56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
poor quality update, Jun 2 2007
By Russ Holland - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Adobe InDesign CS3 Classroom in a Book (Paperback)
This book is disappointing. Aside from the typos, poor grammar, and a few technical errors, there is almost no use or mention of the new CS3 features. The new features are glossed over in a few pages at the start of the book, but it is nothing but marketing fluff. The book is really a re-hash of the same content that existed in previous versions. Definitely do NOT get this book if you want to learn the new features. To make it worse, the writers are from a training company in Seattle - not Adobe - and they shamelessly promote their services in several of the chapters. The book is like a paid advertisement that needs better proofreading.
82 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A big waste of time and money, Jun 18 2007
By Steven Smith - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Adobe InDesign CS3 Classroom in a Book (Paperback)
I am a brand new Adobe InDesign CS3 user. I purchased this book because it was published by Adobe. I figured, who better to learn about an Adobe product from then Adobe?
Big mistake!
This book is terrible. It has typos, grammatical mistakes, and instructions that are both incorrect and incredibly difficult to follow. The pictures and instructions often leave you scratching your head. I've gotten half way through several of their lessons only to give up frustrated. I turned the page back and forth to make sure I didn't miss something only to find out that I hadn't.
I am an advanced computer user. In fact, I am a software product trainer. I mention this because I want to make a point of saying that I am not a "newbie". I know computers and software. Even with my knowledge, I found this book useless. If I wrote this, I would expect Adobe to fire me.
Do yourself a favor, steer clear of this book.
56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre At Best, May 25 2007
By CMOS - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Adobe InDesign CS3 Classroom in a Book (Paperback)
This book should cost about $20 tops, for the amount of detail it covers (not a lot, compared to how complex and powerful the application itself is), and the quality of editing. There are several typos and grammar errors throughout the book, and the quality of the paper is poor IMO.
But the main disappointment is the half-hearted coverage of InDesign's most powerful features, both new and those existing from prior versions. Most examples and descriptions are of the "nuts and bolts" variety and are hard to follow at times. Not sure why it is that Adobe's own books often fall short in the technical merit department, compared to 3rd party authors who cover Adobe software.
As someone who teaches Photoshop for a living and uses InDesign fairly often to help run my business (brochures, newsletters, etc.), I was expecting more from Adobe on this one. Worst of all I purchased this book through another vendor at what I thought was a discounted price, paying $40 for it. Even at $30 though, it would be a waste of money IMO. Look elsewhere for InDesign help.
I've heard good things about the Real World InDesign series, though I do not own the latest copy yet...