MCSE Windows 2000 Professional LabSim (Exam: 70-210)

Amazon.com Review
A solid if not exceptional piece of training software, MCSE Windows 2000 Professional LabSim probably won't guarantee a pass by itself--but if you don't have a copy of Windows 2000 to fool around with, this could be the next best thing.
Imagine, if you will, sitting in a class with a large projector where the instructor talks as she demonstrates common Windows 2000 functions for you. "Okay, here's why you'd want to deploy an application," she says, "And here's how you do it." And she then hands the PC over to you, and you do it. If you can conjure up that picture in your mind, you pretty much have the whole idea of how this software works. (And if you can't, you're probably going to have some serious issues with passing anyway.)
It's not all wine and roses, however: the audio narration is okay, and gives a fair amount of detail, but it's fairly basic stuff and doesn't really get into the nitty-gritty underpinnings of Win2K. You'll understand the rudiments quite thoroughly, but a surprise question or two could still throw you--particularly in complex areas like group policies and security configurations. (And the audio narration may or may not be troublesome. On one of the two test PCs we installed it on, the audio voice-overs simply refused to work despite massive tweaking.)
For another thing, the "do it yourself" labs, which are the real selling point of the package, are task-oriented. They don't allow for adjustment or real-world feedback, where you screw something up drastically and then attempt to fix it. Instead, essentially, you're given a task (or set of tasks) to accomplish, and a simulation of a Windows 2000 interface. Only the "active" menu items do something when you click on them; the other items do nothing. So, if you're supposed to defrag a disk and you click on the Control Panel, nothing happens. This is an acceptable compromise, but since some of the tasks are fairly elaborate, it might be nice to have a "hint" function to remind you where to go next. As it stands, all you can do is reload the tutorials and take better notes for next time.
The selection of topics is pretty decent and should get you through the exam, as the LabSim touches on the major topics. (Other LabSims cover some of the issues in a fairly shallow way.) Most of the tutorials have an associated LabSim, although some of them--like security policies and tracking performance with Event Viewer--have absolutely nothing, which could cause problems later on down the road.
Unfortunately, the book that accompanies the software is just plain useless. If you're looking for two-sentence overviews of each lesson and a regurgitation of the goals for each LabSim--which, incidentally, are given when you start the exercise--this works fine. But it would have been a much better value to include a book that gave information you could actually find aside from the software. (Can we ask for a bundled Exam Cram?)
If you're looking to use this product in a large-scale training environment, it has a logon function--but only for a password. If your password matches up with an account, you're logged on automatically; if not, you're given a user name. This could lead to potential problems if two students mistakenly choose the same password.
In short, this isn't the greatest software, but it'll get you far enough into the course to pass with an additional book or two to fill in the more technical details. --William Steinmetz
The MCSE Windows 2000 Professional LabSim is a highly effective training tool for candidates preparing for the MCSE Windows 2000 Professional exam (70-210). Nothing beats the realism of LabSim™ simulation software from TestOut! Corporation. The software covers key exam topics such as installation and configuration of Windows 2000 Professional, Web integration with Internet Explorer5, network security, wireless networking, and the integration of Windows 2000 Professional with other operating systems such as U