By now, you've all gotten the news: ITworld is trimming its stable of newsletters, and this is to be the last issue of Certification News. The three e-commerce titles are also being combined under the "E-Commerce in Action" heading, which I will continue writing. 

For my last newsletter, I'm looking at an excellent training series from CBT Nuggets (http://www.cbtnuggets.com). I looked at the two-CD set for the Network+ Series. CBT doesn't make any assumptions as to your prior knowledge -- they start with the basics of networking here. While the first lesson may be common sense things that most of us would already know, for a beginner, this first lesson would provide an extremely useful background. I've seen plenty of training packages that make far too many assumptions, which would cause a novice to throw their hands up in despair. This one makes the extra effort to explain everything from the very beginning.

The multimedia presentation isn't too graphics-intensive, so it loads up quickly, even on my vintage PC. The only "talking head" you see is in the introduction, the bulk of the lessons are audio, with an accompanying whiteboard that presents notes and diagrams from the instructor that accompany each point in the lesson. An arrow moves around the screen to highlight specific sections, depending on what is being discussed. The diagrams and notes are hand-written, instead of having been prepared by some highfalutin' graphics guru with more special effects authoring software than any one person should be allowed to possess. I like the hand-drawn diagrams; they give the whole lesson series a personal touch.

The two CDs are divided up into separate lessons, which are detailed on an initial "Playlist," which shows each title and the length of each lesson. When the lesson launches, you have the ability to pause, fast-forward, and rewind.

There is a Web-based "Virtual Lab" that is accessible from the main menu. The "Virtual Lab" is a thoughtful section that adds something extremely useful, and that is pictures and close-ups of different components that are discussed in the lesson. There are many times I would have found this to be a useful innovation in other tutorials. Although I may completely understand a theoretical discussion, I still want to know what all the pieces look like. The individual lessons don't have exams or practice sessions, but you can find these in the Virtual Lab.

The packages are affordable and I like the personalized style. The Network+ CD I reviewed is priced at just $199; prices vary for each title but all are quite reasonable. CBT Nuggets has training CDs for MCSE 2000, XP MCSE, CCNA, Linux+, A+, Network+, and Server+.

The Last Word
On a final note, I just want to say it's been a pleasure bringing you the latest news in the certification world every week, and I've appreciated all of your many emails and comments over the past two years I've been writing it.