The MCP Flash is a newsletter for Microsoft Certified Professionals. New delivery options are available. Click here to confirm your subscription preferences. | | Updated Communication Designs Over the next few months, you will notice a new look to our MCP communications, including this newsletter, the MCP member site, and our email communications. The most obvious change is a new color scheme to signify the intended audience. Green=technical; orange=Office; red=trainer. When speaking to all audiences, we will use a “rainbow” to represent everyone. These changes in no way affect your certifications earned and/or the design of your certificates. Original Publication Date: 05/19/2011 Improved MCP Member Site Coming Next Month Starting in mid-June, you’ll notice a new look and feel on the MCP, MCT, and MOS member sites, including a new dashboard home page. Other improvements include an updated Logo Builder tool and easier access to your MC ID and profile information. Future updates will include an improved certification planner tool, a new MCP eStore, and new special offers and benefits. The new site allows you to leave feedback at the bottom of each page, so please do so. Your feedback is critical in helping us build a site that meets your needs—so please let us know what you think! Original Publication Date: 05/19/2011 Update Your Résumé/CV and Interview Skills with Advice from the Experts Time to refresh your résumé or prepare for interviews? Get ready for your next career move with these recent online sessions from Career Factor and the Microsoft Certified Career Conference. Read the full article » Original Publication Date: 05/10/2011 Microsoft Certified Master (MCM): SQL Server Learning Snacks in the Training Catalog Now available in the Training Catalog: a collection of freely accessible MCM-level instruction delivered as Learning Snacks. Review the various titles and use this collection to help you prepare for the MCM SQL Server 2008 exams. Read the full article » Original Publication Date: 05/13/2011 Announcing Spring Cleaning! It's the time of year to sort through Microsoft Learning training and certification resources. During our "spring cleaning," we found many complimentary Microsoft Press e-books and chapters, exam coaching sessions, Leaning Snacks, online training, and much more! Find complimentary resources for Windows Server, Exchange, SharePoint, SQL Server, Visual Studio, virtualization, and even Microsoft Office. Sign up to access Spring Cleaning resources. Original Publication Date: 05/12/2011 Lock In Exam Savings: Purchase Microsoft Certification Packs by June 30, 2011 There is still time left to take advantage of this fantastic offer and lock in today's exam price before it goes up on July 1, 2011. Microsoft Certification Packs are the first step toward certification, which can help you get a job, earn a promotion, or become indispensable in your existing role. Microsoft Certification Packs map well to all of our certification paths by providing configurations of 2, 3, 4, or even 5 exams. Plus, you can save up to 20 percent and get free retakes if you fail any exams. You must take the first exam of your pack by June 30, 2011, and then you will have until December 31, 2011, to take all the rest of them. Learn more about these discounts on certification exams. Read the full article » Original Publication Date: 05/04/2011 E-Book Deal of the Week: Save 50 Percent on Microsoft Press E-Books Microsoft Press e-books from oreilly.com come with full digital rights. You get complimentary lifetime access, multiple file formats, and updates at no cost. And now, exclusively through this newsletter offer, you can save 50 percent on all Microsoft Press e-books. Use discount code DDMF2 in your shopping cart to take advantage of this offer. To receive the weekly e-book offer alerts, you must subscribe to the daily or weekly MCP Flash newsletter. Original Publication Date: 05/19/2011 Cloud Power: Create the Next Big App So you've got an idea for that next big app and you need to get it launched as quickly as possible. Maybe it's a mobile app, something you want to run on Facebook, or a project that stretches your ASP.NET skills. Tune in to this five-part online event series and learn how to harness the cloud or get your apps into it. We'll share hands-on lessons, make it real with code samples, and set you up with a 30-day complimentary Windows Azure Pass. Join us as we explore the topics that matter most for today's developers. Original Publication Date: 05/16/2011 Microsoft Virtual Academy The Microsoft Virtual Academy helps you to improve your IT skill set and advance your career with a complimentary, easy-to-access training portal that allows you to learn at your own pace, focusing on Microsoft technologies. Read the full article » Original Publication Date: 05/09/2011 | | | Monthly Edition May 2011 In This Issue Resources Learning Portals | |