The A+ Certification program was created by a consortium of companies; including Microsoft, to define baseline knowledge and skill levels for IT professionals who support hardware and software based on the Intel platform. With this self-paced training kit, Microsoft applies its popular, competency-based learning format to A+ certification test preparation. Entry-level IT professionals, computer service technicians, and other computer science track students can use the kit to build real-world expertise with systems hardware and operating systems -- as they prepare for the corresponding skill areas of the A+ exam.