We’re pleased to announce that Microsoft Excel 2013 Inside Out (ISBN 9780735669055), by Mark Dodge and Craig Stinson, has shipped to the printer. You’re beyond the basics—so dive in and really put your spreadsheet skills to work! 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. Preorder the book from here , here , or here .  [NOTE: O’Reilly Media is the official distributor of Microsoft Press books. View O’Reilly’s terms of service for use of their services (including payment services) and the privacy policy applicable to how O’Reilly handles...

We’re happy to announce the availability of Microsoft Excel 2013: Building Data Models with PowerPivot . Your guide to quickly turn data into results. Transform your skills, data, and business—and create your own BI solutions using software you already know and love: Microsoft Excel. Two business intelligence (BI) experts take you inside PowerPivot functionality for Excel® 2013, with a focus on real world scenarios, problem-solving, and data modeling. You'll learn how to quickly turn mass quantities of data into meaningful information and on-the-job results—no programming required! Understand the differences between PowerPivot for Self Service BI and SQL Server Analysis Services for Corporate BI Extend your existing data-analysis skills to create your own BI...

Teach yourself how to build Windows 8 applications using Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 with Microsoft Visual C# 2012 or Visual Basic 2012—one step at a time. Build Windows 8 Apps with Microsoft Visual C# and Visual Basic Step by Step , by Luca Regnicoli, Paolo Pialorsi, and Roberto Brunetti, is available now. Here, at the chapter level, are the book’s contents: Contents at a Glance Introduction xi CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Windows Store apps 1 CHAPTER 2 Windows 8 UI style 31 CHAPTER 3 My first Windows 8 app 65 CHAPTER 4 Application lifecycle management 99 CHAPTER 5 Introduction to the Windows Runtime 133 CHAPTER 6 Windows runtime apIs 155 CHAPTER 7 enhance the user experience 185 CHAPTER 8 Asynchronous patterns 231 CHAPTER 9 rethinking the UI for Windows 8 apps 259 CHAPTER...

From now through May 1, 2013, you can save extra money on select Microsoft Press books at Amazon.com Click here to find the coupons home page at Amazon and search through books 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.

The Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) team has announced a new course in the popular “Jump Start” series of live online training events on April 18! This free skills course will feature Joey Snow, Corey Hynes and Adam Carter, who will deliver an engaging, demo-rich, live learning experience for IT Pros interested in the latest approaches to desktop virtualization. Register here: http://aka.ms/VDI-Tech COURSE OUTLINE Module 01 | VDI Overview       - What is/why VDI?       - Sessions/Personal/Pooled; VDI vs App-V and UE-V (DV overview) Module 02 | Windows Server 2012 User Experience        - RemoteFX for WAN; USB Redirection; Adaptive Graphics       - Windows 8 Client/Start Menu Integration...

Includes enhanced functionality for agile planning, quality enablement, line-of-business application development, developer experience, and more. Check out Somasegar’s blog for details . And here’s the Visual Studio 2012 Update 2 page , which includes more details and the download link.

We’re coming to San Francisco! June 26 (from 9am) - June 28 (until 2:30pm) The Moscone Center Registration opens at 09:00am PDT, April 2, 2013 Early bird (first 500): $1,595 // Full: $2,095 http://www.buildwindows.com/

When Dino Esposito—a well-known expert author on Windows technology—decided to take on the at-first-unwanted task of writing a book geared toward beginning programmers, Start Here! Build Windows 8 Apps with HTML5 and JavaScript , little did he know that he would end up being a co-author with his 14-year-old (now 15-year-old) son, Francesco, who is now also well on his way to becoming an expert mobile developer and author. Writing the book posed some unique challenges. In earlier times, programmers could get started and become productive by learning a single programming language. So for example, a person could study a book on BASIC and through diligent practice, learn to build high-quality applications. Now, however, most modern environments require developers to learn several things more-or...

Make that a huge congratulations! And may we say that we’re very proud to work with many of you on Microsoft Press books (both authoring and reviewing) and on posts for our blog . The MVP community is full of amazing talent, and we look forward to working with more of you! If you’re interested in such opportunities, please do let your community manager know. Everybody else, here’s more info about today’s MVP Awards (from the Microsoft MVP Award Program Blog).

