CCNA Study: Hardcopy or Ebook ?

rayzermack

1st Post !

About to make a serious effort to pass my CCNA this year.

My question, what is your preferred method of studying if you have access to either methods;

ebook (pdf/kindle) or an actual hardcopy of the book?

NotHackingYou

I much prefer a hard copy book to PDF reading.

AlexCross

I like the hardcopy as well. There is a much better sense of accomplishment moving the bookmark to the middle, 3/4 and end. It makes it much easier to jump back and reread something too.

networker050184

It's easier to stay focused with the hard copy. I get weak and end up browsing the web or something at times.

JasonIT

+1 for hardcopy. Plus they look good in your bookshelf! I have an entire row of Cisco exam books

JeanM

I've used hardcover for ICND1, but I am going to try using my tablet for the second test. Many times I've found myself falling asleep in my chair while reading, so we'll see how that works using a tablet instead.

I've purchased eBooks when they come up on the deal of the day $10 sales to compliment hardcover books.

goldenlight

I prefer the hard copy. Comes with Practice exam, and lab simulations.

Not sure if Kindle version comes with access to CD

JustFred

I just love the smell of books. I have a kindle but for some reason, i really dislike reading tech stuff on there, i rather have a book. Back pains be damned lol.

danny069

Hardcopy - you can take it anywhere and not worry about a battery dying, e-books are a pain, "old skool" always

TurK-FX

I been doing ebook. On my android tablet and phone, i can sync with mantano reader, add bookmarks highlights notes etc. For me it makes sense since I spend 2 hours in the subway. I dont have to carry 10lbs book around, and easy to read standing up, sitting down, doing highlights and etc..

azaghul

Much prefer a book for study, the way Cisco books are usually formatted you get to see the diagram and the text. Tablets only give you a small window in comparison. But tablets are great as a portable library for reference, and ideal for video training or when travelling.

steve2012

TurK-FX wrote: »

I been doing ebook. I dont have to carry 10lbs book around, and easy to read standing up, sitting down, doing highlights and etc..

+1 for pdf

I used to use the books. I actually started by reading the ICND1 book twice, then switched to the pdf version that came with it on my laptop. Third time reading it just felt like it flew by much quicker than with the book, though that may just be attributed to reading it three times.


Steve

JeanM

No problems seeing diagrams or anything of that sort on any of the newer tablets. The bigger 9-10" ones don't require any zooming either. Now, if it's on a cell phone that's another story!

azaghul wrote: »

Much prefer a book for study, the way Cisco books are usually formatted you get to see the diagram and the text. Tablets only give you a small window in comparison. But tablets are great as a portable library for reference, and ideal for video training or when travelling.

spicy ahi

I typically buy both since I work in data centers that don't allow personal electronic devices and have limited access to the internet. However, I just talked to a coworker of mine and he mentioned to me that he goes to kinko's and prints the ebooks out. Costs him about $15-25 with binding and considering that he buys his cisco books as an ebook of the week for $10, you can't go wrong with having the ebook and a printed/bound book for at most $35/40. I haven't checked into this myself since I already have both ebooks and hardcopy for all the CCNP books, but I always keep an eye out for the deal of the week's. Next one I buy I'm going to try to do the Kinko's thing and report back.

d6bmg

I prefer hard copy of at least one book. In my case I've hard copies of all official guides of respective CISCO exams till CCNP.

instant000

I read somewhere once that you can read paper 25% faster than a screen.

So, if you want to cut that 4 day reading chore down to 3 ...

d6bmg

instant000 wrote: »

I read somewhere once that you can read paper 25% faster than a screen.

So, if you want to cut that 4 day reading chore down to 3 ...

I totally agree with you, but I'm also sure that many people will disagree with us.

al3kt.R***

I currently use supplemental PDFs for final revision/refresh purposes and of course for quickly reviewing the question/answer sections.
Reading/studying through the printed books offers a more relaxing/comfortable experience for me resulting in higher success probabilities.
Besides, having failed only 1 exam so far and that same & only one time I studied exclusively using e-book and online references, I guess means substituting PRINTED BOOKS with e-material is not good for my brain's appetite and learning capabilities.

krjay

I buy both for every book I get into. I find that it's easier to open up an ebook at work or when traveling if I have a few minutes to read. On the other hand I prefer to read out of a book, so when I'm at home I use the hard copy.

Slowhand

I used to be very gung-ho about having hard copy books for everything I was studying, it always felt better to have the physical, dead-tree tome in my hands. I like being able to sit somewhere and read through the material, but not have to have a table in front of me to sit my laptop or even a table device.

Lately, though, I've been using PDF books more and more, since I find loading up a book at work or on my laptop wherever I am, and it saves me the back-aches of carrying those heavy books all around. Convenience is finally trumping nostalgia for me, so I guess I'm going more and more digital as time goes on, even with things like math books.

That's life, living in the damn future, I guess.

xza

.mobi for ipad third edition. works awesome on my ipad, sepia background and tells me how many pages i have left in each chapter.

RemcoST

I combine the two, I prefer reading hard copy, it is however more convenient to load a PDF/ePub when on the road or at work. The other plus side to the PDF for is with note taking, if there are tables or schematics that I want in my notes I can now simply copy and paste them in when I type it all out.

JeanM

Wife got me a nexus 7 32gb for bday, and I love this thing. Put the kindle app on it and got the 101 ccna labs ebook from amazon for $10