Exam Cram Publisher Goes Under
4/3/2002 -- Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Coriolis LLC, publisher of the Exam Cram certification study guides as well as other IT books, was dissolved last week by its majority owner, Haights Cross.
All but three of Coriolis' 50 employees were let go Thursday, and the company is looking to sell all Coriolis "assets and intelectual property," a spokesperson for Haights Cross told CertCities.com.
The closure is due to poor financials, the spokesperson said, and the decision was made after an extended search for a buyer failed.
As of press time, neither of the company's Web sites -- Coriolis.com or ExamCram.com -- make any mention of the shut down, although the Coriolis home page is currently promoting a "Spring Sale," in which all of its products are 75 percent off through most of April.
The closure came as a blow to many of the publisher's writers. One author, Barry Shilmover, told CertCities.com that despite having written seven books for the company, he still hasn't had any formal contact from Coriolis about the shut-down or the status of his royalty payments or copyrights. "I found out through a friend," he said. "It's very frustrating...but I'm not as bad off as some other authors."
Although Shilmover has not yet been contacted, it appears that other authors have. Through sources, CertCities.com obtained a copy of an author release that was sent to at least one Coriolis writer. In it, the company agreed to pay 20 percent of what the author is owed in exchange for release of liability, a promise not to sue and other conditions.
Shilmover told CertCities.com that there's a lot of confusion out there among Coriolis writers, tech editors and other freelancers: "What's happpened is that a lot of people are hearing a lot of different things, or are being told different things...."
In fact, Shilmover said that several authors who are owed money and/or would like the copyrights to their books so they can publish them elsewhere have come together in a loose coalition to share information and ideas. "What we really need to do is get the story straight," he said."If we can get more authors, maybe we can better figure out what's going on." Shilmover said that anyone interested in participating in the group's mailing list can e-mail him at .
For more information about Coriolis, visit www.coriolis.com or www.examcram.com. - B.N.
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There are 72  user Comments for “Exam Cram Publisher Goes Under”
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| 5/13/02: peter from hong kong says: |
i don't have confidence to pass exam without exam cram books. :( |
| 5/13/02: MCSE Ken from Fort Lauderdale, FL says: |
First of all, I want to thank CertCities for posting this article and allowing for a feedback forum. In this rather sad situation, its nice to know that there is a place where people in my field can go to learn, inform or just vent. Second, as someone who also placed an order with Coriolis.com during their "Spring Sale". Although, I did not notice any kind of gouging with regards to shipping, I did find it a bit interesting that even though, my order was placed on 4.10.02 and I inquired as to the whereabouts of my order and was told that it should ship by 4.29.02, that beyond THAT, there was no further communication regarding where my order is. Now, I have three choices, call up my credit card company and have the transaction removed, pursue this matter with Coriolis' majority owner, Haights Cross or just simply throw up my hands and forget it. I've read the arguments on this matter from such contributors as "formeremployee" and "Terry The Fox". I don't know what to think, but I do know that in this industry (as well as just GOOD business), communication to your people is key. Somebody dropped the ball here. |
| 5/14/02: Becky Nagel from Web Editor, CertCities.com says: |
Hi Ken -- Sorry to hear about your situation. One thing you might want to try is to call your credit card company to see if you've gotten a credit yet. It seems that, for many people, those have been coming through since last week. So far, almost everyone I've talked to has gotten the credit -- seems that its taken a while, though. |
| 5/14/02: Kate from Birmingham,AL says: |
Same boat here. Ordered books on 04-08-02 and haven't seem 'em yet. I assume that the Coriolis Group offices have been shut down and that's why no one's heard anything about their orders. I tried e-mailing Haights Cross, but I haven't gotten a reply yet. |
| 5/15/02: MCSE Ken from Fort Lauderdale, FL says: |
Morning Becky -- How right you are! No sooner did you post that message that I received my credit card bill. And what do I see at the very top? CREDIT...from The Coriolis Group. Now had I never known about them shutting down, I'd probably wonder why they refunded me my money. But thanks guys, you've done a great job "communicating" with those of us in this industry. Much appreciated. |
| 5/15/02: Becky Nagel from Web Editor, CertCities.com says: |
Hi Ken -- Glad it worked out for you, and so glad we could help. BTW -- Is there anyone out there who's checked their credit card statement and not yet gotten a credit? If so, e-mail me at [email protected] and I'll see what I can find out from haights cross(make sure you call and check for transactions through today before e-mailing). |
| 5/20/02: Bob from Detroit, MI says: |
Has anyone managed to get the errata for the books while they were still online? I've got Exam Prep books 640-503 (Routing) and 640-504 (Switching) and haven't been able to find anything cached in google. I'd hate to study for an exam and find out that I'm studying the wrong stuff. |
| 5/31/02: Scott from Seattle, WA says: |
Can anyone tell me if the Exam Cram line of books did get picked up by another publisher? |
| 6/3/02: Becky Nagel from Web Editor, CertCities.com says: |
Hi Scott -- There's been no official annoucement yet. When I last talked with the parent company, they were negotiating. However, there's no waves about a deal yet. If I hear anything, I'll be sure to post it here. -- Becky, [email protected] |
| 6/8/02: James from Oklahoma says: |
Well, I have read comments from a bunch of pompous, arrogant, jealous and seemingly scared techies about paper cert ppl. I shouldn't be so negative to these ppl, they are jealous because they have had to spend hours upon hours RTFM and feel that someone who can read 1 book and pass an industry standard certification is beneath them. It's all fjear. They're entitled to their opinion though. Myself, I'm 20 years old and I haven't found any real tech work. I live in the buttcrack of technology..that word holds no meaning here. Though I have done a little bit of tech work for friends and the like, I haven't been able to use my abilities in a practical job environment. I liked examcram. I never bought any of their books or anything, however I did subscribe to their question of a day. I used that as a "guide" to how much book knowledge I knew. Trust me I know it's a far cry from reading it and doing it. This is why I make it a habit to read as much online documentation as possible, and buy books when I have the money. I never used Exam Cram as a quick fix to get a certification. I do my own projects. I've set up a linux server here at home and have my own little network. I consistently do work on my own computer to learn things. I don't believe I am just a paper certified person. I read things from all different sources and apply it to some type of hands on training. Mostly at my OWN expense and on my own time. I really disagree with the malicious statements about Exam Cram. They was a great company and did a good service. I was once told by this guy who worked in the oil field about some guy who went to college and got some sort of degree in something that had to do with the oil field..never been out on an oil rig before and damn near got everyone killed. So can we say college degree's are just as bad as examcram or that their degree's mean nothing. Perhaps we should say colleges are the damnation of society..I honestly don't believe any of the problems are by the business, the problems stem from lazy people who choose not to take that extra step to become great at something. From my own experiences and my own knowledge..Put me up against any of you guys with 2-3 years experience in a working environment..and we'll see who can out work who on a box. And I don't have any other certs other than the a plus cert. But I am confident in my own abilities and the things I have done hands on on my own, and I would work side by side next to anyone with 2-3 years experience, and I would almost bet that I could do just as good, if not better than them. I don't say all this to spark a huge debate. I say it to clear up any misconceptions and malicious statements about examcram and other businesses that offer some assitance to those wanting to get industry standard certifications. James |
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