Developers, we’re pleased to announce another free offering: Moving to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 (Microsoft Press, 2011; 336 pages), written by Patrice Pelland, Pascal Paré, and Ken Haines. Here’s a little bit about the authors: Ken Haines is a software development engineer at Microsoft, working in the Consumer and Online Division. He has a passion for distributed applications in the cloud and strives to help customers and partners find the right solution for their needs. Pascal Paré has worked at Microsoft since 2006, where he has held positions as a software engineer on both development and testing teams. Patrice Pelland is a principal development manager at Microsoft, working in the Consumer and Online Division. He leads a development team that is focused on innovation and incubation...

Mitch Tulloch has updated his very popular free ebook on Windows Server 2012 based on the RTM version of the software. A key feature of this book is the inclusion of sidebars written by members of the Windows Server team, Microsoft Support engineers, Microsoft Consulting Services staff, and others who work at Microsoft. These sidebars provide an insider’s perspective that includes both “under-the-hood” information concerning how features work, and strategies, tips, and best practices from experts who have been working with the platform during product development. Please see the links below to download one or all of the available formats. PDF - Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition - PDF ebook EPUB – Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition...

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. Updated; Nov 13, 2012                                         

Gang, we’re done! 24 chapters, about 1,000 pages. Congratulations to Charles, who has outdone himself! Speaking for Charles and for the Windows Phone 7 team, we hope that you will enjoy Programming Windows Phone 7 : You can download a PDF here (38.6 MB). [NEWER NOTE: the presentation issues have been fixed.] [OLDER NOTE: we see the comments from some of you about presentation issues with the ebook. We’ve determined that the PDF is missing a required embedded font. This is leading to odd (or worse) presentation for some of you, including bitmapped text. We’re working with the vendor to create a new file. I’ll let you know when the new file has replaced the old one in the Microsoft Download Center. We apologize for this!] You can download the ebook’s C#...

Friends, the final and complete version of Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 , by Ross Mistry ( @RossMistry ) and Stacia Misner ( @StaciaMisner ), is now ready as a free download! You can download the PDF version of this title here (288 pages; 10.8 MB). We will update this post soon with links to EPUB and MOBI files. We expect these files to be available by March 23. UPDATE: The EPUB is here , and the MOBI is here . If you prefer a hard copy of the book, you can order it here for $14.99 . Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2012 includes 10 chapters: PART I DATABASE ADMINISTRATION (by Ross Mistry) 1. SQL Server 2012 Editions and Engine Enhancements 2. High-Availability and Disaster-Recovery Enhancements 3. Performance and Scalability 4. Security Enhancements 5...

We’re happy to announce that we have released the final version of this free ebook. FREE DOWNLOAD FORMATS: PDF Introducing Windows 8- An Overview for IT Professionals - PDF ebook Mobi Introducing Windows 8-An Overview for IT Professionals – Mobi format for Kindle ePub Introducing Windows 8-An Overview for IT Professionals – ePub format If you prefer a hard copy of the final book, you can order it here for $14.99 from our official distributor, O’Reilly Media. Is this book for you? Get a headstart evaluating Window 8—guided by a Windows expert who’s worked extensively with the software since the preview releases. Based on final, release-to-manufacturing (RTM) software, this book introduces new features and capabilities, with scenario-based insights demonstrating how to plan for, implement, and...

For a limited time you can download this free e-book without stepping through any registration. First Look: Microsoft Office 2010, by Katherine Murray, offers 14 chapters of early content....

We’re thrilled to publish another free ebook: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 , by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner! The book contains 10 chapters and 216 pages, like so: PART I   Database Administration CHAPTER 1   SQL Server 2008 R2 Editions and Enhancements 3 CHAPTER 2   Multi-Server Administration 21 CHAPTER 3   Data-Tier Applications 41 CHAPTER 4   High Availability and Virtualization Enhancements 63 CHAPTER 5   Consolidation and Monitoring 85 PART II   Business Intelligence Development CHAPTER 6   Scalable Data Warehousing 109 CHAPTER 7   Master Data Services 125 CHAPTER 8   Complex Event Processing with StreamInsight 145 CHAPTER 9   Reporting Services Enhancements 165 CHAPTER...

Hello, Kraig Brockschmidt here. To help celebrate //build/ , I’m delighted to announce the completion of Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript! You can download the ebook in PDF format here: http://go.microsoft.com/FWLink/?Linkid=270056 (17.9 MB) EPUB format is here: http://go.microsoft.com/FWLink/?Linkid=272592 (37.3 MB) MOBI format is here: http://go.microsoft.com/FWLink/?Linkid=272591 (69.5 MB) The ebook’s companion content is here: http://go.microsoft.com/FWLink/?Linkid=270057 (59.9 MB) ( Note: An updated version of the companion content was made available on November 8, 2012, to fix a line of code.) This free ebook provides comprehensive coverage of the platform for Windows Store apps. Since its second preview in August, we’ve added...

