CADKEY 20+ Foundations

Author: Peter H. Smith, Walter Silva List Price: $79.95 Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price ISBN: 0970466366 Publisher: Distance Engineering, Inc. (25 February, 2002) Edition: CD-ROM Sales Rank: 1,644,997 Average Customer Rating: 2 out of 5

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Customer Reviews

I found the presentation mechanism to be poor at best. The interface is the Microsoft Explorer presented with Windows Media.

Once the individual tutorials start the full screen option (which is recommended) does not fill the screen. (It overfills the screen) This causes you to have to scamper around with the horizontal and vertical scroll keys to attempt to see which icon or menu item is being selected by the presenter. The script appears to be done off the cuff, the speaker being prompted by his knowledge of the program and not by some program design to get the pertinent information out to you.

The program bills itself as an intro to the new CADKEY 20+ release but spends about half of its time on matters that are either not new or can be figured out easily enough.

Some functions just plain do not work as described. Other attempts at demonstration (remember this is supposed to be new) assume you know something that is not given on the screen.

Mr. Walt has been the author of many books on CADKEY. I have several of them, but his style is considerably oppressive to the student. (on the subject of hot keys it's either "my way or the highway") But the largest complaint I have with his attempt at teaching (he know an awful lot of information) is he tells you what HE knows and not what YOU as a student needs to know. There is a wide rift between the two. None of his works (even the elementary ones) have what I would call great continuity from beginning to end, but this one is especially jumpy and disconnected.

The real problem is that if you do not buy Dr. Walt's books/CD's there is no other alternative for paced self-study of the subject. Were it not for the long counseling sessions (and heavy medication like TUMS antacid) by my local VAR representative I would be in total LA LA land on this program.

Also it must be stated here that I am NOT well versed on the nuances of ANY drawing/drafting/3D program, but these programs are supposed to bring you up to minimum speed. This one just puts you out on the highway in a Yugo at 75 mph and hopes that you will absorb some "rubber" as you are pummeled by oncoming traffic.

Far too little for far too much money.