Maria's blog in Nepal

Microsoft Security Essentials – free software to protect you from viruses, spyware and malware!

Microsoft Security Essentials is now available after being in Beta stage for some time. This product is targeting home users and can run on Windows XP, Windows Vista and of course Windows 7. Read more about it and download here

The New Efficiency is here!

A few hours ago we kicked of the Virtual Launch event for “The New Efficiency” with a keynote session from Steve Ballmer. I was sleeping so didn’t catch it live but of course it was recorded for you to watch whenever it suites you. Except for the keynote, there are tons of other sessions divided in themes such as Discover The Optimized Desktop, Learn More About The Optimized Server, Considers Unified Communications and Explore Business Ready Security. Each theme has several sessions with a recorded presentation, possibility to download slides or transcript and also links to more content.

There is also a partner section where you can watch presentations, find information and connect with them.

I really like this format of learning and with all the available content you can keep busy for several days!

Free software, training and support for Web professionals

Last week, we announced a program for Web Professionals called WebsiteSpark. This is targeted to Web development and design companies with up to 10 employees and will give you a lot of good stuff:

· Microsoft Web design and development tools , including three licenses of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition, two licenses of  Microsoft Expression Web 3, and one license of Microsoft Expression Studio 3.

· Four processor licenses for production usage of Microsoft Windows Web Server 2008 or R2 (when available) and  four processor licenses for production usage of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Web Edition.

· A third-party premium Website control panel (DotNetPanel).

Participating companies will also receive the following professional support and training:

· Two technical support incidents per company.

· Access to community support through connections with Network Partners, Hosting Partners and peers with complementary services and technologies.

· Unlimited access to technical managed newsgroups on MSDN.

· Unlimited program support for non-technical issues.

Find more information at the WebsiteSpark web or follow the conversation on Twitter

Join us in the Virtual Launch for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010

As for some of our recent product launches we will have a Virtual Launch for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010. On September 29th US time, this will kick off with a keynote session by Steve Ballmer. The session will of course be available on demand afterwards and followed by lots of technical sessions around the products. The focus for the event is “New Efficiency” and they will discuss how cost savings, productivity and innovation can drive business growth in these hard economic times.

You can also submit a question in advance for Steve Ballmer, so take that opportunity :-)

Get up to 25% discount on Certifications

From today until December 31st 2009 you will get up to 25% discount on Microsoft Certifications exams. This is a perfect opportunity for you if you want to move into a new career in IT or just strengthen your skills and specialize within your current area. Depending on what exam you want to take you get 15%, 20% or 25% discount. You can for example get a 15% discount on Exam 70-680: TS: Windows 7 Configuring or 25% discount on Exam 70-646: PRO: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator. You find all the details around discounts and how to sign up here

Windows 7 90 Day Trial available

Keen to try out Windows 7 now when it’s ready? Now you can download a 90 day trial of Windows 7 to play around with so you’re fully prepared and ready by the end of October when it will be available for everyone to buy. For those of you with a TechNet Subscription, I hope you know you can already get the full version without any time limit.

The full announcement of the Trial availability can be found on the Springboard Blog, together with a lot of resources. Don’t forget to check the Windows 7 Forums for questions and answers.