70-291: Calculator in the exam...

No specific 291 stories but I can tell you that although 70-216 (the Win 2000 equivalent) was a very tough exam, which I failed on the first attempt, it was by far the most interesting and rewarding. The knowledge has turned out to be the most valuable of all the exams I sat. The topics covered are without a doubt the crème de la crème, so just get stuck in and enjoy the ride. If you fail Sparky, you will not be the first, just dig in deeper and sit it again.

Good luck

 

Yes - the calculator is (or was when I took 70-216) the MS one - complete with scientific mode for all those binary caluclations - not that you should need it, can't you subnet in your head?

Good luck with the exam - Bluerinse is right, if its anything like the 2000 track one was its going to be a bitch to pass, but you'll learn so much that it'll be worth it to you in the end. You'll need to know routing, Subnetting, DHCP, DNS, NAT etc like the back of your hand, but make sure you do a lot of research into the more obscure areas, like EFS, Certificate Services, Kerberos and (believe it or not) WINS - so much for the old 'you don't need WINS' crap!

I've never failed an MS exam, but this was the closest I ever came - I was in there for three hours, and just guessed at the answers to a couple of the questions at the end. I didn't get a score, but you have no idea how relieved I was when the message 'you passed' was displayed!

IMO, this is the exam where having a lot of 'on-the-job' experience will REALLY help you out.

 

The calculator is a basic, no scientific calculator. It does not even look nor function like the standard Windows calculator.

 

I sh@t myself when I saw that a calculator was provided for my exams. I started to panic as I couldn't think of any possible reason for needing one!

 

Nonsense. The calculator IS the standard Windows calculator, and it DOES have the scientific functions. Seriously, why in the name of God would M$ provide VUE & Prometric with a 'non-scientific' calculator for the exams when the only reason - the ONLY reason - anyone would want to use it is for subnetting calculations?

Unless this has changed dramatically since I did my last M$ exam, ignore the above post.

 

Actually IIRC the calculator is not exactly the same as the windows one but it is close enough that you don't need to worry about it and yes it does have binary functions etc.

 

LOL - I wondered how long it would be before someone else on this forum started using a last.fm generated sig!

 

Well I would but I would need some control over the music I advertised - Depeche Mode Zeb, really

 

And?

I'm proud of absolutely everything I listen to. You'll find I have pretty eclectic tastes - everything from Death Metal & Grindcore to Techno and Jazz.

And Depeche Mode rules - Violator is one of the ten best albums ever made.

At least its not The Cheeky Girls or any of that shite thats regularly in the UK charts that sounds like two council estate rude boys having a row whilst someone tosses a shopping trolley down the stairs behind them.

 

Just winding you up mate. You are entitled to listen to whatever music you like, even Depeche Mode.

Eclectic taste, hmmm maybe but I am not sure what comes between Death Metal and Grindcore to Techno and Jazz? They are not musical extremes, just different genres. For example do you like folk music, country and western, blues, rhythm and blues, ska, blue beat, blue grass, soul, classical, Tiny Tim etc?

 

haha - you've probably just picked about every genre I DON'T like right there!

I hate country, chart pop, rubbish house, that shite that is allegedly 'R n' B' (though quite how R n' B evolved from Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes to Usher is beyond me), folk (except classical Spanish) and gabba/happy hardcore.

As for the genres I dolike, it would include most metal (not glam, and not black metal), most alternative, most 'real' dance, classical, opera, jazz, blues, 'real' R n' B, hip-hop, rap (although not very much released in the last six years or so), soul, emo, punk, hardcore, post-hardcore, rare groove, ska, old roots reggae and dub.

My MP3 player is a bit of a mixed bag!

 

personally I like any music as long as it is good, unfortunately that proviso cuts out about 99% of all the tracks that have ever been recorded.

My preferred band after all these years, is still Pink Floyd. I have been listening to them for 35 years and they still hit the spot. Dave Gilmore is a master

Don't tell me you're a Genesis fan

 

uuuurggghhh - no. Genesis achieve the physically impossible, by managing to both 'suck' and 'blow' at the same time...

I love Floyd - Dave Gilmour is one of the reasons I picked up a guitar 18 years ago! I'll nver forget the day I first played the song 'Time' all the way through flawlessly. I felt like weeping - I'd wanted to play that song since I was about thirteen and when i finally nailed the solo it was like 'I've made it in life'