Poker Academy V2 (Win/Mac) Review

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(More customer reviews)Poker Academy V2 is a must buy! I have been playing poker all my life, but only recently have I focused on Texas Hold Em. Each time I play, I increase my skills, but I don't play often enough against quality opponents. When I came across Poker Academy V2, I was skeptical about how much it would help me learn the game. Well, let me tell you, I am significantly better than I was before.
Not only are the computer opponents better than any other poker game out there, but the program allows you to see every statistic possible about your cards, the pot odds, and how you bet overall. For example, I learned that I was very passive pre-flop but very aggressive post-flop. I also learned what happens when I call to see a flop with the various different card combos and how many outcomes are possible. The programmers, who have set up an extremely complex algorithm to run the game, give you access to all the components that make up that code so you can get a better idea of all the odds and percentages of everything that happens in a round of poker. When you watch on TV and you see people call "time," they are calculating in their head the pot odds, which includes how much they have invested in the pot compared to the total number of cards that will help them win or lose. Poker Academy V2 does this as well, so you can begin to pick up patterns with certain hands, which translates into better and smarter betting on a real table.
The best thing I can say about this Poker training tool (I think of it more as a tool than a game) is how well I have done at a real Texas Hold Em table. During my most recent trip, on a $3/6 Limit Table, I won over $280 in about 2 hours by using all the knowledge I have gained about how to play Texas Hold Em and about how I play my game. In other words, the more I know about my skills, the better I act at the table. For the price Amazon sells this product compared to how much I won on my last trip, I would say Poker Academy V2 is well worth it. Spend the money now, learn to play the game better (no matter what your experience level is), and go win at a real table.

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Handbook of Practical Electrical Design Review

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(More customer reviews)The McGraw-Hill cover misrepresents this book. It may preach to the choir but makes no converts. Concepts are long, obscure or ignored. The print is tight and some tables are not legible in places. The reader will learn little. Pedagogy is not the authors' strength. Having learned the basics of electricity in school I hoped for some of what the publisher promises, but was very dissappointed and 60 bucks poorer. Avoid my mistake.

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LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) Review

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(More customer reviews)The first thing I want to say about reading this book is : I passed! Certification books serve four purposes: first, they serve as a way to prepare for computerized certification exams. Second, they provide a 'training plan' for learning the objectives in the certification. Third, can a book explain system administration concepts while limiting a reader's exposure to difficult, elusive topics until later? Fourth, can a book like this still be useful post-certification?
Part One (covering the 101 test) contained generous amounts of examples for text-processing commands and a really top notch discussion of permissions, ownership, booting and documentation. Helpfully, 'need to know' boxes are scattered throughout the book to indicate how important a topic is on the test. Frequently, the author will point out that although he explained a certain topic in depth, it won't be covered in depth on the test. I really appreciated that, although I found that the actual test covered certain topics (such as X Windows) in much more depth than Dean leads us to believe. One thing, by the way, to remember, is that often the book gives only the 5 or 6 most popular switches for each command. If you learned about these commands only from this book, you might be overlooking some important switches. I found this especially to be true when Dean discussed user management. I consider usermod 'g and usermod 'G to be really important commands, but this book didn't even mention them. On the other hand, Dean gave an explanation of regular expressions which was quite adequate for the purposes of this book. Although omitting some switches proved exasperating at times, the simplified view of the commands can be helpful for linux newbies.
Part Two (covering 102 test) covered a lot more ground: Apache, sendmail, nfs, dns, tcp-ip; heck, books have been written on each of those topics. The book covered well these topics in particular: compiling a kernel, troubleshooting tcp-ip and using rpm's. I found his discussion of Debian package management to be hard to follow, although that may be because I've never used it before in real life (but watch out! The test covers this in depth!). The book's discussion of network services (nfs, sendmail, apache, samba) was shallow at best, but I doubt anyone would rely on such a book for maintaining a web server, for example. But it provided some of the basics at least. The section on X Window was succinct and helpful. Also, some of the information presented is outdated, at least on Red Hat's latest distribution. Red Hat, for example, no longer uses inetd for startup, and some of the directory paths have since changed. These are minor quibbles, and one of the challenge of passing a certification like this is asking yourself: should I be learning things for the exam that are no longer accurate or relevant in current distributions? Certifications test the knowledge available at the time of test creation, when in reality new applications are being added and processes streamlined every day.
The book contains lots of sample multiple choice items, review questions and exercises. The multiple choice items didn't really add much to the book, but I frequently referred to the review questions. (Remember, the LPI exam has fill-in-the-blanks questions). Don't overlook the excellent 'highlighter's index' at the back of the book.
Two minor quibbles. First, the cover is not very strong and is bent, torn and curled over. The other is that the LPI exam objectives are not located at the front or back of the book. Rather, the table of objectives for 101 are in the front, and objectives for 102 are in the middle. I referred to this table constantly to see the amount of weight LPI was giving to a particular topic. Also, because the table of contents follow the LPI learning objectives (probably a smart thing), it is often difficult to find documentation about a certain command. For that I might recommend Linux in a Nutshell , 3rd Edition, which serves as a comprehensive index of commands and system utilities. It is excellent. Also, General Linux I Exam Prep (Exam: 101) by Dee Ann LeBlanc (published in 2000), is an extremely helpful book (and available for significantly reduced price used). Although it was one of the first to market and didn't address the LPI objectives explicitly, the exercises and presentation of material are every bit as good as Dean's book. Keep in mind also that LPI Linux Certification is not sufficient in and of itself. You will probably end up referring to other books such as Matt Welsh's Running Linux, Olaf Kirch's Linux Network Administrator's Guide or the unbelievably good Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition .

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CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide, Deluxe Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Like many workplace professionals I have long harbored the desire to obtain accreditation and certification in many of the Microsoft and A+ fields. A friend of mine slipped me the CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide shortly before the holidays with little more than a wink and a nod. As many of you can empathize with, my holiday season was filled with many hours of road and plane trips visiting various familial groups. Frankly if it weren't for said monotonous travel times I probably would have never picked up the book. Its one thing to say you want to prepare for an exam and another to pick up the 800+ page study guide. Several hours into my read, I was glad I did.
While I may be a newcomer to the certification field, I'm by no means a layman to computer-related study and preparatory guides. I have spent many an hour at the local mega book store perusing the offerings of the major companies and have, almost universally, found them to be sloppily and spasmodically written and filled with superfluous information that was more in line with A+ theory than A+ application. Not so with this guide, the authors say it best themselves "This book was written with one goal in mind: to prepare you for the challenges of the real IT world, not just pass the A+ exams."
They weren't kidding. I learned, not only how to pass the exam but application of the exam's knowledge in a common-sense fashion. Everything in the guide is streamlined information delivery, always prefaced with easily understood `Real-World Scenarios' and memory aiding `Hands-On-Exercises'. The CD, which I initially had a little trouble running, is packed with close to an hour and a half of instructional video so not only could I read about tasks but see them performed real time. The combination of these features didn't just `bring the class-room to the reader' as so many study guides claim but it brought me into the guide. It didn't just feel like I was studying it, the videos, combined with a little exploratory action in my own old pc, made it feel like I was actually doing it.
You will learn with CompTIA's latest A+ Complete Study Guide, I did.


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All-in-one guide plus videos prepares you for CompTIA's new A+ Certification
Candidates aiming for CompTIA's revised, two-exam A+ Certified Track will find what they need in this value-packed book. Prepare for the required exam, CompTIA A+ Essentials (220-601), as well as your choice of one of three additional exams focusing on specific job roles--IT Technician (220-602), Remote Support Technician (220-603), or Depot Technician (220-603). This in-depth Deluxe Edition features instructional videos, thorough coverage of all objectives for all four exams, bonus practice exams, and more. Inside, you'll find:
Comprehensive coverage of all exam objectives for all four exams in a systematic approach, so you can be confident you're getting the instruction you need
CD with over an hour of instructional videos so you see how to perform key tasks
Hand-on exercises to reinforce critical skills
Real-world scenarios that put what you've learned in the context of actual job roles
Challenging review questions in each chapter to prepare you for exam day
Exam Essentials, a key feature at the end of each chapter that identifies critical areas you must become proficient in before taking the exams
A handy fold-out that maps every official exam objective to the corresponding chapter in the book, so you can track your exam prep objective by objective
Look inside for complete coverage of all exam objectives for all four CompTIA A+ exams.

