Transcender is Endorsed by Microsoft

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Davin Mickelson

Wrong.
MeasureUp and SelfTest are the only endorsed providers.
http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/m...cticetests.asp

Some of those who use Transcender swear by them, claim they are not dumps,
but provide no explanations of why Transcender tests are worth 3 times as
much as other test providers. Sounds like a dump of the questions to me!



"Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Please correct me if I am wrong.
>
>

[DllImport\(\MCSD.dll\,EntryPoint=\PassTests\\)]

Please claim as to why the other two practice test providers are better.

MeasureUp Exams are $67.00 a piece while ST Software exams are $99.00 a
piece.
Transcenders are 149.00 a piece. It doesn't appear that you can get either
of the endorsed products at a third of the cost of Transcender.

If you have ever used Transcenders, you'd realize they are not a dump of the
questions. You get what you pay for. BTW - if you check the price of typical
braindumps, they are typically much cheaper (sometimes free) than any
practice tests you can purchase.

I was once asked by SelfTest Software to write test questions for content on
their MCSD.NET exams. Unfortunately, I could not afford to create quality
test questions based upon what they were willing to pay me. I wanted to
created questions that would make Transcender shudder, but simply could not.

Rule #1 - You get what you pay for.

I was hoping to get a response from someone at Microsoft explaining why they
consider the use of Transcenders as cheating and why they are not endorsed
but it did not work.

Please P/Invoke your thoughts.

Thanks.
Davin Mickelson


"[DllImport("MCSD.dll",EntryPoint="PassTests")]" <> wrote
in message news:hKucnfnozcgMAv2iU-...
> Wrong.
> MeasureUp and SelfTest are the only endorsed providers.
> http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/m...cticetests.asp
>
> Some of those who use Transcender swear by them, claim they are not dumps,
> but provide no explanations of why Transcender tests are worth 3 times as
> much as other test providers. Sounds like a dump of the questions to me!
>
>
>
> "Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > Please correct me if I am wrong.
> >
> >
>
>

Davin Mickelson

Ditto... Couldn't agree with you more Davin (this rambling is not directed
at you BTW). The nice thing about the Transcenders is that they give great
references and explanations to the questions. NOT just answers. I trust and
use them (as any other professional that uses them does) as a final review
after studying and working with the technologies, to prepare and get into
the "mind-set" of the exam. Not as a "dump". I need to know the technologies
and how to use them, not just the answers. Just answers don't fly with my
clients. Results do.

Sometimes "knowing" the information from hands-on and book study, is NOT
enough to pass an exam. Oh I can hear it now from the naysayers, "if you
really know the material, you don't need the practice exams". Ya, right. Not
sure about others, but sometimes the wording on the exams can be less than
obvious and purposely tricky. Sometimes, you need to not only know the
material, but also how to "play" the game; i.e., how to apply your knowledge
in the context of the exam. This is hardly cheating. Would you call a golfer
who practices on a similar course to the one he's going to compete on the
following week cheating? I don't think so... You'd call it preparation. Of
course if you want, you could always keep taking the real exams until you
pass. I don't think Microsoft considers this cheating.

One last note on the cost of the Transcenders. They have multi-paks which
help defray the cost. But most importantly, once you're a customer, you get
discounts on subsequent purchases and beta or new exams. The cost for most
of these are about $99 or $129, so I'm not sure how anyone can claim that
they are that much more than any other exam. I've been a Transcender
customer since '96 when I got my first MCSD, and on average, I'd have to
guess that I haven't paid more than about $100 a practice exam. I took my
14th MS exam yesterday, the 70-300, and I've passed every exam the first
time around. I work with the technologies every day, and read books,
articles, MSDN constantly and I have to admit, I don't think I would pass
the real exams the first time around without the Transcenders. NOT because I
don't know the material, but rather because the format, wording and strategy
of the exams can be tricky until you get your mind into that mode; like I
said, "playing the exam game" is how I look at it.

Just my $.02...

