as well as a few tricky (or maybe just ambiguously/poorly written) questions that required multiple rereads. Despite being the first of the lowest level of LPI certification, this exam became surprisingly difficult during the last third of the questions (I don't think this is an adaptive test). I've taken Microsoft, IBM, and Sun certification exams, and this test ranks among the tougher ones. That's good, in my opinion, because it sorts out the knowledgeable people from, ahem, the others. I strongly advise you to read O'Reilly's Running Linux in addition to this book before attempting the exam. I hope O'Reilly plans a similar book for LPI Levels 2 and 3.

This book is considerably better than others I've tried on the subject (I passed LPI 101 using the QUE book by Theresa Hadden and I've read the ExamCram 102 book as well as this one before passing LPI 102). You just get a feeling that a bit more time and effort went into this volume than into the others. Typos are rare, the presentation style is clear and direct, Mr. Dean is obviously very knowledgeable about the subject. That said, some things that appeared on the exam were not in the book, and questions at the end of each chapter would have helped. On the other hand, the ExamCram book had typos and inaccuracies in the review questions themselves! There's nothing funnier than finding a typo in the end-of-chapter test (the correct answer marked as d instead of c, a couple of choices being identical, etc). Thankfully, the tests at the end of this book's exam sections did not have such surprises. I hope O'Reilly publishes a book on the Level 2 LPI exams when those come out - I know I'd buy it.

LPI Linux Certification In A Nutshell by Jeffrey Dean (who holds the Linux Professional Institute Level 1 and Red Hat Certified Engineer certifications) draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to present an exhaustive, "user friendly" guide. In Part 1, Dean covers GNU and Unix commands; devices, Linux Filesystems, and the filesystem hierarchy standard; boot, initialization, shutdown, and run levels; documentation; and administrative tasks. In Part 2 Dean covers hardware and architecture; Linux installation and package management; the Linux kernel; text editing, processing, and printing; shells, scripting, programming, and compiling; the X Window System; networking fundamentals; network services; and security. Designed primarily to assist system administrators to prepare for their LPI certification exams, the tutorial-style approach is also invaluable for helping novice users to get up and running on their Linux systems. The informative text is enhanced with summaries of the exam, a Highlighter's Index, labs, suggested exercises, and practice exams. If you are preparing for your LIP Linux Certification exam, begin with a Jeffrey Dean's LPI Linux Certification In A Nutshell!

I passed by the slightest of margin. 766 out of a passing score of 766. I also studied Sybex, did a whole bunch of practice exams, and devoured this book. Perhaps it was all of those efforts *combined* that helped me passed. The book itself was definately worth the money. It provided lots of good questions along with concise explanations behind the answers. For that alone, I gave it 4 stars. But just don't depend on it for the adaptive version. Now, the new version of the test comes with diagram questions, where you had to match or identify problems from a given exhibition. Such format was NOT on this book at all! In short, use this book as *a* tool, not *the* tool for the exam. And, best of luck!

Studied for Net Essentials with Sybex, Dummies, Nutshell & finished up with this. This book & CD very helpful to assess whether I knew my stuff, or not. Questions cover most bases and being able to knock out practice questions in both book & cd helped me have confidence to scedule and PASS my test. Yes, adaptive. Pulled an 833 score, 766 to pass.

I just took the MCSE 70-58 Networking Essentials today and passed with relative ease. The questions in this book were nearly identical to the actual exam. I was thoroughly impressed when I clicked the "Start test" button at the real exam, and the first question I got was taken right from this book, WORD FOR WORD! This book comes with a CD-ROM which contains practice exams consisting of random questions from the book. I took about 20 of these practice tests until I knew the 200 or so questions like the back of my hand. When I sat down for the actual exam, I couldn't believe how fast I flew through it. It was as if Microsoft gave me the exam before the exam. I HIGHLY recommend this book if your interested in passing 70-58 on the first try. This book and the IDG Networking Essentials Study Guide make the perfect one-two punch combination. The word is out. GET THIS BOOK!!

I depended only on this book to prepare for sql and pl/sql exam....ofcourse I read complete reference once.I am new to Oracle....Today I passed the exam with 50/57....This is a very good book for anyone who knew oracle basics.

practice questions in the book are very helpful .

I just took the 1Z0-007 test this morning and passed, though not with flying colors! This book was good enough to get me through the test with little background Oracle experience. I would highly recommend getting some experience using the stuff in this book before taking the test, but, if you're impatient like me, this book (and a good amount of studying) should get you through.

There were a couple errors in the tests, but I thought they were a decent representation of the actual test questions. There were no surprises on the exam, and it seemed as though most topics were covered (some lighter than others).