Featured on the CDs
SYBEX TEST ENGINE:Test your knowledge with advanced testing software. Includes all chapter review questions and 12 total bonus exams.
ELECTRONIC FLASHCARDS:Reinforce your understanding with flashcards that can run on your PC, Pocket PC, or Palm handheld.
PRACTICE CD:Learn how to perform key tasks with over an hour of instructional videos on a bonus CD!
Visit www.sybex.com for all of your CompTIA certification needs.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

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Power Systems Analysis (2nd Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a teacher and researcher working in the power systems area for more than 35 years, I have great pleasure in welcoming a revised edition of Art Bergen's classic book on Power Systems Analysis. When the first edition came out in 1986, it was a trend setter for those entering an academic career. The presentation was fresh and different with challenging problems added to each chapter. The book combined control system concepts with power system models and provided insight into dynamic operation of power systems.
In the last three decades, power system analysis has made great progress and mathematical techniques of optimization and matrix analysis have become entrenched in problem solution. Matlab has become de facto tool for use in the class room. The revised edition recognizes these facts, and without affecting the originality of the first edition supplements material that is indispensable to any student of power systems.
It is a difficult balancing act to provide the required mathematical knowledge without losing track of the practical nature of power systems. I feel that Vittal has achieved this.
There is a number of other books on power system analysis in the market, but the approach in most of the cases is similar to the classic book of Stevenson.
I would recommend the book for a senior level power system course in a 4-year program and as a reference to graduate students requiring a foundation in power systems.

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A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)Ok. There have been some negative reviews about this book and I wanted to add my 2 cents to this. It is possible to pass the A+ Certification exams using little more than this book. I should know, as I personally did it. It wasn't easy, it took a lot of studying, and my scores weren't the greatest, but I did pass using little more than the book and practice exams that came on the CD with the book. I got a 574 on the Core and a 619 on the OS. Not impressive, but I'm not saying this book will make you incredible, I'm just saying you can pass using very little besides this book.
My strategy went as follows:
1) Read the book staight through for about 2 weeks, reading 150-300 pages a day while TAKING NOTES. Writing the information physically on a sheet of paper helps a lot.
2) Memorize the notes you took. Ingrain everything you think is important into your brain. And this isn't just necessarily facts. Its the concepts behind the facts. This book did a really good job with those and because of it, I was able to correctly guess a good number of the questions on the OS exam that would have otherwise stumped me.
3) Read the Objectives off CompTIA's website! This will help you catch anything that the book missed.
4) Take the practice exams with the book. I left one exam for Core and OS until I felt like I was done studying and just wanted a confidence boost. Don't underestimate this. Attitude can make a big difference. Also, don't underestimate the value of the practice exams. They are about as tough as the real thing. Some questions easier, some harder, but overall about the same difficulty.
5) Retake those practice exams until everything you missed is ingrained into your mind. There were at least 6 or 7 questions on each test I ONLY got right because I remembered getting them wrong on the practice exams.
6) Find any practice exams or questions online that you can. I opted to use some free ones, many of them only being about 10 questions or so, but they gave me other perspectives and ways to ask questions that I hadn't seen.
7) If you can, get some hands on experience. If the book is going over the Recovery Console, do it yourself. If you can picture doing things on the computer in your mind, it will help when it comes to test time.
8) Good luck! The more info you can get, the better, but with this book and your wits, you should at least be able to do better than I did. It took me about a month total of solid studying, and this is from someone who one year ago didn't even know how to build a PC, and had only made 3 before taking the test.
So overall, I think this book is worth it. I can't say anything about the competition because I haven't used it, but for about 50 bucks, this book is well written and easy to read, tells you at least MOST of what you know while being a little entertaining at the same time, and will come in handy as a great reference book. I've given it 5 stars not because its the most amazing thing written, but that it did what it was supposed to: get me to pass the A+ Exam.
I hope this review is helpful to those of you considering getting your certification!

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Written by Mike Meyers, the industry leader in A+ certification training, this authoritative reference offers complete coverage of all material on the A+ Core Hardware and Operating System Technologies exams. You'll find exam objectives at the beginning of each chapter, helpful exam tips, end-of-chapter practice questions, and photographs and illustrations. The bonus CD-ROM contains a testing engine with questions found only on the CD. This comprehensive guide not only helps you pass this challenging exam, but will also serve as an invaluable on-the-job reference.

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