Microsoft Books

The book talks about scripting and it accomplishes it's goal. There are examples of vbscript, jscript, an hta, and vba. It is apparent that the author favors jscript. The quality of scripts are better then the vbscript examples.

There are 14 chapters: How to use this book, Why scripting, Windows Scriptable Technologies, Enumerating and Dumping the Users, Groups, and Computers of Active Directory, Dumping a Domain User's Detail Account Information, Listing Soon-to-Expire Domain User Accounts, Move Away from Batch Files-A New Logon Script, Foundation: A Directory Computer-Dump Tool, Browser-Based Computer Information Diagnostics, Worm Vulnerability Detector, Remotely Enumerate Local Computer Accounts, Local Password Audit and Change Tool, E-mail Script Notification, Where to Go from Here.

As I mentioned this is not a book for people new to scripting. However, it is useful in that it will show the use of modules and it does go about explaining the code examples by the blocks and functions.

I found the descriptions of the modules useful even though I don't use JScript. Probably the most useful script was an HTA script for local diagnostics.

The CD has the scripts mentioned but you might want to go through the effort of typing and debugging the code. Especially, if you are new to windows scripting.

Overall, a good book to have for a reference on what it gives you. It expanded my knowledge.

No long-winded review here. This book is a great read for anyone with a small to medium sized IT organization. I bought a copy for each system admin in my group. Not many books pay for themselves in time savings with just one example as this book has done.

This book now sits on my desk instead of on the shelf full of other resources. The book comes with a CD to get you off and running and it steps through at a good pace for beginners like me. Being a Win2K SBS admin I don't have money for enterprise tools. I was eager to "empower" myself and this did the trick. I like the format because it's progression from introduction to scripting is thorough enough for me but not boring.

So what are the top 10 scripts? - Enumerating and Dumping the Users, Groups, and Computers of AD; Dumping a Domain User's Detailed Account Information; Listing Soon-to-Expire Domain User Accounts; Move Away from Batch Files- A New Login Script; Foundation: A Directory Computer- Dump Tool; Browser- based Computer Information Diagnostics; Worm Vulnerability Detector; Remotely Enumerate Local Computer Accounts; Local Password Audit and Change Tool; E-mail Script Notification. BUT WAIT- This doesn't tell the whole story- I especially liked the tie in with Excel for execution and output! Fellinge's book got me off the ground which is exactly what I needed.

Honestly, I really do not feel this book is ideal for the novice. Users should have some administration sensibility with Active Directory. Yet, what I do find profound, is that there are both (1) very practical applicable scripts and techniques, and (2) there are some truly amazing scripts.

I am at a loss of words for some inspirational things that I found that can give you the ability to generate spreadsheets reports on the fly and also have a live spreadsheet that can go out to the net and pull info. There is this fascinating example script that creates a web page wizard-like HTA application.

To some things up, this book is powerful. This adds a lot of good material one's admin collection. Using this book, you won't become just a scripter, but you'll be down right incredible, such that lightning will ignite from your fingertips (metaphorically speaking) as you create masterpiece killer scripts.

I am one of the Technical Writers who contributed to the Microsoft Windows Scripting Guide for Microsoft Press. Since working on that book, Mr. Fellinge's book is the first I've reviewed on scripting. The author does a great job of exploring some common scripting tasks and demonstrating how to solve them using JavaScript and VBScript. His understanding of both ADSI and WMI is impressive. These two technologies are at the core of automating Windows system administration. What makes this book especially interesting is the author's focus on real-world sysadmin tasks. He is clearly writing from experience.
I recommend this book for anyone with a basic understanding of scripting who is interested in really putting that knowledge to good use.

This is the BEST book for learning statistics for business or a more advanced course in econometrics (i.e., dealing with problems presented by economics data, such as heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation). If you haven't taken a probability and statistics course immediately before the intermediate econometrics course, you MUST get this book and do as many of the exercises as possible. If you're starting a job in consulting, you MUST study this book before you start your job. The text and exercises rely on EXCEL. I've been teaching this stuff for 20 years, and I didn't really learn the "Data Analysis Tools" in EXCEL until to taught a course with this book. (And the author actually answers email!) The rate of return on this book is about 1000%, i.e., for $40 your lifetime earnings will increase over $4000 (not including the time you put into studying EVERY page). Just do it!

business statistics and at the same time learn how to use Excel statistical features, buy this book.

