December, 2012

Our official distributor, O’Reilly Media, is offering 50% off a selection of popular Microsoft Press ebooks. One day only so don’t miss it!     Save 50% – Best of Microsoft Press Ebook Deal of the Day Whether you're a .NET programmer, configuring SQL Server 2012, mastering Microsoft Office—or anything in between— get the answers you need in these bestselling ebooks from Microsoft Press. For one day only, you can get our best of "Microsoft Press Ebook Deal of the Day" – the top 25 for 50% off . Ebooks from oreilly.com are DRM-free. You get free lifetime access, multiple file formats, and free updates. Now includes Dropbox syncing. Use discount code MSDEAL - Deal expires December 18, 2012 at 11:59pm PT, and cannot be combined with other offers. To see the list of ebooks on...

Here’s the 22nd in our series of guest posts by Microsoft Most Valued Professionals (MVPs). (Click the “MVPs” tag in the right column to see all the articles.) Since the early 1990s, Microsoft has recognized technology champions around the world with the MVP Award . MVPs freely share their knowledge, real-world experience, and impartial and objective feedback to help people enhance the way they use technology. Of the millions of individuals who participate in technology communities, around 4,000 are recognized as Microsoft MVPs. You can read more original MVP-authored content on the Microsoft MVP Award Program Blog . This post is by Peter Ritchie , a Visual C# MVP . Than ks, Peter! If you're used to some other app store or hub/portal-based deployment models, you might think that an externally...

  Microsoft Press is currently seeking authors and technical editors for some of our Exam Refs that will help prepare candidates for the new developer exams. If you are interested or if you know people whom you think would be good for inclusion in such books and you can provide introductions, please respond to Russell Jones at b-rujone@microsoft.com . Exam Ref Guidelines: Mission Featuring concise, objective-by-objective reviews and strategic case scenarios and Thought Experiments, candidates get professional-level preparation for the exam. The Exam Ref helps candidates maximize their performance on the exam and sharpen their job-role skills. Distinguishing Features · Streamlines study by organizing material according to the exam’s objective domain, with one functional group and its objectives...

Greetings. We’re looking very very good for publishing Charles Petzold’s classic book, Programming Windows, in its sixth edition, in January 2013. You can order a preliminary ebook plus final ebook here , and you can preorder the print book on the same page . Today we’d like to share the book’s Introduction, in which Charles describes the book’s intended audience, organization, coverage, and much more. Take it away, Charles! Introduction This book—the 6 th edition of Programming Windows —is a guide to writing applications that run under Microsoft Windows 8. To use this book, you’ll need a computer running Windows 8, on which you can install the Windows 8 development tools and software development kit (SDK), most conveniently in the...

Hey, our good friend and associate publisher, Steve Weiss, has picked some great ebooks for a special sale through December 18, 2012. This past three months have seen Microsoft launch Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Visual Studio 2012 and Windows Phone 8, as well as the RTM build of SharePoint 2013. There's a lot to geek-out about, notes Steve Weiss, associate publisher, O'Reilly Media/Microsoft Press Division , so we're offering a slew of our latest resources for you. Use discount code HDMSN Deal expires December 18, 2012 at 11:59pm PT Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer does not apply to Print, or "Print & Ebook" bundle pricing. Click here for special offer page

Here’s the 21st in our series of guest posts by Microsoft Most Valued Professionals (MVPs). (Click the “MVPs” tag in the right column to see all of the articles.) Since the early 1990s, Microsoft has recognized technology champions around the world with the MVP Award . MVPs freely share their knowledge, real-world experience, and impartial and objective feedback to help people enhance the way they use technology. Of the millions of individuals who participate in technology communities, around 4,000 are recognized as Microsoft MVPs. You can read more original MVP-authored content on the Microsoft MVP Award Program Blog . This post is by David Pallman , a Windows Azure MVP and Microsoft Press author. Than ks, David! Add value to your Windows Store apps with the Microsoft...

Greetings, developers. If you’re developing for the Windows Store, we want to point out a stellar resource you might not be aware of: Windows Store App Labs . These labs were introduced in October via the Windows 8 app developer blog: Today we introduce Windows Store App Labs in more than 30 cities around the world for all app builders – developers, designers, and entrepreneurs. Windows Store App Labs are places where you can access the newest Windows 8 devices, get technical help from Windows experts, and receive design guidance from leading edge designers and digital agencies. All for free! Check out and test the newest Windows 8 devices The labs are stocked with the latest Windows 8 devices in multiple form factors including Windows RT tablets like Microsoft Surface , Ultrabooks, All-in...

Our friends over at the Born to Learn blog created a really cool visual map for people interested in learning about Windows Server and becoming certified. It was too great not to share with you. Check it out here: A Visual View of Microsoft Training and Certification for Windows Server 2012 Make sure to click on the images and notice that many areas on the map are hot linked.

We’ve been busy this past quarter! Check out the new books. Click any cover to go to the book's catalog page at our distributor’s site (oreilly.com). 7 books for programmers 5 books on Windows 8 4 new titles on Windows Server 2012 3 free ebooks 2 books for beginning programmers 1 book for Office users

If you missed the live Jump Start, you can view the recorded version for free on the Microsoft Virtual Academy site here: http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/tracks/building-apps-for-windows-phone-8-jump-start Description: This course is tailored for developers looking to leverage C#/XAML to build cool apps and games for Windows Phone 8. This platform is another leap forward in Microsoft’s overall mobile strategy and the developer community has taken notice. Now is the time to embrace your opportunity and start building Windows Phone apps. This fast-paced, demo-rich online course features two mobile development thought leaders as presenters: Andy Wigley , a sought-after mobile app developer and co-author of three best-selling books on mobile application development and Rob Tiffany , mobile...

We’re happy to announce that Exam Ref 70-417: Upgrading Your Skills to MCSA Windows Server 2012 (ISBN 9780735673045) by JC Mackin, is now available for purchase. Please refer to the table of contents from this previous post . You can buy the book from here and here . A sample from Chapter 7: CHAPTER 7 Configure a network policy server infrastructure Network Access Protection (NAP), as you know, is a Windows Server feature that enforces health requirements on client computers as they attempt to connect to a company network. These health requirements can relate to the status of software updates, of antivirus protection, of host firewall status, or of spyware protection. NAP was first introduced in Windows Server 2008. Although NAP doesn’t include any significant...

We’re pleased to announce that Exam Ref 70-410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 , by Craig Zacker, has shipped to the printer. Prepare for Microsoft® Exam 70-410—and help demonstrate your real-world mastery of implementing and configuring Windows Server 2012 core services. Designed for experienced IT professionals ready to advance their status, Exam Ref focuses on the critical-thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success at the MCSA level. Organized by exam objectives, and featuring challenging, what-if scenarios, this Exam Ref focuses on the knowledge and skills needed to implement and configure Windows Server 2012 core services in an enterprise environment. You can preorder the book from here and here . You can download a couple of sample...