A+ Complete Study Guide Book

The A+ Complete Study Guide, Second Edition, is interesting, mainly because it is neither fish nor fowl--it tries to prepare the reader for life in the field, yet ignores some critical new technologies that are pretty much a must-know. It readies you for the A+ exams, yet entirely skips some of the lesser-tested sections. And yet in the end, the book becomes a fish with wings--because in spite of these drawbacks, it's engagingly written and astoundingly comprehensive when it counts. First, the good news: The folks who wrote this book know what they're talking about, and can write rings around most of the other certification writers. The book is peppered with real-life examples, reminders of good practices, and history that will help you to understand why things are the way they are today. The end of each chapter is punctuated with a summary and 20 multiple-choice questions, all of which are pretty close to what you'll find in the exam. The book takes some shortcuts along the way, however, and has some odd areas of focus. The idea is to prepare you for what you'll find in the field, and it frankly admits that practically no one is going to work with DOS commands or 80286 processors anymore. As such, it barely mentions DOS at all, giving a brief list of commands and some quick takes on memory management, and gives Windows 3.1 only a side note. However, there is a staggeringly large section on Windows 95/98 installation. Admittedly, DOS and Windows 3.1 questions are very few and far between on the most recent round of A+ exams, but all it takes is two or three surprise questions to shoot a big hole through your score. Fortunately, the section on the more recent (and more often tested) Windows 95 section is very thorough. Unfortunately, although the field preparation is a good idea, it leaves off mentioning some major technologies. The Guide barely mentions that it is possible to burn a CD-ROM in your own home and doesn't even touch on video accelerators. Although it's tough to keep up with the ever-changing world of hardware, it would be nice to have some newer technology. But in the end, this book will serve you well in your quest for an A+ certification, as it has for thousands of others. If you can overlook some minor flaws that (probably) won't get in the way of your passing, this book comes highly recommended. --William SteinmetzRead More