Neufeld's emphasis is very much on using the power of Excel as a "tool" to convey an good understanding of the statistics. And having recently tried to brush up my Statistics using the traditional text book approach...

So, if you're one of those who likes to really understand what's going on you'll like this book.

I'm going back to school and really needed to brush up on my statistics. This book did the trick and I'll use what I learned from it for the rest of my career.

This is one of the best text books in Business Statistics that I have come across which not only is theoretically excellent but also helps you master Excel. I think this author should seriously think of adding some more chapters like Conjoint analysis so that it is helpful to PhD students like me.
On a whole, an excellent text book for all graduate students. A must for all graduate business students.

I think this is one of the best books on this topic available. I have purchased many in an effort to merge statistical knowledge with the Excel application. While Excel is a powerful tool it can be tough to figure out how to harness all that power. It is an expertly written, no-frills book. The author clearly knows how frustrating most of the other Excel books on the market can be so he takes great care to walk you though the steps to success. A one star hit for a few noticeable things missing. One topic I really would like to have seen is creation of boxplots (very tough to do in Excel). A minor issue though because this book is loaded with great infromation and step-by-step approaches.

It is a bit pricey at [$], but I think well worth the price. If you can find it second hand then all the better because there is no data or sample disc included. I usually find the lack of a disc for such an expensive book annoying; however, there is a web site for you to download the data files referenced in the book so everything makes sense. As the title suggests the focus is business statistical applications. Bottom line: great book.

Probably you have heard this is the hardest windows server 2003 exam, then i will say that it is. The good news are really study this book and of course really do practice this material on a virtual machine or a test enviroment. Why may this book will not be enough to pass the exam, it is because you will get simulations (you'll have to configure dns, dhcp, etc) and that's why you will need lot of practice. But the book will help you along the way.

This was a great book for the 70-291 exam. Most people refer to this one as the hardest in the MCSE 2003 track so I spent some extra time pouring over this particular book. The information was comprehensive and I'd say it was one of the best in the series in terms of learning that just keeps on giving. I'm studying for the Server 2008 upgrade now and it's nice to see that a lot of the concepts covered in this book are still valid. Passed this exam using the book and a little experience with a healthy margin.

Before I started on my MCSA path, I had basically zero hands on experience with server. I picked up this book along with the book for the 70-290 test and these are ALL I used to pass both the tests.

Just read and make sure you UNDERSTAND what you are reading and do all the exercises and practice quizzes/tests. You really need 2 computers to do all the exercises.

Excellent prep for the exam, but you definitely need a multi computer lab environment. W2003 Server(32 and 64bit) will run on an old machines with only 512Mb memory. Useful to also upgrade old servers via W2000 and various service patches, change and kill old domains etc. Trivial problems can sometimes take a long time to resolve, but you learn a lot in the process.

Well, I'm impressed. For starters, I got a valuable education from this book, not to mention a 980 on the exam. This book is a thorough course and will prepare you as much for the real world as it will the exam, but it requires a practice network of at least 2 computers (I recommend 3), and a lot of time - 250 to 300 hours. This isn't the kind of book that you read in bed or on the couch. The book is approx. 25% reading, 75% hands on lab work.

I give my money to Microsoft reluctantly, especially on products that depend on solid communication skills, but since the book came with a trial version of Server 2003, I plugged my nose and bought it. I expected a litany of typos, endless ambiguity and the "good enough" quality standards that their software has accustomed me to, but that wasn't the case at all. The book was 98% accurate. The practice exam software was an asset, and like I said, it was thorough. It's only shortcoming was in the topic area of "Windows Software Update Service". I should add that I had two years of experience within an Active Directory environment under my belt.

If you have been putting off getting your MCSE and am anything like I was, "Next month I will start preparing for my MCSE.". However, I had no place to begin.

This is the place to begin. Buy this book, READ this book, and you WILL have a better knowledge of computer and network basics.

If you are currently working in this field, you'll even understand some of the things you've troubleshooted in the past - it all comes clear.

I am a programmer for a small software company. Besides programming, I also do training and I fly places and install client/server database engines (and our app) on various networks; which means that I end up troubleshooting misconfigured networks. We have tech support people who talk to IS people at different companies every day. I have recommended to my boss that he buy a copy of this book for every one of our techs. This book uses clear language and covers all the relevant subjects. It is well-organized and almost free of errors. Kudos to Lisa Donald!

This book is destined to be a classic.

