Seeing as there isn’t a lot of SMS 2003 material available today, so when I heard that Netwind had released a Computer Based Training product on SMS 2003, I was quite looking forward to reviewing it.
So I jumped onto their website and went to sign up. Now with this product there were 2 versions to choose from. An online version and a CD-Rom based edition. Both are identical, but since I am an impatient type, I opted for the cheaper, online edition.
The online version is listed at $299 US whereas the CD-Rom version is $349, so not only would I be getting it immediately, I’d also save $50.
So I go the motions to sign up but the price tag tells me that I will be paying $349. Strange. So I send an email off to Netwind’s support email address listed at the bottom of the page. As my misfortune would have it, the email bounces back to me. Not a good start, but still, I’ll have another go. Carefully checking the email address, I send it off again. Same result, a second bounced email and I am no closer than I was earlier. As luck would have it, there was an alternative email address available, so I send off my query as to why the $50 discount wasn’t being applied to the online version.
Thankfully, the Netwind response was quick and I was told that the discount would be refunded to me after I had signed up. Now lets stop right here for a moment. If Netwind are listening, now would be a good chance to fix this mess up. I don’t think that many people would be as persistent as me, and if that is the sort of mess people have to go through to sign up, I cant imagine there being many happy customers. But to Netwind’s credit, I will say that their support was quick and pleasant – I just think these problems should be avoided before the customer sees them. Informing the customer that the discount will be refunded might be a good idea too.
So I sign up anyway, expecting to see my course I just paid for. Sadly no, it wasnt to be. They had my money, but I didn’t have my course. So I sent them another email asking what the problem was. I was asked to refresh my browser as the course should be there. Obviously I am a little beyond trivial problems like that so I emailed them back telling them that my course doesn’t appear, its blank, please fix it.
Again, to their supports credit, they fixed the problem, I can now login and see the course that I paid for. Hopefully all of this trouble and effort in getting the course was all worth it. Sadly it wasn’t.
The product itself is the older style CBT, not the full blown video tutorials we have come to expect nowadays. If you’ve been around long enough to use the old SmartForce CBT training, you’ll understand what I mean.
The material in this training product wasn’t the best, definitely more of an overview than in depth training.
You may have more luck than we did, but based on our experiences with this product, we simply cannot recommend it, there are much better alternatives out there.
Update: Since this review went live, we’ve noted that the web price for both an online copy and the CD-ROM copy is $349 for either.
Pros:
Support Service was quick.Cons:
Buying the Product was tedious (hopefully will be fixed by the time you read this).
Material was not technical enough.
Old style CBT.
Price.Company: Netwind
Product Link: SMS 2003Price: $349 Online, $349 CD-Rom
Our Rating: 3/10
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This is how a review should be done. Thank you for the post, and be sure to post some more reviews when you have time. What are you going to reviewnext?
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I want to thank you for this post as I was considering Netwind’s product for the array and cost effectiveness. I especially require to get certified in several areas and am paying for this out of pocket. I have tried Quickcert’s online MCSE service and couldn’t stay awake with all the excess jabbering the recorded instructor was going through, plus it was super expensive for their service. Seriously there is one thing to pepper a teaching course for interest and another to waste time.
I will try and look for another reasonable solution.
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PS:Have you thought about putting video to the blog posts to keep the people more enjoyed?I think it works., Alaine Seiwell
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