We’re very pleased to announce that Craig Zacker’s book, CompTIA Network+ Training Kit (Exam N10-005) has shipped to the printer! Ace your preparation for the CompTIA Network+ Exam N10-005 with this 2-in-1 Training Kit from Microsoft Press. Work at your own pace through a series of concepts, tasks, and practical exercises, and then assess your network service/support technician skills with the online practice test—featuring multiple, customizable testing options to meet your specific needs. Your Training Kit includes: · In-depth coverage of all 5 CompTIA Network+ domains in Exam N10-005 · Instructive real-world scenarios to enhance your performance on the job · Hundreds of practice and review questions · Online practice tests to help...

Here’s the 9th post in our series of guest posts by Microsoft Most Valued Professionals (MVPs). Since the early 1990s, Microsoft has recognized technology champions around the world with the MVP Award . MVPs freely share their deep knowledge, real-world experience, and impartial and objective feedback to help people enhance the way they use technology . Of more than 100 million users who participate in technology communities, around 4,000 are recognized as Microsoft MVPs. This post is by Akfash Ahamed Abdul Latibu , who is a Windows Expert IT Pro MVP in Brunei. Thanks, Akfash! Windows Intune is a cloud-based PC management solution for small- and medium-sized businesses. As an administrator, whether you’re in an office, a branch office, or at home, you can always manage your client computers...

We’re excited to announce the availability of Working with Microsoft Office 365: Running Your Small Business in the Cloud (ISBN: 9780735658998; 370 pages), by Brett Hill! As Brett makes clear in the book, the benefits of moving your business to the cloud are strong ones in terms of increased productivity and decreased operating costs. But small businesses rarely have on-site system administrators to make the move smooth and trouble-free. If that’s the case with your business, this book is a reference you won’t want to do without. Through extensive walkthroughs, easy-to-follow procedures, and real-world tips, you’ll learn how to implement Office 365 for professionals and small businesses—without having to be an IT expert. You’ll also gain valuable knowledge on configuring, deploying, and maintaining...

We’re pleased to announce the release to manufacturing of the book Windows Phone 7 Development Internals , by Andrew Whitechapel, who is a senior member of the core Windows Phone Application Platform team. This book covers the breadth of application development for the Windows Phone 7 platform (both the major 7.0 and 7.1/7.5 versions and the minor 7.1.1 version). The book shows how you can build compelling and useful applications for Windows Phone, while providing detailed technical insights into the design of the application platform itself, which will help you build applications that are consistent with the strategic vision for Windows Phone. While you can build both XNA and Silverlight applications for the Windows Phone platform, this book focuses on developing Silverlight applications using...

A quick note to let you know that our special-offer period for Charles Petzold’s Programming Windows, Sixth Edition , has begun. From May 17-31, you can order the ebook for $10, and you’ll receive three versions of the ebook as it is developed over time. You can read about the offer and find a link to the purchase page here .

We’re very pleased to announce that Penelope Coventry, Brett Lonsdale, and Phill Duffy’s book, Microsoft SharePoint 2010: Business Connectivity Services has shipped to the printer! Put your enterprise business data to work with Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Business Connectivity Services—and create valuable business solutions with your team. Led by SharePoint experts Penelope Coventry, Brett Lonsdale, and Phill Duffy, you'll learn how to access external data from several sources and make informed decisions based on what you retrieve. Unlock your enterprise data and increase your productivity, using code and no-code solutions! You’ll discover how to connect to enterprise data with Microsoft SharePoint Designer or Visual Studio; access line-of-business data, data from...

We’re happy to announce the availability of Working with Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint , by Mikael Svenson, Marcus Johansson and Robert Piddocke Although SharePoint has always had search capabilities, those capabilities have been hugely improved by the addition of FAST Search for SharePoint (FS4SP). FS4SP provides a feature-rich alternative to the limited out-of-the-box search experience in SharePoint 2010, and can be extended to meet complex information retrieval requirements. If your organization is looking for a fully configurable and scalable search solution, Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint may be right for you. The book is aimed squarely at SharePoint architects and developers who are either actively implementing search solutions using FS4SP or who simply...

Build Powerful Database Solutions with Access Save 50% – One Week Only Learn the secrets of this powerful database program so you can use your data in creative ways -- from creating product catalogs and publishing information online to producing invoices and reports. Buy from our official distributor, O’Reilly Media. Ebooks from oreilly.com are DRM-free. You get free lifetime access, multiple file formats, free updates.   Deal expires May 17, 2012 at 11:59pm PT and cannot be combined with other offers. Click here to view the promotional page Microsoft Access 2010 Step by Step Was: $22.99 Now: $11.49 (Save 50%) Microsoft Access 2010 Inside Out Was: $43.99 Now: $21.99 (Save 50%) Microsoft Access 2010 VBA Programming Inside Out Was: $39.99 Now: $19.99 (Save 50%) MOS 2010 Study Guide for Microsoft...