--
Leigh Kendall, MCSD, MCDBA

"Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Please claim as to why the other two practice test providers are better.
>
> MeasureUp Exams are $67.00 a piece while ST Software exams are $99.00 a
> piece.
> Transcenders are 149.00 a piece. It doesn't appear that you can get either
> of the endorsed products at a third of the cost of Transcender.
>
> If you have ever used Transcenders, you'd realize they are not a dump of
the
> questions. You get what you pay for. BTW - if you check the price of
typical
> braindumps, they are typically much cheaper (sometimes free) than any
> practice tests you can purchase.
>
> I was once asked by SelfTest Software to write test questions for content
on
> their MCSD.NET exams. Unfortunately, I could not afford to create quality
> test questions based upon what they were willing to pay me. I wanted to
> created questions that would make Transcender shudder, but simply could
not.
>
> Rule #1 - You get what you pay for.
>
> I was hoping to get a response from someone at Microsoft explaining why
they
> consider the use of Transcenders as cheating and why they are not endorsed
> but it did not work.
>
> Please P/Invoke your thoughts.
>
> Thanks.
> Davin Mickelson
>
>
> "[DllImport("MCSD.dll",EntryPoint="PassTests")]" <>
wrote
> in message news:hKucnfnozcgMAv2iU-...
> > Wrong.
> > MeasureUp and SelfTest are the only endorsed providers.
> > http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/m...cticetests.asp
> >
> > Some of those who use Transcender swear by them, claim they are not
dumps,
> > but provide no explanations of why Transcender tests are worth 3 times
as
> > much as other test providers. Sounds like a dump of the questions to
me!
> >
> >
> >
> > "Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
> > news:...
> > > Please correct me if I am wrong.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

Leigh Kendall

OK, fine, let's assume you're correct: Transcenders are
not a dump of test questions. So, what are they?

From what I've been able to learn, you get a simulation of
the cert test - same number of questions, same time limit,
purportedly the same difficulty, same subject matter, etc.

I agree - deriving a set of truly valid test questions
(not subject to interpretation, conjecture, etc.), is much
harder than it looks. And than add to that the fact that
the simulation has to be truly representative of the real
exam, and you're talking about a product that would be
pretty expensive to develop.

But I have yet to hear anyone say that Transcender really
posesses that kind of quality. Why should I trust it?

One thing is clear to me: There's plenty of books, study
guides, courses, practice tests out there and a lot of
what I've seen is junk. Personally, I think there's too
many people trying to do the same thing and there probably
isn't enough money in it for anybody to do a really
credible job.

Maybe Transcender is a cut above the rest...but I'm still
not convinced.

Just one opinion, of course.


>-----Original Message-----
>Please claim as to why the other two practice test
providers are better.
>
>MeasureUp Exams are $67.00 a piece while ST Software
exams are $99.00 a
>piece.
>Transcenders are 149.00 a piece. It doesn't appear that
you can get either
>of the endorsed products at a third of the cost of
Transcender.
>
>If you have ever used Transcenders, you'd realize they
are not a dump of the
>questions. You get what you pay for. BTW - if you check
the price of typical
>braindumps, they are typically much cheaper (sometimes
free) than any
>practice tests you can purchase.
>
>I was once asked by SelfTest Software to write test
questions for content on
>their MCSD.NET exams. Unfortunately, I could not afford
to create quality
>test questions based upon what they were willing to pay
me. I wanted to
>created questions that would make Transcender shudder,
but simply could not.
>
>Rule #1 - You get what you pay for.
>
>I was hoping to get a response from someone at Microsoft
explaining why they
>consider the use of Transcenders as cheating and why they
are not endorsed
>but it did not work.
>
>Please P/Invoke your thoughts.
>
>Thanks.
>Davin Mickelson
>
>
>"[DllImport("MCSD.dll",EntryPoint="PassTests")]"
<> wrote
>in message news:hKucnfnozcgMAv2iU-...
>> Wrong.
>> MeasureUp and SelfTest are the only endorsed providers.
>>
http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/m...repare/practic
etests.asp
>>
>> Some of those who use Transcender swear by them, claim
they are not dumps,
>> but provide no explanations of why Transcender tests
are worth 3 times as
>> much as other test providers. Sounds like a dump of
the questions to me!
>>
>>
>>
>> "Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in
message
>> news:...
>> > Please correct me if I am wrong.
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>
>.
>

Rich

> OK, fine, let's assume you're correct: Transcenders are
> not a dump of test questions. So, what are they?

Exam preparation, just like they're slogan says... (BTW, I have no
affiliation with Transcender outside of being a loyal customer).

> Maybe Transcender is a cut above the rest...but I'm still
> not convinced.