"Today I thought I’d share a section a section from Chapter 23, 'Assembly Loading and Reflection,' with you. This section discusses how to embed your application’s dependent DLLs inside your EXE file, simplifying deployment by allowing you to distribute just one physical file."...

We promised a more permanent home for this free ebook by Katherine Murray: here it is (in XPS) and here it is (in PDF) . 14 chapters: dive in and enjoy! Part I, “Envision the Possibilities,” introduces you to the changes in Office 2010 and shows you how you can make the most of the new features to fit the way you work today. Chapter 1, “Welcome to Office 2010,” gives you a play-by-play introduction to new features; Chapter 2, “Express Yourself Effectively and Efficiently,” details the great feature enhancements and visual effects throughout the applications; and Chapter 3, “Work Anywhere with Office 2010,” explores the flexibility factor by presenting a set of scenarios that enable users to complete their work no matter where their path takes...

We haven’t posted this in a while and I thought that it might be time for a refresh. This is a list of all of our free ebooks. We’ll have more coming up in 2011, so stay tuned. Free ebook: Programming Windows Phone 7, by Charles Petzold (a 24-chapter gift from the Windows Phone 7 team and Microsoft Press) Free ebook: Moving to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 (10 chapters by by Patrice Pelland, Pascal Paré, and Ken Haines) Free ebook: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (10 chapters by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner) Free ebook: Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions (Second Edition) (6 chapters by Mitch Tulloch) Free ebook: Own Your Future: Update Your Skills with Resources and Career Ideas from Microsoft (8 chapters by Katherine Murray) Free ebook: Introducing Windows Server 2008...

We are very excited to announce that we are able to offer Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime (ISBN 9780735656949), by Katherine Murray, as a free eBook . For details on this book, including the Table of Contents, see our previous blog post here . To download your free PDF eBook, click here . Updates to this eBook, as well as additional eBook formats, will become available in the future, so check this blog for updates. To download an EPUB or a MOBI version of this eBook, click here . Introduction (excerpt) Let’s hear it for freedom. Freedom from your desk. Freedom from those ­boring managers’ meetings. Freedom to work anywhere, with anyone, anytime, on almost any device. Sounds good, right? Office 365 is Microsoft’s...

We’re happy to release the Second Preview of our free ebook Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript , by Kraig Brockschmidt , today. Here’s a description of the ebook from Kraig: Kraig here. Hello again! Now that the RTM build of Windows 8 is out and available to developers, along with upgraded tools, I’m delighted to offer the next preview release of my book, Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript . Since the first release in June, we’ve added eight more chapters, bringing the total to 12 out of a planned 17. The new chapters cover collection controls (everything you wanted to know about ListView!), layout (especially view states), commanding UI (app bars, message dialogs, and their friends), the all-important topic of managing...

Do you recognize this man? That’s Charles Petzold ! Looking stylish with the cover of his free ebook on his tee shirt. It’s a draft preview of his upcoming book (to be published in the fall): Programming Windows Phone 7 Series . This preview ebook contains six chapters in three parts (153 pages total): Part I Getting Started Chapter 1 Phone Hardware + Your Software Chapter 2 Hello, Windows Phone Part II Silverlight Chapter 3 Code and XAML Chapter 4 Presentation and Layout Part III XNA Chapter 5 Principles of Movement Chapter 6 Textures and Sprites Here’s a quick excerpt from the ebook: Chapter 1 Phone Hardware + Your Software Sometimes it becomes apparent that previous approaches to a problem haven’t quite worked the way you anticipated. Perhaps...

UPDATE – there is a new version of this free ebook that is based on the RTM version of the software. Please find the new announcement here with links to the new edition .   I’m excited to announce the most recent free ebook offered by Microsoft Press. Introducing Windows Server 2012 , by Mitch Tulloch, is now ready for free download! Please see the links below to download one or all of the available formats. FORMAT LINK PDF Introducing Windows Server 2012 PDF ebook   EPUB Introducing Windows Server 2012 EPUB ebook MOBI Introducing Windows Server 2012 MOBI ebook If you prefer a hard copy of the book, you can order it here for $14.99 . Introducing Windows Server 2012 is 256 pages and includes 5 chapters loaded with insider information from the Windows Server Team.   Table of Contents...

Hello! To help celebrate the Windows 8 Release Preview and the Visual Studio 2012 Release Candidate , we’re happy to release a preview edition of Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript , by Kraig Brockschmidt (who, some of you might remember, many years ago worked with us on a couple editions of Inside OLE ). THE FINAL EBOOK IS AVAILABLE HERE: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2012/10/29/free-ebook-programming-windows-8-apps-with-html-css-and-javascript.aspx The links for the First Preview follow: Download a PDF of the ebook here (4.34 MB). Download the ebook’s sample code here (27.5 MB). (We’ll release EPUB and MOBI versions of the final ebook.) This first preview contains the first four chapters of what we think will be...