Greetings. You might already know that we now and then publish free ebooks on new technologies. ( There are 13 here. ) Today we’d like to share a preview of a free ebook that will be available in July: Rethinking Enterprise Storage: A Hybrid Cloud Model , by Marc Farley . Below is Chapter 1, which introduces the ebook’s topic. Please note that this material is in DRAFT form. And enjoy!   Chapter 1 Rethinking enterprise storage The information technology (IT) world has always experienced rapid changes, but the environment we are in today is bringing the broadest set of changes that the industry has ever seen. Every day more people are accessing more data from more sources and using more processing power than ever before. A profound consequence of this growing digital consumption is that...

Greetings. Perhaps you missed our live Q&A with Charles Petzold a couple of weeks ago. The session is now posted here at the Microsoft Virtual Academy . (You must register with MVA to access this free material.) Principal Technical Evangelist Jaime Rodriguez and Charles discussed development for Windows 8, Charles’s new book ( Programming Windows, Sixth Edition ), C++ (including how I “encouraged” Charles to convert all his C# companion code for the new book to C++ [minute 43]), DirectX, the Windows Runtime API, moving from WPF to XAML, and lots more, including Charles’s Windows tattoo. They also took lots of questions live. This far-ranging conversation lasts about 63 minutes. Enjoy!

Greetings. I’m John Osborne; I work on content for the Windows Dev Center . Today I’m happy to announce a new series of posts here on the Microsoft Press blog. Each time guidance in the Windows Dev Center is updated or added, we’ll blog about it here so that you know what’s new. And, going forward, you can use the “Windows Dev Center” tag to see only these posts and find our updates more easily. In our first post in this series, we’d like to alert you to significant updates we’ve made to the game portal in the Windows Dev Center. You can get tips on how to port a game from another platform or program a new game for Windows 8 using our free tools. Then, distribute the game through the Windows Store and start making money. (In case you’re...

May 28: Testing with Visual Studio 2012 (exam 70-497) Jump Start Join us on May 28 th from 8AM – 5PM for our second live Jump Start about Application Lifecycle Management (ALM). Learn more about software testing with Visual Studio 2012 while you study for exam 70-497. Register here : http://aka.ms/ALM497JS   May 29: Administering Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012 (exam 70-496) Jump Start Join experts Anthony Borton and Steven Borg on May 29 th for a MVA Jump Start about administering Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2012. Register here:   http://aka.ms/ALM496JS

Per http://www.buildwindows.com/ , a limited number of additional tickets will go on sale Wednesday May 15 at 9am PDT. You can follow @bldwin for more news about the conference over the coming weeks.

We’re happy to announce that Microsoft OneNote 2013 Plain & Simple is available for purchase. Here’s WHAT you’ll learn: Take notes, organize, and share them Bookmark and tag notes for easier searching Add pictures, drawings, and spreadsheets Handwrite notes and convert them to text Record audio and video notes Access notes from the web or mobile device Here’s HOW you’ll learn it: Jump in wherever you need answers Follow easy STEPS and SCREENSHOTS to see exactly what to do Get handy TIPS for new techniques and shortcuts Use TRY THIS! exercises to apply what you learn right away NOTE: O'Reilly Media is the official distributor of Microsoft Press books. By clicking the link, you will be taken to O'Reilly's website. View O'Reilly's terms of service for use of their services (including payment...

We’re pleased to announce that Exam Ref 70-687: Configuring Windows 8 is available for purchase. Prepare for Exam 70-687—and help demonstrate your real-world mastery of Windows 8 setup and support. 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. Focus on the expertise measured by these objectives: -Install and upgrade to Windows 8 -Configure hardware and applications -Configure network connectivity -Configure access to resources -Configure remote access and mobility -Monitor and maintain Windows clients -Configure backup and recovery options NOTE: O'Reilly Media is the official distributor of Microsoft Press books. By clicking the link, you will be taken to O'Reilly...

We’re happy to announce that Microsoft Excel 2013 Plain & Simple is available for purchase. Here’s WHAT You’ll Learn · Manage your data quickly and efficiently · Filter, sort, summarize, and crunch your numbers · Use formulas and functions to do the heavy lifting · Bring data to life with charts and graphics · Share data between Microsoft Office documents · Work as a team, online and in the cloud Here’s HOW You’ll Learn It · Jump in wherever you need answers · Follow easy STEPS and SCREENSHOTS to see exactly what to do · Get handy TIPS for new techniques and shortcuts · Use TRY THIS! exercises to apply what you learn right away NOTE: O'Reilly Media is the official distributor of Microsoft Press books. By clicking the link, you will be taken to O'Reilly's website. View O'Reilly's terms of...

Greetings, developers. In case you missed it, take a look at this post by Lee Culver, a software developer on the .NET Runtime team, which introduces you to a new managed library that allows you to automate inspection tasks and access more debugging info. Below is a quick excerpt from the beginning of the post. The post continues with an example and related code in three sections: “Getting Started,” “Analyzing the Heap,” and “ClrMD Features and Functionality.” Today are we excited to announce the beta release of the Microsoft.Diagnostics.Runtime component (called ClrMD for short) through the NuGet Package Manager. ClrMD is a set of advanced APIs for programmatically inspecting a crash dump of a .NET program much in the same way as the SOS Debugging Extensions (SOS). It allows you to write automated...