Have you ever used them for exam prep? If you have, you would probably
better appreciate their value. If you haven't, then all you can do is
hypothesize.

They've been in business for a long time. They must be doing something right
to be able to turn a profit and keep the lights on... I know that I for one,
wouldn't have remained a customer for 6 years and 14 exams if they were
junk. Like Davin said, "you get what you pay for". You don't get Mercedes
quality at a Yugo price. Right, Yugo is no longer around...

Leigh


"Rich" <> wrote in message
news:0cda01c37893$48ddb1c0$...
> OK, fine, let's assume you're correct: Transcenders are
> not a dump of test questions. So, what are they?
>
> From what I've been able to learn, you get a simulation of
> the cert test - same number of questions, same time limit,
> purportedly the same difficulty, same subject matter, etc.
>
> I agree - deriving a set of truly valid test questions
> (not subject to interpretation, conjecture, etc.), is much
> harder than it looks. And than add to that the fact that
> the simulation has to be truly representative of the real
> exam, and you're talking about a product that would be
> pretty expensive to develop.
>
> But I have yet to hear anyone say that Transcender really
> posesses that kind of quality. Why should I trust it?
>
> One thing is clear to me: There's plenty of books, study
> guides, courses, practice tests out there and a lot of
> what I've seen is junk. Personally, I think there's too
> many people trying to do the same thing and there probably
> isn't enough money in it for anybody to do a really
> credible job.
>
> Maybe Transcender is a cut above the rest...but I'm still
> not convinced.
>
> Just one opinion, of course.
>
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Please claim as to why the other two practice test
> providers are better.
> >
> >MeasureUp Exams are $67.00 a piece while ST Software
> exams are $99.00 a
> >piece.
> >Transcenders are 149.00 a piece. It doesn't appear that
> you can get either
> >of the endorsed products at a third of the cost of
> Transcender.
> >
> >If you have ever used Transcenders, you'd realize they
> are not a dump of the
> >questions. You get what you pay for. BTW - if you check
> the price of typical
> >braindumps, they are typically much cheaper (sometimes
> free) than any
> >practice tests you can purchase.
> >
> >I was once asked by SelfTest Software to write test
> questions for content on
> >their MCSD.NET exams. Unfortunately, I could not afford
> to create quality
> >test questions based upon what they were willing to pay
> me. I wanted to
> >created questions that would make Transcender shudder,
> but simply could not.
> >
> >Rule #1 - You get what you pay for.
> >
> >I was hoping to get a response from someone at Microsoft
> explaining why they
> >consider the use of Transcenders as cheating and why they
> are not endorsed
> >but it did not work.
> >
> >Please P/Invoke your thoughts.
> >
> >Thanks.
> >Davin Mickelson
> >
> >
> >"[DllImport("MCSD.dll",EntryPoint="PassTests")]"
> <> wrote
> >in message news:hKucnfnozcgMAv2iU-...
> >> Wrong.
> >> MeasureUp and SelfTest are the only endorsed providers.
> >>
> http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/m...repare/practic
> etests.asp
> >>
> >> Some of those who use Transcender swear by them, claim
> they are not dumps,
> >> but provide no explanations of why Transcender tests
> are worth 3 times as
> >> much as other test providers. Sounds like a dump of
> the questions to me!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> "Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in
> message
> >> news:...
> >> > Please correct me if I am wrong.
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >.
> >

Leigh Kendall

Rich, at the risk of sounding like a commercial, try them out:
http://www.transcender.com/company/policy.asp?id=3
If you don't pass after using their product, you get a refund because they
are guaranteed.

Transcender continues to raise the bar for the other practice test
providers. Get your company to pay for them.

Download samples from the practice test companies and compare for yourself.

I appreciate your opinion. Substantiate it with proof.

