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MC MCSE Newsletter :: 82nd Edition :: March 15th, 2003
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In This Issue:
What�s New @ MC MCSE
CompTIA Exam Prices Going Up
Article: Get Certified For Less
Product Review: Train Signal Audio Training Series
At the Boards
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Check out Virtual Training Center
For just $25 a month you will have access to in-depth training on over a hundred of today's most sought-after certifications and applications, with over 25,000 narrated QuickTime movies (And yes, you do have access to ALL the movies). These can be streamed over any connection to the Internet. Keep your membership as long or short as you like.
Click here to check out their products and try their demos.
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Updates:
We have updated our Cisco section which had some outdated track information. We also added a Resource Page for the 640-901 BSCI exam. In the Microsoft section we updated our links to free study guides on other web sites.
General Maintenance:
Scanned and fixed/removed all broken links on the site.
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| CompTIA Exam Prices Going Up |
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As is typical this time of year, CompTIA is raising the cost of their exams again. The new prices will go into effect on April 11th. Security+ is the only exam that will not change as it is already $225.
To take a look at the new prices, click here.
If you are just getting into the certification game, one of the first things that you will notice is that it is expensive. Between the exam fees, training materials, home lab, classes, etc. the cost can really add up and even be prohibitive for some people. In this article we are going to show you some really good deals that will help you save on the cost of certification.
Because of the length of this article, we are unable to publish it in the newsletter. To read the full article, click here.
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CBT Nuggets offers top quality CBT products covering MCSA, MCSE, MCSD, CCNA, A+, Network+, Server+, Linux+ and MOUS certifications. Check out the free demos at their web site.
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| Product Review: Train Signal Audio Training Series |
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I had the opportunity to review the Audio Training Series for exam 70-216 by Train Signal. There are several companies producing training in this medium and this is the first that I have been exposed to. For that reason, I should preface this review by mentioning that I have no reference point for comparison to similar products.
Before getting into the specifics of this product series, I would like to offer my thoughts on this type of training in general. TrainSignal's FAQ states that this product should not be your sole method of preparation and I would certainly agree with them. This is a supplemental product designed to help you review difficult concepts. These types of products are also intended to save you time as you can listen to them in your car as you commute. Of course, you can also listen to them on your computer. I would imagine that there are plenty of other activities in your daily life such as cooking, cleaning your house and possibly even sleeping that would be excellent opportunities to take advantage of a product like this.
Before purchasing this type of product, I think that it is very important that you understand the environments and methods in which you learn best. Personally, I have a short attention span and I am a nervous driver so listening to them in the car would be difficult for me. For many others, this would be ideal. If you have ever successfully used audio learning products such as foreign language tapes, then this would be a good option for you.
The Audio Training Series consist of 4 CDs. 2 of the CDs are audio lectures and the other 2 are question and answer based. The audio lectures are essentially like listening to a classroom instructor while being blindfolded. These lectures are narrated by Scott Skinger who has obviously spent plenty of time in front of students and clearly has a mastery of the material that he is presenting. These lectures are 2 hours and 20 minutes in length and cover the most difficult topics on the exam. I found these topics to be covered in depth and the material was technically accurate. Scott moves along at a good pace and does an excellent job of fluctuating his voice and avoiding monotone. This is very helpful for those of us with short attention spans.
The Question & Answer series consisted of 73 questions. The narrator asks a question which is followed by a short pause and then the answer with a very detailed explanation. The questions are open-ended, not multiple choice. The questions do a good job of testing your knowledge of the material, however, it would have been nice if the pause between the question and the answer was a little bit longer so that one would have time to take in the question and formulate the answer. Of course you can pause the CD, but this can get a little tedious if you are driving.
The recording quality is excellent and well narrated. I did not have a single problem understanding what was being said by the narrator. Overall, this is a quality product and I commend Scott for his efforts to not only help candidates pass certification exams, but also teach them the skills necessary to perform their job in the real world.
NOTE: At the time of this writing, these products are only available in CD format, but may be available in cassette format in the future.
Check out Train Signal here.
We aren't going to list our favorite posts from the last 2 weeks in this issue due to time constraints, however, it will be back in the next issue. Our forums currently have over 6,415 members and 5,687 posts.
We would like to welcome JamisonSchmidt as our latest addition to our moderator team. Jamison is very knowledgeable and has already been a great help already.
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