We are delighted to announce that Training Guide: Programming in HTML5 with JavaScript and CSS3 (ISBN 9780735674387), by Glenn Johnson, is now available for purchase! Designed to help experienced programmers develop real-world, job-role-specific skills—this Training Guide focuses on creating applications with HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS3. Build hands-on expertise through a series of lessons, exercises, and suggested practices—and help maximize your performance on the job. Provides in-depth, hands-on training you take at your own pace: - Focuses on job-role-specific expertise for using HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS3 to begin building modern web and Windows 8 apps - Features pragmatic lessons, exercises, and practices - Creates a foundation of skills which, along with on-the-job experience, can be...

We are happy to announce that Microsoft® Outlook® 2013 Step by Step (ISBN 9780735669093), by Joan Lambert and Joyce Cox, is now available for purchase. Experience learning made easy—and quickly teach yourself how to stay organized and stay connected using Outlook 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace—building and practicing the skills you need, just when you them! Includes downloadable practice files and a companion eBook. - Set up your email and social media accounts - Send, search, filter, and organize messages - Manage one or more calendars, and share your schedule - Help protect your inbox and outbox - Create and track tasks, to-do lists, and appointments   Order From amazon.com click here * From O’Reilly Media, official distributor click here From and independent book store click...

This is the 25th 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 Ståle Hansen , a Lync MVP . His blog is msunified.net . Than ks very much, Ståle! Ståle here. A new feature for Enterprise...

We’ve been feeling a bit nostalgic around here lately. Twenty-nine years ago today, Microsoft Press introduced Cary Lu's The Apple Macintosh Book and Peter Norton's Exploring the IBM PC/Jr Home Computer at the 1984 West Coast Computer Faire. (for full Microsoft history, click here )   In 1984, I was a senior in high school and because my mother was a school teacher, we had an Apple IIe in our house. By the time I was in college, my grandmother gave me her Commodore 64 so that I could type and edit my 100+ page English literature thesis. When I graduated from college, I had to learn how to use Wang terminals at my first job. Eventually, we adopted IBM PCs in our office and my first computer book was a title about using dBASE III+.  In those early years, I never imagined that I would...

The new Office Garage Series: Identity, Activation and Data Access with a User-Based Office This week our hosts answer your questions about the user-based Office service, how identity and services are provisioned, where data and passwords are stored and what the user experiences look like. They also catch up with cybersecurity expert and author, Mark Russinovich, to discuss the security model for online services with Azure AD.

Ensure Your Success with MOS Study Guides Get started on your Microsoft Office Specialist certification now It's a competitive job market, and anything you can do to stand out is a definite asset to your career, especially demonstrating top-notch computer skills. Now you can become certified in SharePoint, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and other Office programs. For one week only, SAVE 50% on these ebooks and get started on your path to MOS certification. This sale is available from O’Reilly Media, 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 services) and the privacy policy applicable to how O'Reilly handles your data. Click here to view the ebooks in...

Long-time Microsoft Press author and Scripting Guy! Ed Wilson , whose latest book on PowerShell— Windows PowerShell 3.0 Step by Step —was just published, recently chatted with Blain Barton at TechNet Radio about the role of Microsoft certification in his career. Enjoy the story here . Ed, who recently passed Exam 70-410, also describes why he keeps his certification up to date. Blain and Ed also discuss some tips and tricks for the MCSA on Windows Server 2012 , as well as the free " Early Experts " challenge you can sign up for to prepare for Exam 70-410. And here’s information about our recently published Exam Ref 70-410: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 .

Hello again, Kraig here. Earlier this year we announced my blog, http://www.kraigbrockschmidt.com/blog , where I’d promised to be posting corrections to my free ebook, Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript , along with other material that I wasn’t able to include in the book. As many of you know—seeing as how the page hits on my site increased dramatically!—I’ve been keeping up a steady flow of postings, and thought it’d be fun and helpful to highlight some of the most significant ones or interesting ones. I must admit that this gave me motivation to clean up my tags as well! First is a three-part series called Alive with Activity that actually isn’t on my blog directly—it’s on the Windows 8 Developer Blog, where you’ll find many posts from different members of the Windows...