I bought about a dozen certification books before obtaining the MCSE DBA title and had never bothered to write a comment. But the authors of this book have done such a good job that I feel compelled to share my opinion with all of you. It's by far the best study guide I've used. It covers every aspects of the subject. The questions in the book are decent and well constructed. I'm new to Oracle but passed the test easily after reading through the book. Eqally great about this book is the fact that it can serve as a great reference book (Especially liked the two chapters covering functions). Good value for your money.

While "The Laughing Policeman" ostensibly focuses on Sjowall and Wahloo's protagonist Martin Beck, the book truly gains its appeal not solely through the depiction of Beck, but rather through the colorful cast of all the policemen involved in this mystery of a busload of citizens and one policeman murdered, seemingly without motive. Sjowall and Wahloo are not only skilled at character development, however. The pleasure I got from meeting and getting to know each of their idiosyncratic policemen was only surpassed by seeing each of their methods and discoveries coming together to finally solve the case (whose solution, itself, brilliantly comes through the examination of a policeman's character). Every time the narrative found a new policeman to follow, I found myself wishing that this one had been the protagonist. And while I occasionally found myself confused by the names of the characters and places of the story (I admit to being a novice regarding Sweden and Swedish), I found Wahloo/Sjowall's depiction of 1968 Stockholm as a dark, dreary city full of criminal elements and lacking any innocents on a par with the literary Londons, New Yorks, and Los Angeleses of the world. Despite being more of a police procedural, concerned with the details of the case, rather than a Sherlock Holmes-style case with an explosive surprise ending, "The Laughing Policeman" kept me interested both in its characters and its story up until the last page. I'd recommend it to anyone as a good read, and especially to fans of the police procedural.

Sweden meets "NYPD Blue" in this non-action-packed police detective mystery by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. All of the action of "The Laughing Policeman" seems to take place before the book even begins. At the start of the book we learn that a terrible crime has been committed, nine passengers have been shot dead on a public bus in the streets of Stockholm. In light of the current events that have recently taken place in the U.S., it is ironic that the Swedish detectives on the case speak of how strange the crime is, stating that such a crime would more likely be seen on U.S. soil. The reader gains a good knowledge of the city of Stockholm, its streets, its people, its dark side, as the detectives leave no stone unturned in their search for the killer. Yet, while the characters are busy searching all over the city, we, the readers, are busy exploring the depths of the characters themselves. Each character has many interesting distinctions and, much like the way the details of the crime are slowly unraveled, different facets of the characters involved are revealed as the novel progresses. It almost seems, at times, that the novel is more about the detectives and their lives than it is about solving the crime at hand. It comes across as a kind of police detective television show where there is always a crime to be solved, but people really watch the show just to see what will happen in the characters' personal lives. Overall, a good mystery, with an exciting conclusion, but perhaps more for the "NYPD Blue" fan, than the "Murder She Wrote" type.

Laughing Policeman puts Martin Beck on the same page as the very best literary detectives of all times. The novel is quick paced, engaging, full of dry wit and not so much full of social commentary as some other Martin Beck books (e.g. otherwise great plot of Terrorists is too often punctuated by anti-capitalist, anti-Vietnam war, anti-government rhetoric - don't get me wrong, I am as much for anarcho-syndicalism as the next guy, just put it in a separate book). The novel is centered around a fictional mass-murder taking place in a Stockholm city bus. Right, if it was Boston or Philly nobody would even care to write a book about it... Anyways, the story is rich with details of actual investigative work - customary to Sjowall-Wahloo tandem - as it is with dumb cops, constantly threatening to riun the whole thing. Fans of Beck stories will find all the usual trappings - door breakings by Gunvald Larsson, the red nose of Einar Rohn, toothpick-chewing Per Mansson, and of course still surviving tandem of crime-busting heavyweights Beck and Kolberg. People who are not yet fans run a grave danger of becoming ones after - or even while - reading this book.

This book was mich more than the supplement to the study guide that I purchased. It covered most of the information (at least at a high level) that the exam covers. For those that still don't feel comfortable with COM I would recommend the first five chapters of The COM/COM+ Primer.

This is an excellent review guide. It covers almost all the relevant topics and has very representative test questions. Read the book, study the material, and then take the practice test at the end of the book. This is a tough test, but the real test is tough too. If you score above 60%, no cheating, you are probably in good shape to pass the real thing. You will need to supplement this book with other study material in order to pass.

