Microsoft Learning is offering up to 25% off select (many) certification exams and E-Learning collections....

In case you haven’t seen the news, Microsoft Press and O’Reilly Media, Inc., will be partners starting November 30. Some details here....

"Last time I talked about what Group Policy Preferences are and aren’t. So now let’s start looking at how you can use them to make your life easier. Unlike GP settings which apply to both local computer policy and Active Directory policy, GP preferences only apply to Active Directory policy."...

We’re pleased to announce that Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2008: T-SQL Programming, by Itzik Ben-Gan, Dejan Sarka, Roger Wolter, Greg Low, Ed Katibah, and Isaac Kunen, is now available!...

Mark Russinovich will be presenting at a free-for-everyone Windows 7 Developer Boot Camp at PDC09. Sign up now!...

"When a technology works I’m not afraid to say it (and I’m not afraid to proclaim it from the rooftops either), so here I go with a bold statement: I just don’t understand why Group Policy Preferences (GPP) aren’t being used everywhere."...

We’re pleased to announce that Windows 7 Plain & Simple, by Jerry Joyce and Marianne Moon, is now available in bookstores (Microsoft Press, 2010; ISBN: 9780735626669; 400 pages)!...

We’re pleased to announce that Windows 7 Step by Step, by Joan Preppernau, Joyce Cox, and Online Training Solutions, Inc., is now available for purchase in bookstores (Microsoft Press, 2010; ISBN: 9780735626676; 544 pages)!...

After saying hooroo to Australia, author Orin Thomas moved on to TechEd New Zealand. Here's his report....

"One of the fun things about being the Microsoft Scripting Guy is reading all the e-mail sent to Scripter@Microsoft.Com. Each week, I attempt to answer the several hundred e-mails that I get, at times with varying success."...

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-680): Configuring Microsoft Windows 7 (Microsoft Press, 2010; ISBN: 9780735627086; 912 pages), by Ian McLean and Orin Thomas, is at the printer. Congrats, Ian and Orin!...

Good news! William Stanek, who has written dozens and dozens of wonderful Microsoft Press books for IT professionals, will be writing for our blog regularly. Here he introduces himself....

Mark Russinovich, Chris Jackson, Jeremy Chapman, and others will discuss “how virtualization tools can help you with application compatibility concerns whether you're migrating from Windows Vista or Windows XP” in a Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable on Sept 24. You can submit questions in advance to vrtable@microsoft.com. ...

Michael Sampson, author of Microsoft Press's Seamless Teamwork: Using Microsoft SharePoint Technologies to Collaborate, Innovate, and Drive Business in New Ways, has published a new book....

Sara celebrates her 8-year anniversary at Microsoft her way, by jumping off the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere and screaming "Go, CodePlex!"...

Good morning, everybody. We’d like to introduce a new author for the Microsoft Press blog, Andrew Levicki , who we’re thrilled has agreed to write for us regularly about his adventures as an IT professional. Andrew sent the following as a type of introduction. In it he pays us lots of compliments, and we’ve asked him to stop doing that! In the future, Andrew will write about whatever he finds interesting while working with technologies, while learning technologies and earning certifications, while doing whatever it is he does. The world’s his oyster, which he with keyboard will open. Welcome, Andrew! > > > Hi there! My name’s Andrew and I’ve been working with Microsoft products and technologies for the past 15 years or so. My first experience of managing an IT environment came at the...

"One of the things that I often discuss with people who write VBScript code is the process of translating VBScript code to Windows PowerShell code. In fact, several years ago, I was approached about writing a utility that would automate the process. I thought about it long and hard, and in the end decided to forgo developing such a tool."...