Who's saying this? A guy who's an MCSD and a Sun Certified Java Programmer.

I am not the most educated person in the field of computers or networking, but I am not the stupidest either. I build computers on the side and got interested in getting my MCSE. I got this and 3 other books, this book really starts with the basics. If you are getting your MCSE, you will need more than this, however this will definintly prepare you for the acronyms and vocabulary you will find in more advanced books, so that you will know what they are talking about. It is a priceless reference to me and find myself referring back to it time and time again. I have 2 books of the Sybex MCSE titles and they are both very good, I have not rated the other nor will I mention it now because I have not yet finished it. If you want to get your MCSE I recommend this book. It is fast easy reading and barring what it deals with is the most attention grabbing non-fiction book I have ever read.

This book is extremely simple, but excellent background for those who have little or no knowledge of computer networks and Windows NT. I found it very clear and the descriptions of basic Networking model is much better than any I have found in university course materials. I had never used NT so was pleased to find that this described the basic principes. If you know the basics already, skip it and go straight to the Sybex study guides.

I AM A 56 YEAR OLD TRUCK DRIVER WHO DECIDED TO BECOME A MCSE. WHILE TAKING MY CORE COURSES I FOUND MOST ARE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED IN THE FIELD AND WAS VERY, VERY LOST.. THANKS TO YOUR BOOK I HAVE FILLED IN MUCH OF THE BLANKS IN BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE. THIS BOOK WAS SUCH A FIND FOR ME..I HAVE GIVEN THIS BOOK TO MY 15 YEAR OLD SON TO READ TO PREPARE HIM FOR A CAREER IN NETWORKING.. WOULD RECCOMEND A CD-ROM/SEARCHABLE DATABASE ADDITION WITH A ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NETWORKING TERMS AND CONCEPTS.. WHAT A GREAT BOOK!

The ace it series is very easy to understand and has helped me alot. Good for anyone that knowns how to use the topic but need to learn a little more to pass the test

i have been using nt server books for a long time and this is the best book so far i came across. you dont waste anytime in studying at all, all information is given. Highly recommended for people taking the Server Exam!!!!

the only thing that i wish it can be improved are the questions that was given by the book. It needs a little more punch.

I used this book in conjunction with Exam Cram and found it more thorough, as well as more understandable. I got an excellent score on the test and purchased more books in this series.

A great supplement to your studies for this exam. I purchased Mark's book along with Microsoft's self-paced kits and Readiness Review book. Mark's was by far the best! He gets right to the point with just the essentials you need for passing the exam. I plan on purchasing his other book for my next exam - Server in the Enterprise. For this exam in particular, I prefer Mark's book over the Exam Cram series that I felt was too wordy! Good luck to all, with this book you can't go wrong!

This book is a great study guide for the NT Server exam! I used it to review, and by the time I started taking Trancender exams, I knew almost everything I needed to know.

In the past I've used Exam Cram, MS Readiness Review, TestPrep and Ace-It books, and the Ace-It are always the most helpful. I'd recommend the whole series

This book was very helpful to solve my interoperability problems w/o building crazy wrapper code. I had two huge issues, I was struggling to build an XML web services bridge channel between my j2ee application and microsoft C# application. I had several issues with encodings and XML content issues. I had integration problems with couple of j2ee applications with VB app. This book helped me to solve them.
This book is perfect balance for understanding all microsoft <-> j2ee integration specific concepts and code guidance. Simon guest done terrific job explaining the concepts with good level of details to support both from j2ee and .net perspectives. The author has so much grip and clarity on the subject, makes it so simple for understanding and illustrations and very clear to read. A must have for java and .net developers.

It's an essential resource for any architect or developer who is involved in integrating the two platforms, J2EE and .Net, with enough breadth and depth in both being a technical reference as well as offering practical examples and solutions. The samples are working applications that can quickly jumpstart design and development, providing enough understanding and is presented in a clear concise manner.

It has helped us resolve some rather complex interoperable challenges that we've had with some of our customer applications, and saved us an immense amount of time and resource in research.

If you are looking for a quick start to resolving a complex problem, this would be a great place to begin.

Kudos!

Today's Enterprises are heterogenous environments that make writing reliable efficient applications a nightmare at the best of times. This book gives the modern developer the tools and strategies necessary to successfully build and deploy heterogenous applications in today's Enterprises.

It is nice to see that readers are offered many different strategies for interop including both webservices and binary.