Good luck to you in your certification pursuits.
Davin Mickelson, MCSD.NET, MCSA

"Rich" <> wrote in message
news:0cda01c37893$48ddb1c0$...
> OK, fine, let's assume you're correct: Transcenders are
> not a dump of test questions. So, what are they?
>
> From what I've been able to learn, you get a simulation of
> the cert test - same number of questions, same time limit,
> purportedly the same difficulty, same subject matter, etc.
>
> I agree - deriving a set of truly valid test questions
> (not subject to interpretation, conjecture, etc.), is much
> harder than it looks. And than add to that the fact that
> the simulation has to be truly representative of the real
> exam, and you're talking about a product that would be
> pretty expensive to develop.
>
> But I have yet to hear anyone say that Transcender really
> posesses that kind of quality. Why should I trust it?
>
> One thing is clear to me: There's plenty of books, study
> guides, courses, practice tests out there and a lot of
> what I've seen is junk. Personally, I think there's too
> many people trying to do the same thing and there probably
> isn't enough money in it for anybody to do a really
> credible job.
>
> Maybe Transcender is a cut above the rest...but I'm still
> not convinced.
>
> Just one opinion, of course.
>

Davin Mickelson

Ummm, go to MeasureUp.com -- $44 each for the tests. Cheapest at
Transcender -- $139. That means Transcender costs 3.16 times as much as
MeasureUp.

Rule #1 - "You get what you paid for"; that is certainly true in anything.
You are saying that a Transcender test is worth the price of 3 good books or
3 of most other practice exams. How on earth can it be worth so much unless
it is giving you the answers on a silver platter?

BTW, why the heck did you start this thread in the first place if you
already know the answer to what you were asking?


"Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Please claim as to why the other two practice test providers are better.
>
> MeasureUp Exams are $67.00 a piece while ST Software exams are $99.00 a
> piece.
> Transcenders are 149.00 a piece. It doesn't appear that you can get either
> of the endorsed products at a third of the cost of Transcender.
>
> If you have ever used Transcenders, you'd realize they are not a dump of
the
> questions. You get what you pay for. BTW - if you check the price of
typical
> braindumps, they are typically much cheaper (sometimes free) than any
> practice tests you can purchase.
>
> I was once asked by SelfTest Software to write test questions for content
on
> their MCSD.NET exams. Unfortunately, I could not afford to create quality
> test questions based upon what they were willing to pay me. I wanted to
> created questions that would make Transcender shudder, but simply could
not.
>
> Rule #1 - You get what you pay for.
>
> I was hoping to get a response from someone at Microsoft explaining why
they
> consider the use of Transcenders as cheating and why they are not endorsed
> but it did not work.
>
> Please P/Invoke your thoughts.
>
> Thanks.
> Davin Mickelson
>
>
> "[DllImport("MCSD.dll",EntryPoint="PassTests")]" <>
wrote
> in message news:hKucnfnozcgMAv2iU-...
> > Wrong.
> > MeasureUp and SelfTest are the only endorsed providers.
> > http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/m...cticetests.asp
> >
> > Some of those who use Transcender swear by them, claim they are not
dumps,
> > but provide no explanations of why Transcender tests are worth 3 times
as
> > much as other test providers. Sounds like a dump of the questions to
me!
> >
> >
> >
> > "Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
> > news:...
> > > Please correct me if I am wrong.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[DllImport\(\MCSD.dll\,EntryPoint=\PassTests\\)]

" I appreciate your opinion. Substantiate it with proof." -- I downloaded
the sample from Transcender for an exam that I already took and passed with
the assistance of MeasureUp's practice test (70-315), so I could do a direct
comparison.
In the practice exam the questions are about the same quality as the
MeasureUp questions. There is actually MUCH LESS explanation of the answers
than with MeasureUp, but the Transcender links to study materials appear
more complete.

One difference I immediately saw -- out of 14 questions on the Transcender
demo exam, 3 of them were basically word-for-word the same as actual
questions I had on the real exam.

It appears there is absolutely nothing to substantiate why Transcender costs
3 times as much except for the fact that some of the questions are directly
off the exam, judging solely from this comparison. If they make it a habit
to use exact copies of the real exam questions it is extremely easy to see
why they aren't certified by Microsoft!


"Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
news:%23PP%...
> Rich, at the risk of sounding like a commercial, try them out:
> http://www.transcender.com/company/policy.asp?id=3
> If you don't pass after using their product, you get a refund because they
> are guaranteed.
>
> Transcender continues to raise the bar for the other practice test
> providers. Get your company to pay for them.
>
> Download samples from the practice test companies and compare for
yourself.
>
> I appreciate your opinion. Substantiate it with proof.
>
> Good luck to you in your certification pursuits.
> Davin Mickelson, MCSD.NET, MCSA
>
> "Rich" <> wrote in message
> news:0cda01c37893$48ddb1c0$...
> > OK, fine, let's assume you're correct: Transcenders are
> > not a dump of test questions. So, what are they?
> >
> > From what I've been able to learn, you get a simulation of
> > the cert test - same number of questions, same time limit,
> > purportedly the same difficulty, same subject matter, etc.
> >
> > I agree - deriving a set of truly valid test questions
> > (not subject to interpretation, conjecture, etc.), is much
> > harder than it looks. And than add to that the fact that
> > the simulation has to be truly representative of the real
> > exam, and you're talking about a product that would be
> > pretty expensive to develop.
> >
> > But I have yet to hear anyone say that Transcender really
> > posesses that kind of quality. Why should I trust it?
> >
> > One thing is clear to me: There's plenty of books, study
> > guides, courses, practice tests out there and a lot of
> > what I've seen is junk. Personally, I think there's too
> > many people trying to do the same thing and there probably
> > isn't enough money in it for anybody to do a really
> > credible job.
> >
> > Maybe Transcender is a cut above the rest...but I'm still
> > not convinced.
> >
> > Just one opinion, of course.
> >
>
>

[DllImport\(\MCSD.dll\,EntryPoint=\PassTests\\)]

I asked this question from the group in hopes to coerce a response from
someone on the Microsoft Cert team. Previously, I have received responses
from these individuals on this newsgroup stating that using Transcenders is
cheating and I was hoping one of them would be brave enough to speak up with
specific reasoning as to how and why their use is cheating.

What is this about Transcender being "answers on a silver platter"? I want
to understand why you think high quality questions, descriptive answers and
reasons to the answers pointing to locations inside MSDN and TechNet is
"answers on a silver platter". Please embellish.
In my opinion, I perceive braindumps as being "answers on a silver platter".

If you prefer to use books instead of practice exams, go for it. In my
opinion, I would need at least three books to cover everything in a
Transcender practice exam.

Thanks for your feedback,
Davin Mickelson

"[DllImport("MCSD.dll",EntryPoint="PassTests")]" <> wrote
in message news:...
> Ummm, go to MeasureUp.com -- $44 each for the tests. Cheapest at
> Transcender -- $139. That means Transcender costs 3.16 times as much as
> MeasureUp.
>
> Rule #1 - "You get what you paid for"; that is certainly true in anything.
> You are saying that a Transcender test is worth the price of 3 good books
or
> 3 of most other practice exams. How on earth can it be worth so much
unless
> it is giving you the answers on a silver platter?
>
> BTW, why the heck did you start this thread in the first place if you
> already know the answer to what you were asking?
>
>
> "Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
> news:%...
> > Please claim as to why the other two practice test providers are better.
> >
> > MeasureUp Exams are $67.00 a piece while ST Software exams are $99.00 a
> > piece.
> > Transcenders are 149.00 a piece. It doesn't appear that you can get
either
> > of the endorsed products at a third of the cost of Transcender.
> >
> > If you have ever used Transcenders, you'd realize they are not a dump of
> the
> > questions. You get what you pay for. BTW - if you check the price of
> typical
> > braindumps, they are typically much cheaper (sometimes free) than any
> > practice tests you can purchase.
> >
> > I was once asked by SelfTest Software to write test questions for
content
> on
> > their MCSD.NET exams. Unfortunately, I could not afford to create
quality
> > test questions based upon what they were willing to pay me. I wanted to
> > created questions that would make Transcender shudder, but simply could
> not.
> >
> > Rule #1 - You get what you pay for.
> >
> > I was hoping to get a response from someone at Microsoft explaining why
> they
> > consider the use of Transcenders as cheating and why they are not
endorsed
> > but it did not work.
> >
> > Please P/Invoke your thoughts.
> >
> > Thanks.
> > Davin Mickelson
> >
> >
> > "[DllImport("MCSD.dll",EntryPoint="PassTests")]" <>
> wrote
> > in message news:hKucnfnozcgMAv2iU-...
> > > Wrong.
> > > MeasureUp and SelfTest are the only endorsed providers.
> > > http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/m...cticetests.asp
> > >
> > > Some of those who use Transcender swear by them, claim they are not
> dumps,
> > > but provide no explanations of why Transcender tests are worth 3 times
> as
> > > much as other test providers. Sounds like a dump of the questions to
> me!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > "Davin Mickelson" <> wrote in message
> > > news:...
> > > > Please correct me if I am wrong.
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

Davin Mickelson