Maximize Windows 7 From end users to IT pros, Microsoft Press has the ebooks you need to get the most out of Windows 7. Choose from a wide range of Microsoft Press ebooks on Windows 7 for 50% off the regular price.  Purchase from our official distributor, O’Reilly Media. Ebooks from oreilly.com are DRM-free. You get free lifetime access, multiple file formats, free updates. Deal expires May 9, 2012 at 11:59pm PT and cannot be combined with other offers. Click here to see the full list Windows 7 Inside Out, Deluxe Edition Was: $47.99 Now: $23.99 (Save 50%) Windows 7 Inside Out Was: $39.99 Now: $19.99 (Save 50%) Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out Was: $31.99 Now: $15.99 (Save 50%) Windows 7 Resource Kit Was: $55.99 Now: $27.99 (Save 50%) The Best of Windows 7: The Official Magazine Was...

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 High-Performance T-SQL Using Window Functions Available Now Inside Windows® Debugging: A Practical Guide to Debugging and Tracing Strategies in Windows® May 2012 (est.)                    Architecting Mobile Solutions for the Enterprise May 2012 (est.)            Working with Microsoft® Office 365: Running Your Small Business in the Cloud May 2012 (est.) Windows® Phone 7 Development Internals June 2012 (est.)         CompTIA Network+ Training Kit June 2012 (est.) Microsoft® SharePoint® 2010: Business Connectivity Services June 2012 (est.) MOS Study Guide for Microsoft® Office 365 June 2012 (est....

We try to provide a recap every once in a while about our free ebooks because they’re some of our most popular posts. Many of our free ebooks are offered in three formats - PDF, Mobi (Kindle) and epub.                    

Effectively Perform Tasks and Solve Problems in Windows 7 From end users to IT pros, Microsoft Press has the ebooks you need to get the most out of Windows 7. For one week only, choose from a wide range of Microsoft Press ebooks on Windows 7 for 50% off the regular price. Learn to manage windows and folders, sort and filter files, create an efficient Windows working environment, and safely access the Internet. Microsoft Press's Windows 7 books will provide you with the information you need to get the most out of your operating system. O’Reilly Media is the official distributor of Microsoft Press books. Ebooks from oreilly.com are DRM-free. You get free lifetime access, multiple file formats, free updates. Deal expires May 9, 2012 at 11:59pm PT and cannot be combined with other...

Greetings. This month the number of downloads of Charles Petzold’s free ebook Programming Windows Phone 7 (including the two earlier draft versions of the ebook we also released) surpassed 600,000. This is the number of actual downloads, folks, not the number of views of the blog posts sharing the ebooks. Congratulations to Charles for reaching so many developers!

Greetings. To learn more about the Consumer Preview ebook release of Charles Petzold’s Programming Windows, Sixth Edition , click here . The outline for this release is below: Chapter 1: Markup and Code The First Project Graphical Greetings Variations in Text Media As Well The Code Alternatives Images in Code Not Even a Page Chapter 2: XAML Syntax The Gradient Brush in Code Property Element Syntax Content Properties The TextBlock Content Property Sharing Brushes (and Other Resources) Resources Are Shared A Bit of Vector Graphics Styles A Taste of Data Binding Chapter 3: Basic Event Handling The Tapped Event Routed Event Handling Overriding the Handled Setting Input, Alignment, and Backgrounds Size and Orientation Changes Bindings to Run? Timers and Animation Chapter 4: Presentation with Panels...

The culture of work is changing. People want the freedom to work anywhere—at home, in the office, on the road—and they want instant access to everything they would typically have at their office desk. They want to bring their own PCs, slates, and smartphones to work. Not to mention, everyone's more connected than ever with use of social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) at work and for work as well as work-related collaboration using cloud applications like web mail, cloud storage, and web apps. It’s time to give people the freedom to get things done their way. In return, you’ll unleash passion and productivity like never before. REGISTER NOW: http://aka.ms/ConsumerIT Course: “ Embracing the Consumerization of IT Jump Start ” Date/Time: May 15-16, 2012 from 8:00am – 12:00pm...

We’re happy to announce the availability of Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 High-Performance T-SQL Using Window Functions (ISBN: 9780735658363; 244 pages), by Itzik Ben-Gan! As Itzik explains, “Window functions are functions applied to sets of rows defined by a clause called OVER. They are used mainly for analytical purposes allowing you to calculate running totals, calculate moving averages, identify gaps and islands in your data, and perform many other computations. These functions are based on an amazingly profound concept in standard SQL (which is both an ISO and ANSI standard)—the concept of windowing . The idea behind this concept is to allow you to apply various calculations to a set, or window , of rows and return a single value. Window functions can help to...

Here’s the 8th post in our series of guest posts by Microsoft Most Valued Professionals (MVPs). Since the early 1990s, Microsoft has recognized technology champions around the world with the MVP Award . MVPs freely share their deep knowledge, real-world experience, and impartial and objective feedback to help people enhance the way they use technology . Of more than 100 million users who participate in technology communities, around 4,000 are recognized as Microsoft MVPs. This post is by Eric Boyd , who became a Windows Azure MVP in April 2012. Thanks, Eric! Starting at an early age, I became very entrepreneurial and also quite intrigued by technology. I grew up in a hardworking, blue-collar family. My brother and I were loved very much, our mother worked very hard to provide opportunities...