In addition, the companion CD actually contains TONS of usefull stuff including all the code, and usefull 3rd party applications.

Truly a must have.

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt is what J2 enthusiasts cling to when discussing .NET technologies. Simon cuts through these biases with concise, helpful guidance of how to interoperate. IBM and Microsoft both have committed to interoperability and Mr. Guest's book shows how that has real-world applicability. This book shows how an IT organization does not have to commit to J2 or .NET, but BOTH can interoperate and solve the problem. This book is no-nonsense and gives both audiences of developers equal perspective and guidance. Both platforms have their own value. This book attempts to bring synergy and achieves success in doing so. Bravo!

This book is a godsend for anyone who wants to learn how to successfully integrate .NET and J2EE software systems. Simon's writing style is clear and engaging, the book is well structured, and there are copious examples which provide concrete examples of each aspect of .NET/J2EE integration. One of the book's distinguishing features is that it covers a wide range of scenarios, such as XML data interchange, web services interoperability, messaging with MSMQ and the integrating with the presentation tier. The book ships with several useful third party Java products on a CD that allow the reader to immediately try out the code samples. Highly recommended!

Best Access VBA book I have ever bought, and I have bought several.

Callahan is a great author, knows his application, and is great at explaining something that looks complicated, making it very simple to start programming your access forms and objects, jumping right into the nitty gritty.

Useful even if you use Access 2003. I have not bought Access Vista, but it's as good and still functional for Access 2003.

I have worked with Access97 for several years now, but the person designing the databases worked strictly in macros. I had read enough of the developer's books to realize that isn't the proper way to go, but those books were over my head since I had never had any programming experience. This book fit the bill because it assumed I knew nothing else. I think if I master this book and the Access Macro & VBA handbook by Susann Novalis that I will then be ready for the developer's books. Novalis described it as: intro books - walking; intro VBA programming - running; developer books - flying. I really want my databases to fly, but I have to learn to run first.

Great tutorial with specific examples that walk you though customizing Access DBs with a business purpose in mind. Really great book, I highly reccommend it to anyone who is planning to learn how to build customized access applications. Worth every cent you spent on it.

Mr. Callahan provides a well-organized, easy-to-follow tutorial on application development in Microsoft Access 95, emphasizing Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). This book is an excellent introduction to Access programming. Hands-on training is provided on the accompanying diskette.

I love this book. I learned more in 3 hours with this book than I did in a month of wading through various Access and VBA tomes. It is a perfect fit for the fairly technical Access user who is new to Visual Basic. Is your database dying under the weight of its macros? You need VBA and this is the book to teach it to you.

If you want to learn how to play chess, this is the way. The first book of the series, Play Winning Chess, describes the moves, rules, and terminology. While many people claim to know how to move the pieces, do they really know what a fianchetto is? How about en passant? Or what does o-o-o mean?
The second book of the series, Winning Chess Strategies, describes how to best deploy your pieces. What are good and bad bishops? How can a knight be defeated? What to do with the rooks?
The last book of this series, Winning Chess Tactics, illustrates the heart and soul of chess, beneficial exchanges. It gives you some basic fundamentals such as x-rays, skewers, and pins.
These books are easily readable and have many diagrams and explanations. Thinking about starting to learn about chess? Start here.

THis set is amazing. As a gift or for yourself, you can't go wrong purchasing these 3 books from Yasser Seirawan. I purchased mine here at Amazon "used" from HPCB-Online. The books were in mint condition packaged with care and they arrived in record time! I was surprised to find them because they are now out-of-print and are becoming hard to find. If you or someone you love is into chess, then make sure you don't let this set pass you by! Cheers!

OK, so you know how the pieces move, have learned the four-move-checkmate, and like to attack. But, you are being hammered by better players who side-step your cheap attacks on f2 and f7, so what do you do? I recommend these books to all of my students because they methodically (and entertainingly) guide the reader through all the fundamentals of chess. These were some of the first books I read and I have gone back to them again and again to get material for teaching new players. These are the core of my chess book collection. Yasser, you are a great writer! How about an autobiography sometime soon?

If you are a beginner or rated slightly higher, this is the best one series of books you can study. There are actually six in this series and you would be wise to study them all. My rating jumped 200 points after I read only three books in the series! I still have three books left to study! Yasser Seirawan has demonstrated through this series and his other books how well he writes as well as plays chess. There are only about thirty or forty GREAT chess instructional books in print, this is a great place to start quality chess study.

