This is an 11-year+ problem that has never been resolved (or
should I say "agreed upon"). I'm pretty sure Brad, Scott, Brian,
Narbik and I have all seen / addressed this a few dozen times!
See....some vendors, in the past, have used hotmail and gmail
addresses as "ghost customers". These "fake people" bash other vendors
and make false statements about products, instructors and competition
on GS.
There's also the problem with certain vendors promoting their
products or even getting into battles with other vendors / instructors
(note: this is much different than supporting products - when I say
"promoting" I mean posting information about a product - using GS to
gain visibility with the hope to sell something or solicit customers.
However, there's also the question - can I post a "freebie" - and is
that "promoting" - the verdict is still out depending on who posts it
and who you ask). It's unfortunate - but a large portion of the GS
community is gullable and takes everything posted here as "the truth".
So - ultimately - I agree with Scott (don't use this list to make your
decision - go directly to each vendor and make an informed decision.
As a potential customer - I would *hope* that buyers contact
each vender directly. Ask them what you want to know - and ask for
referrals and / or proof of what they're telling you. Look at key
indicators like how many people they've helped pass (ask for referrals
and check out their testimonials and "wall of fame"), ask how up-to-
date their products are (ask for samples), ask about their online
racks (ask for a sample / test voucher), ask about support (then join
their support communities and monitor it), ask how refunds, retakes
and updates are handled - and get it in writing, go to the local Cisco
Users Group - or call your peers / people you may know who are
studying for the lab (and get their opinions) - and so on.
This decision is usually one of the biggest decisions you'll
make in your professional career. If you were going to enroll or apply
to a college / universty - would you join a mailing list and value the
opinions coming from people you don't know? Your CCIE number - in
most cases - will help earn you a six-figure salary and sometimes
carry as much weight (or more) than a AS or BS degree - so apply the
same tactics you would apply (before purchasing) that you would apply
of you were selecting a college / universty.
The main point here is that I agree with everyone. Scott is
accurate - Ask the vendors directly. The other GS members (Nadeem and
itechguru) who have responded also have a valid point - "ask people" -
but my *suggestion* is to know who is giving you advice and collect
your facts in a serious and logical manner.
Regards,
Wayne A. Lawson II - CCIE #5244
Founder & President - IPexpert
Mailto: wlawson_at_ipexpert.com
Telephone: +1.810.326.1444, ext. 101
Live Assistance, Please visit: www.ipexpert.com/chat
eFax: +1.810.454.0130
::Message sent from iPhone::
On Jan 17, 2010, at 1:07 PM, Itechguru <wajid.ccie_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> I would definitely agree with Nadeem. There is nothing wrong in
> discussing
> different vendors or mentioning their products @ GS.
>
> Regards
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 12:51 PM, Nadeem Rafi <nrafia_at_gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> hi,
>> I am a proud customer of INE and very well satisfied with their
>> products, a
>> good admirer of Narbik and his way of teaching, esp. his mentoring
>> capabilities. Never worked with IPexpert but they equally earn my
>> respect
>> for their hard work (although non of these are free :) )
>> But i deserve to have right to know about all of them on neutral play
>> ground
>> which is GS. This is GS which let me deiced to go with INE CCIE 2.0
>> program.
>> So let the information flow smoothly, and ppl like me can decide
>> based on
>> their own judgments.
>>
>> Best Regards,
>>
>> Nadeem Rafi
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 8:34 PM, Narbik Kocharians <narbikk_at_gmail.com
>>> wrote:
>>
>>> Ron and Nrafia or others that are interested,
>>>
>>> Yes we do, please UNICAST me if interested.
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 5:53 AM, Scott Morris <smorris_at_ine.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> So where does that fine line exist between letting people know
>>>> what's
>>>> going on and being called advertising? It seems we've all had
>>>> difficulty in establishing that line in the past. (different
>>>> candidates
>>>> have differerent thresholds)
>>>>
>>>> It would appear best to track anyone's updates:
>>>>
>>>> CCBootcamp www.ccbootcamp.com (Not sure there's a blog)
>>>> INE www.ine.com blog.ine.com
>>>> IPE www.ipexpert.com blog.ipexpert.com
>>>> Narbik www.micronicstraining.com (I'm not sure if he has a blog,
>> sorry)
>>>>
>>>> Note... Those are listed in alphabetical order, not
>>>> establishing any
>>>> order of preference or not! :)
>>>>
>>>> Each of the web sites though will also list e-mail addresses to
>>>> get in
>>>> contact with the person(s) directly.
>>>>
>>>> Scott Morris, CCIEx4 (R&S/ISP-Dial/Security/Service Provider)
>>>> #4713,
>>>>
>>>> JNCIE-M #153, JNCIS-ER, CISSP, et al.
>>>>
>>>> JNCI-M, JNCI-ER
>>>>
>>>> evil_at_ine.com
>>>>
>>>> Internetwork Expert, Inc.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.InternetworkExpert.com <http://www.internetworkexpert.com/
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>> Toll Free: 877-224-8987
>>>>
>>>> Outside US: 775-826-4344
>>>>
>>>> Knowledge is power.
>>>>
>>>> Power corrupts.
>>>>
>>>> Study hard and be Eeeeviiiil......
>>>>
>>>> nrafia_at_gmail.com wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I dont feel any thing bad, if persons even ask on list. Being a
>> candidate
>>>> it let me know whats going on.
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 17, 2010 11:51am, Marko Milivojevic <markom_at_ipexpert.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 19:42, kaushalccie patel
>>>> kaushalccie_at_gmail.com >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Any news for Service Provider Workbook also ?
>>>>
>>>> How about asking this directly from the vendor's website /
>>>> forum /
>>>>
>>>> sales / support / personal e-mail?
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> Marko Milivojevic - CCIE #18427
>>>>
>>>> Senior Technical Instructor - IPexpert
>>>>
>>>> Mailto: markom_at_ipexpert.com
>>>>
>>>> Telephone: +1.810.326.1444
>>>>
>>>> Fax: +1.810.454.0130
>>>>
>>>> Community: http://www.ipexpert.com/communities
>>>>
>>>> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>>>>
>>>>
>> _______________________________________________________________________
>>>>
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>>>>
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>>>>
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>>>>
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>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Narbik Kocharians
>>> CCSI#30832, CCIE# 12410 (R&S, SP, Security)
>>> www.MicronicsTraining.com
>>> Sr. Technical Instructor
>>> YES! We take Cisco Learning Credits!
>>> Training And Remote Racks available
>>
>>
>> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>>
>> _______________________________________________________________________
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>
>
> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
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Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
Received on Sun Jan 17 2010 - 13:35:30 ART
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