Greetings. Today we share the Foreword that Scott Hanselman graciously contributed to Sayed Hashimi and William Bartholomew’s Supplement to Inside the Microsoft Build Engine: Using MSBuild and Team Foundation Build, 2nd Edition (ISBN 9780735678163). This Supplement adds coverage of new topics to what Scott calls Sayed and Willam’s “missing manual” for MSBuild. As Scott says, “This updated supplemental edition builds (ahem) on the good work of the previous editions and includes new sections on the updates to the MSBuild core, changes in Team Build, and even updates to Web Publishing in Microsoft Visual Studio 2012.” Enjoy! Foreword Ah, the thankless life of the Build Master. If they do their job well, you’ll never know they exist! If they don’t, well, everyone knows it’s the Build Master’s fault...

A great way to save an extra $10 through May 15, 2013 *Note - this coupon applies to the print version only. To find coupons, go to www.amazon.com/coupons How to Redeem the Coupon: To apply a coupon offer to a qualifying item, add coupon in one of two ways: Click on the coupon offer on the item detail page via the "Clip this Coupon" button, or Click on the coupon provided on amazon.com/coupons. After applying the coupon to the qualifying item, add the item to your Cart via the "Add to Cart" or "1-Click" option button on the respective item detail page. The coupon discount will be applied to the qualifying item added to your Cart and will be reflected on the final order checkout page.

We’re happy to announce the Microsoft Excel 2013 Inside Out (ISBN 9780735669055) by Mark Dodge and Craig Stinson is now available for purchase. This supremely organized reference is packed with hundreds of timesaving solutions, troubleshooting tips, and workarounds. It’s all muscle and no fluff. Learn how the experts tackle Excel 2013—and challenge yourself to new levels of mastery. Purchase includes a companion ebook and sample files. Topics include: Customizing the Excel workspace Best practices for designing and managing worksheets Creating formulas and functions Performing statistical, what-if, and other data analysis Core to advanced charting techniques Using graphics and sparklines Managing databases and tables Automating Excel with macros and custom functions Collaborating in Excel online...

Join us on April 30 at 5 pm PDT for a Microsoft Virtual Academy Live Q&A with programming legend and renowned author Charles Petzold . The focus will be on writing Windows Store apps with C#/XAML, but all of your questions are welcome! Register here . (In case you missed it, Microsoft Press recently published Charles’s Programming Windows, Sixth Edition, 15 years after the fifth edition, to address Windows 8.) Also, Microsoft Virtual Academy will be hosting a Twitter Chat during this event, as described below by MVA’s Matt Calder: The renowned author will be taking audience questions on camera in our studio, and you can get a place near the front of the line by tweeting your questions to us ahead of time @MSVirtAcademy #MVALive. Register for this free event to tune in and watch live, and...

This is the 27th in our series of guest posts by Microsoft Most Valued Professionals (MVPs). You can click the “MVPs” tag in the right column of our blog 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 Sean McNeill , an Office365 MVP. Thanks much, Sean! Background Corporate Data Loss has become a major issue for almost...

The Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) team is excited to announce a new course in the popular “Jump Start” series of live online training events on May 2nd! This core skills course will feature Microsoft Technical Evangelist Jerry Nixon and co-founder of Crank211 Daren May, who will deliver an engaging, demo-rich, live learning experience for developers interested in bulking up their C# app programming skills.  This course is also a great way to prepare for Exam 70-484.   Register here: http://aka.ms/WinSAECR2 This Jump Start covers Developing Windows Store Apps using C#. In typical Jump Start fashion it will be filled with lots of demos and fun.  Microsoft Technical Evangelist Jerry Nixon and the co-founder of Crank211, Daren May , will craft sample after sample in real time...

  Click here to register Tuesday, April 23, 2013 1PM PT, San Francisco 9pm - London | 4pm - New York | Wed, Apr 24th at 6am - Sydney | Wed, Apr 24th at 5am - Tokyo | Wed, Apr 24th at 4am - Beijing | Wed, Apr 24th at 1:30am - Mumbai Presented by: Bonnie Biafore Duration: Approximately 60 minutes. Cost: Free Join us for a live webcast presented by project management expert Bonnie Biafore author of Microsoft Project 2013: The Missing Manual. We will get you up to speed fast and put your project management skills to work. In this webcast you will learn: Exploring built-in Project reports Customizing reports in Project 2013 Alternatives to the new Project 2013 reports About Bonnie Biafore Bonnie Biafore has always been fascinated with math in its practical and more esoteric forms. As an engineer...

This is the 26th in our series of guest posts by Microsoft Most Valued Professionals (MVPs). You can 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 Kelsey Epps , of the Concepps Group, an Office365 MVP. WEB: http://conceppsgroup.com BLOG: http://office365support.ca Thanks very much...