Full color: Learn how to build great Windows Store apps! Figures and code appear as they do in Visual Studio. Windows 8.1 enables you to build stunning applications that integrate with each other, Web services, and Windows itself. You can sell them in the Windows Store, with more options than ever before, for tablets such as Surface, laptops, and traditional desktop PCs! World-renowned Microsoft programming guru Adam Nathan shows you exactly how to write first-class apps for this significant update to Windows. Don't let the minor name change fool you--Windows 8.1 contains an incredible amount of new developer opportunities compared to Windows 8. Clear, accessible, and intensely practical, this guide teaches through concise code examples, in full color to match their appearance in Visual Studio--the same approach that made Nathan's WPF Unleashed so popular. Writing with unprecedented depth and insight, Nathan guides you through creating advanced user interfaces with XAML and exploiting key Windows 8.1 features. Whether you're already comfortable with Microsoft programming or relatively new to it, Windows 8.1 Apps with XAML and C# Unleashed will take you to the cutting edge of Windows 8.1 development. Detailed information on how to... Use XAML to represent state-of-the-art user interfaces, even across multiple windows Handle touch, mouse, keyboard, and pen input, including handwriting recognition Use new Windows 8.1 controls for creating hubs, flyouts, better app bars, performing in-app searches, rendering PDFs, and much more Encode, decode, and transcode multimedia content and speech-enable your app Leverage rich XAML vector graphics and animation Interact with built-in functionality such as the Camera app, file picker, the lock screen, new contacts and appointments integration, and more Exploit the Windows 8.1 charms bar Integrate DirectX graphics seamlessly Work with the rich set of available sensors: accelerometer, compass, light sensor, location (with geofencing support), proximity, and more Control devices such as fingerprint readers, image and bar code scanners, magnetic stripe readers, and custom Bluetooth, USB, HID, or Wi-Fi Direct devices

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, Sams Teach Yourself Windows 8.1 Apps with XAML and C# in 24 Hours will help you build compelling apps for Windows 8.1 devices of all kinds.

Full Color: Figures and code appear as they do in Visual Studio. Universal Windows apps are a total game-changer. You can now write once and deploy your app to any modern PC, tablet, phone, or other Windows device. Suddenly, it’s quick and easy to serve new devices and form factors, sharing unified assets ranging from code to styles to user controls. It has never been easier to reach multiple-device markets! Now, the world’s #1 expert on Microsoft XAML brings together all the knowledge Windows developers need to build universal apps that adapt smoothly for any device running Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, or their successors. Drawing on his unsurpassed personal experience and direct input from Microsoft’s Windows and Visual Studio teams, Adam Nathan illuminates core development concepts, answers your most important questions, and candidly assesses the technology’s strengths and limitations. This full-color guide walks you through every key task involved in building a universal Windows app: layout and input, working with the app model, using advanced controls, leveraging XAML’s powerful rich media features, and much more. Detailed information on how to... Quickly build universal, localized apps that exploit the vast global scale of the Windows Store Size, position, and transform elements within layouts that gracefully adapt to different devices Handle input from touch, mouse, pen, keyboard, and any sensor Monetize apps with Windows Store sales, in-app purchases, and advertising Make the most of controls for managing content, items, text, images, media, speech, and more Create efficient 2D vector graphics and animations Use styles, templates, and visual states to redesign controls without losing functionality Bind data sources to simplify data presentation and updates Easily integrate data from apps, users, and networks Support Windows app commands: Search, Share, Print, Play, Project, Settings Use contracts to build apps that cooperate to perform complex tasks Improve the user experience even when your app isn’t running

Annotation In this practical XAML tutorial and reference, Adam Nathan covers every facet of XAML development for desktop Windows, Windows Phone, and the Windows Store.

Summary: Take advantage of your existing JavaScript and HTML skills to build apps for Windows 8.1 and add them to the Windows Store. This book guides you through using Microsoft's WinJS 2.0 library to develop apps for Windows 8.1, learning how to use JavaScript templates, controls, and data binding. It covers everything from displaying data with a ListView control to supporting SkyDrive cloud storage, creating games to using IndexedDB and HTML5 forms. Extensively updated for the release of Windows 8.1, this book covers all of the new features of the WinJS 2.0 library such as the Repeater, SearchBox, WebView, and NavBar controls and the new WinJS Scheduler. It has been updated with a new sample app that demonstrates how to build a Windows Store app that interacts with Windows Azure Mobile Services.

This comprehensive resource will help you automate and optimize all facets of service management with System Center 2012 Service Manager. Expert consultants offer deep "in the trenches" insights for improving problem resolution, change control, release management, asset lifecycle management, chargeback, and more. You'll learn how to implement high-value best practices from ITIL and the Microsoft Operations Framework. The authors begin with an expert overview of Service Manager, its evolution, and its new capabilities. Next, they walk through overall planning, design, implementation, and upgrades. Then, to help you focus your efforts, they present stepwise coverage of all topics in each feature area, linking technical information about Service Manager with essential knowledge about the technologies it depends on. Whatever your role in deploying or running Service Manager, this guide will help you deliver more responsive support at lower cost and drive more value from all your IT investments. * Leverage MOF and ITIL processes built into System Center 2012 Service Manager * Plan and design your Service Manager deployment * Install Service Manager or upgrade from earlier versions * Efficiently administer work and configuration items * Use connectors to integrate with Active Directory, Exchange, and System Center components * Create service maps * Enable end user access through Service Manager's self-service portal * Implement incident, problem, change, and release management * Utilize workflows to automate key support processes * Create service level agreements with calendars, metrics, and objectives * Provide quick access to a standardized catalog of services * Use notification to ensure that Service Manager items are promptly addressed * Secure Service Manager and its data warehouse/reporting platform * Perform maintenance, backup, and recovery * Manage Service Manager performance * Customize Service Manager

Since Microsoft introduced System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, it has released two sets of important changes and improvements: Service Pack 1 and R2. This comprehensive reference and technical guide focuses specifically on those enhancements. It offers 300+ pages of all-new “in the trenches” guidance for applying Configuration Manager 2012’s newest features to improve user and IT productivity across all corporate, consumer, and mobile devices. An authoring team of world-class System Center consultants thoroughly cover System Center integration with Microsoft Intune and its mobile device management capabilities. They fully address Microsoft’s increased support for cross-platform devices, enhanced profiles, changes to application management, operating system deployment, as well as improvements to performance, security, usability, and mobile device management. The essential follow-up to System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager Unleashed, this new supplement joins Sams’ market-leading series of books on Microsoft System Center. • Use ConfigMgr 2012 R2 with Windows Intune to deliver people-centric management to any user, any device, anywhere • Simplify BYOD registration and enrollment, and enable consistent access to corporate resources • Integrate new mobile device management capabilities into the Configuration Manager console without service packs, hot fixes, or major releases • Provision authentication certificates for managed devices via certificate profiles • Automate repetitive software- and device-related tasks with PowerShell cmdlets • Centrally control roaming profiles, certificates, Wi-Fi profiles, and VPN configuration • Configure User Data and Profiles to manage folder redirection, offline files/folders, and roaming profiles for Windows 8.x users • Enable users to access data in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environments • Manage devices running OS X, UNIX, Linux, Windows Phone 8, WinRT, iOS, and Android • Understand the new cross-platform agent introduced in ConfigMgr 2012 R2 • Automate Windows setup with OSD • Prepare for, configure, install, and verify successful installation of the Windows Intune connector role • Respond to emerging challenges in mobile device management