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Free ebook: Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals

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Download all formats (PDF, Mobi and ePub) as well as link to the companion content hosted by the Microsoft Virtual Academy

 We’re happy to announce that Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals by Ed Bott is ready for download.

Introduction

It’s difficult to believe that Windows 8 was introduced only a year ago, and yet today its successor, Windows 8.1, is ready for widespread adoption. By Microsoft’s standards, that is warp speed. And it is a tribute to the developers who designed and built Windows 8 and 8.1 that they have been able to sustain that pace and deliver such a polished product.

The Windows 8 product line represents a radical departure for Microsoft. A new user experience. A new app platform. New security features and new management tools. If you’re an IT pro, you have the daunting job of helping your users adapt to the newness of Windows 8.1 while you try to stay at least one step ahead.

Although I’ve written in-depth guides to Windows in the past, this book is not one of those. Nor do I pretend to offer much in the way of opinions or review. Only you can decide whether and how and when to incorporate Windows 8.1 into your enterprise, based on your own organizational requirements.

My goal in this book is to help you on that upgrade path by presenting the facts and features about Windows 8.1 as clearly as I can. If you’ve been living in an environment built around a previous version of Windows, you have a lot to absorb in the transition to Windows 8.1. I’ve tried to lay out those facts in as neutral a fashion as possible, starting with an overview of the operating system, explaining the many changes to the user experience, and diving deep into deployment and management tools where it’s necessary.

By design, this book focuses on things that are new, with a special emphasis on topics of interest to IT pros. So you might find fewer tips and tricks about the new user experience than your users want but more about management, deployment, and security—which ultimately is what matters to the long-term well-being of the company you work for.

This book is just an introduction, an overview. For more detailed information about the features and capabilities described in this book, I encourage you to become a regular visitor at the Springboard Series on TechNet: https://www.microsoft.com/springboard. Tell ‘em Ed sent you.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    October 14, 2013
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 14, 2013
    That's mighty fine! Looking forward to get my hands on Windows 8.1, and this book will surely help understanding it! Thanks!

  • Anonymous
    October 14, 2013
    This is great book for IT pro's, perfect!

  • Anonymous
    October 14, 2013
    A book from such a professional is a great testament in itself. Lucky Win 8.1

  • Anonymous
    October 15, 2013
    Gran aporte¡ :D , gracias...

  • Anonymous
    October 17, 2013
    Great! Thank you so much for sharing this eBook Kim!

  • Anonymous
    October 17, 2013
    can't wait for Kindle edition... Thanks

  • Anonymous
    October 22, 2013
    new formats are here! See table at top

  • Anonymous
    October 22, 2013
    Incredible one, it's a great book!!! I'll tell about it on my blog... coffeetec.wordpress.com and I hope a lot of people download it!!!

  • Anonymous
    October 23, 2013
    Thanks, Miguel!

  • Anonymous
    October 29, 2013
    Nice Overview. Thanks.

  • Anonymous
    November 05, 2013
    I was looking forward to 8.1 cloud features too, but some of them are failing big time for me.  Like the settings are now copying to other machines and keeping them from working right.

  • Anonymous
    November 08, 2013
    i realy get a benificial result by downloading this book ..................and i hope many peoples download this ebook and will get a hopefiling result

  • Anonymous
    November 09, 2013
    hi Kim thank you for this .....can this be a good read for a 70-687 and 70-688 exam??

  • Anonymous
    November 14, 2013
    Every Microsoft ebooks that I had the opportunity to download over the past months has benificed me in so many ways and that like many of you, I am very greatfulfor such ebooks.

  • Anonymous
    November 14, 2013
    how can work as a virtual technical support with microsoft

  • Anonymous
    November 15, 2013
    Thank you for the free book!

  • Anonymous
    November 15, 2013
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 21, 2013
    SUPER !!!  .....hätte mich mal über eine deutschsprachige Version gefreut :(

  • Anonymous
    November 25, 2013
    thanks! this really helps!

  • Anonymous
    December 07, 2013
    Thanx

  • Anonymous
    December 10, 2013
    It's a good free source to read! Thank you!

  • Anonymous
    February 28, 2014
    I second Reagan, I wonder how much of this information will be covered in the newest version of 70-687?

  • Anonymous
    July 25, 2015
    Tkanks

  • Anonymous
    July 25, 2015
    Thank you