I actually bought all these books seperatly! Seeing them available as a set for a lot cheaper is Great! I wish I knew it was sold that way. This set is full of usefull information for a serious chess beginner. The first book, Play Winning Chess, goes over the basic rules and covers most chess terminology. Kind of basic, but Yasser's four principles of chess are outstanding. The second, Winning Chess Tactics, is where it starts getting good, I am not even through it all the way, and I already noticed a real improvement on my games. I play on-line, and I was getting butchered, I spotted a nice Combination the way I learned in the book, and checkmate shortly followed. The third book is called Winning chess Stratagies, i havent even opened it yet, but i can't wait. If you are a serious beginner who is tired of hearing, "Check Mate!", and never saying it, this set is for you. If you are a "real" chess player you should read something a little more advanced. They are still full of valuable information, well worth a read.

This particular series of instructional books (meaning the "QuickSteps" series) has always been one of my favorites -- they're concisely written in short paragraphs with decent descriptive pictures to help anyone learn just about any type of software application.

While I found this book to be fairly complete, I'd still only recommend it as a desk-side reference manual to use along with Microsoft tutorials themselves. While it is a cleverly written book that is not as cumbersome to use as other reference books on the market, it does not address all of the finer points of Excel.

All in all, it's a great reference book, and let's face it, sometimes it's just easier to review a chapter a few times to digest material rather than stare at a computer screen until you become cross-eyed.

All in all, I'd probably give this book a 4.5, but since that's not an option, I'll have to stick with 4 stars.

I manage a medium-sized network and support a large number of fairly savvy users. That is, most users know how to do their specific tasks very well and are willing to learn new things. But they are not willing to sit down with a book full of dense text. This is where the "Quick Steps" books come in handy. I keep a number of these books on hand and when a user requests assistance, I give them one of the books with the appropriate page bookmarked. Steps are outlined in full color with lots of pictures and pointers and tips. Additional information is set off in side boxes so users can learn more if they choose. What I have found is that once a user completes a task successfully, they get fairly excited about the experience and browse the book to learn more. The books really stimulate users to experiment with things they would not normally bother to learn. And that is where this book excels. It is a "browser." Users don't feel like they need to start at the beginning and read through to the end. I get lots of grumbles when I ask for the book back so I can pass it on to others.

This book is also great for new users. I tell them to spend a few hours working through the steps, which are easy to follow and can be done at a fairly fast pace. Most users think the full color layout is fun to work through. The down-side is that like any book, space is limited, especially with the fully-illustrated format, so you're obviously not going to find everything in these books, but I do feel they contain a good balance of material and are appropriate for corporate libraries.

Marty (the concept author for the Quick Steps series) and I are fellow writers and that is how I learned about these books. I must say that they have helped my users enormously and relieved my support task. Hey, it's the 21st century. Anyone working in an office should know how to work with operating systems and common applications. Most people can do that if they have easily accessible references and refresher material like these books. Thanks to Marty for developing the "Quick Steps" concept and to McGraw-Hill for publishing this series.

I'm a soon-to-be-graduating Psychology student at the University of Washington and I am writing this review from the perspective of some one using excel in Social Sciences.

I found this book extremely suited to my needs...each step was very clear and precise and it was easy to find the chapter or section that was most applicable to what I was working on.

It covered all of the functions of Excel that I have used in my classes thus far. Although my intro. classes had a very brief introduction to the functions I needed, as I progressed into higher level classes and used more and more Excel I found that I needed additional specific instructions for my work. This book was very helpful in that way, and saved me the bother of forever emailing questions to my professor, as I had done before I received the book.

I actually used Excel the most to analyze the significance of data from an experiment that I had designed and to graph the results. This required quite a few steps and it was helpful to have a guide to look at as I went as opposed to trying to guess what came after the basic skills I had previously learned.

I also lent this book to a friend who works in American Ethnic Studies and used Excel to organize and make tables of data for her thesis. The American Ethnic Studies major has no background in science, so was in the position of having absolutely zero knowledge of Excel. However, with this book alone, she was able to complete the Excel portion of there thesis without any additional help.

From a student's point of view, this is a great resource if your field involves any use of Excel.

I don't use Excel all the time. But when I do I don't have time to troubleshoot problems.

This hands-on, user friendly book has helped me conquer Excel. The text is readable and well organized. The visuals are clean and fully support the instructions.