Here is how I did it. Re-read my COM books, and brushed up on COM programming. You will need to know COM very well. Read the Syngress study guide, an OK book but not tough enough. Used the Transcenders to test my knowledge and brush up on those areas in the Transcender tests where I scored poorly. Transcenders are a real help, the questions are very representative. Used Braindump's they can be real good if you are carefull to check the answers. Oh, for the practice test at the end of this book I scored a %64.

I passed with ease on the first try with an 813, passing grade is 534.

I just passed my 70-016 exam on the first try, using this book. This book provided me with a great resource to brush up on concepts I already knew, as well as point me toward resources to help me with the stuff I didn't know about. You will probably need a book on COM and a book on database programming to supplement this book. You will probably also need a year or two of experience using Visual C++.

Studied using only Oracle8 DBA: Performance Tuning Exam Cram text to pass the Oracle8i P&T Exam, on the first attempt. Obviously lacking new 8i material, but enough material to pass 8i. I would think the text is great for what it was intended for, passing the Oracle8 P&T

I failed my first Oracle8 performance tuning exam almost a month ago. I found the questions cover many things that I had no idea of. Then I bought this book from a local book store and started reading it. Although it contains some errors and some of the paragraphs need to be read more than once to get the meanings, the tips and notes that the book provides are very useful. Someone like me who has no experience in any database software can pass this test with help from this book only (53/61). I'm now officially an Oracle 8 DBA! Thanks!

I don't think there is any important topic that this book doesn't cover. Very good reference of the most important Oracle performance-related dynamic views (can be very useful not only for the test, but equally for DBA job-related tuning tasks afterwards) and a good collection of sample questions. I think the book can also be used for the Oracle8i Performance Tuning test (at least until the 8i Tuning Exam Cram comes out).

If you have the time and energy to study this book, you'll be more than able to pass the CCNA exam. The book is well written, easy to read, and deals with technical data in an approachable manner. The author claims to be a classroom instructor, and it shows! Topics that can be incredibly difficult like VLSM are made simple with this book. This book gives you enough to pass the exam, while giving you plenty of real-world knowledge you can apply on the job.

There are one or two practice questions that have incorrect answers. The introduction says the last chapter covers material that won't be on the exam, but that statement is incorrect. Otherwise, this book is reliable and relatively error-free.

I'm new to the IT world, and I've still never laid hands on a router, so I had to do a great deal of reading to pass the CCNA exam. Mr. Myhre's book did more than any of the others I read to help me become familiar with and understand the exam topics. I had read some other Cisco books prior to reading this one; it's the one that really brought things together. The practice questions seemed easier than those in other books and may give a false sense of security if this is the only book you have read, but I think if you're seeking your CCNA and have limited or no experience you should read more than one book anyway (and find a good router simulator). After reading several books, I recommend this path to folks with limited experience who are pursuing the CCNA*: (1.) Myhre's book (this one!); (2a.) Lammle's study guide; (2b.) Lammle's e-trainer router simulator; (3.) Lammle's CCNA Exam Notes <* Note that this is in reference to CCNA1: 640-407. This test will be retired at the end of July 2000, so the new CCNA (640-507) may change this.>

I really like the way this book is put together - many thanks to Mr. Myhre. I didn't think the page numbers were hard to find, either. This is the best place to start your CCNA pursuit.

I bought several books on Cisco and CCNA before taking and passing the exam with a score in the high 790's. With hindsight, I can say that Mr. Myhre's guide was by far the most instrumental in my success because it set the foundation necessary to make other manuals more readable.

There are many factors that make this guide essential to anyone preparing for the exam, but for the sake of time and space here are just a few: --All of the exam objectives are thoroughly covered. --I began my studies with only a superficial knowledge of the subject matter, and found the material highly readable and very well thought out. Very rare for a technical manual.

I had no problem finding the page numbers, the reviewers who did should eat more carrots. This book is ESSENTIAL to your success.

This book has great generic questions and great explanations. The test covers WANs and Protocols and troubleshooting and network emplimentations. This book explained the meaning behind many of the questions. However none of the questions in the book were on the exam. The psychology behind the questions was covered. This book is for test review you will need others. I know networking, but I passed the test because of this book!

I had passed Server and Workstation on my first try and then did not pass Net Ess. I thought what the hell??? 10 minutes after leaving the exam center I bought this book and highlighted all the questions I'd seen on the test in the book (or pretty close to). Took the test a week later and got 933 out of 1000. Bottom line: great book, read, understand, and you'll pass. Hats off to the authors and Sybex!

The book, while certainly not an exhaustive study of all networking techniques, achieves its stated purpose of delivering information in a format that was easy to use and reference. The material reviewed is sufficient for a novice to pass the Microsoft Networking Essentials Exam (70-058) even in its new adaptive format.