I found that you can start from the beginning and teach yourself EXCEL with simple step by step instructions or you can flip straight to your topic of interest and further build your skills. This is a great tool for all levels of expertise.

I am an infrequent Excel user, so I needed a good reference book that is well indexed. That's exactly what I got with Excel 2003 QuickSteps. It's easy to find what I need when I want it. It's very well illustrated and contains a lot of great tips. The author does an excellent job of explaining the material.

As a program director for a university that presents conferences and seminars, it is my responsibility to review powerpoint presentations given by our speakers. To be perfectly frank, the majority of the presentations are "borrrrrrrrrring". This kit is the perfect tool needed to turn the presentations into presentations that are not only easier to read, but much more interesting to view. The easy to follow exercises make even a "newbie" to powerpoint look like a pro. It's "hands-on" approach is by far the best teaching tool I have encountered. Kudo's to the authors - GREAT JOB!

Where Cutting Edge PowerPoint 2007 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) ends PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit begins. This book is a wonderful addition to any library for those who want to quickly design exceptional PowerPoint presentational slides. Each section is thorough and complete in its content and detail. The authors show both before and after images and instructions to enable the novice to easily gain the talent to completely revamp their own projects.

Whether you envision a simple presentation or a complex Trade Show Loop with all the capabilities PowerPoint has to offer you will find the tools you are looking for within the contents of this edition.

This is a excellent compliment to my own, Presentational Skills for the Next Generation, self-help book.

I own and operate a presentation design and training company. With my responsibilities, it never hurts to stay up to speed with anything related to PowerPoint. This is an excellent resource and I have recommended it to my entire team. In addition, the CD which is included is a great value added item. Overall, this is a great read and resource.

I have been using PowerPoint since it was first introduced, and have literally done hundreds of presentations. Most consider me a power user. But this book taught me a lot.

In fact, I can safely say that I have never learned so much, so quickly, as I did with this book. The makeover concept is an awesome educational tool. The makeovers gave me insight not only into the powerful new features in PowerPoint 2007, but also into the sort of things that make one presentation stand out from the rest.

Animation for the sake of emphasis, not just for its own sake.

Subtle timing techniques, and a host of other useful information.

I would recommend this book for anyone. I am not exaggerating when I say that working through these makeovers is more fun than a videogame...

And the bonus material on the CD that comes with the book just adds to its value.

My team builds presentations to support instructor-led courses, so we're often asked by other organizations to help with their PowerPoint decks to support their various presentations. Most presentations we're given are just plain TERRIBLE! We're brought into the projects way too late to do anything more than keep the presenters from embarrassing themselves. We do this with some quick and dirty tricks (applying backgrounds, arranging contents to basic grids, swapping out the horrible clipart they've swiped illegally from Google Images, revising terrible titles, & editing grammatical errors). I've been looking for a book to help our internal partners build better presentations from the start (i.e., beyond the quick tricks!).

The Complete Makeover Kit is EXACTLY what it says it is - a makeover kit! Some of the books I've reviewed go deep into why this or that presentation "sucks," then provide a lengthy textual description of how they saved the day. This MAY be followed by some quick after shots OR before shots (I ask you, was that SUPPOSED to be helpful???).

In a welcome contrast, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit starts with a quick walkthrough the new interface (for more detail, use Geetesh Bajaj's other books on using PowerPoint 2007), then dives deep into the makeover. The authors don't waste your time telling you how hard they worked on the transformation - they open the presentation and start working on it. The step-by-step procedures are given enough detail that a newbie can open PowerPoint and follow along. Each key step is supported with a color screen capture from the PowerPoint tool, and there are before and after color shots of the slides throughout the book.

The book is beautifully designed and executed, and well worth the $30 price tag (although on sale for $20 at this time on Amazon), "BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE!" The book comes with a CD containing the before & after versions of the presentations in the book (use them for practice while you walk through the book!), a host of templates, various images, demos of helpful utilities, and two additional chapters for the book (more resources and a basic intro to SmartArt) - that's what makes this a "kit."

Even if your team is still using a previous version of PowerPoint, most of the techniques can be applied to your presentations (you just can't use the power features the authors walk through). I highly recommend buying this book for yourself, your team, and your peers (especially the ones who come to you for help!). (Oh yeah, and subscribe to Indezine - Geetesh' awesome free website and newsletter! The link appears in the "About the Author" section of the Editorial Reviews.)