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Free eBooks from Microsoft

For once, we can't accuse them of sucking!

Everybody loves a great bargain. And you can't get a much better bargain than Microsoft offering FREE ebooks via Microsoft Virtual Academy. Take advantage of this offer and download some free ebooks right now!

As you might have guessed with these ebooks coming from Microsoft, they're not novels. Microsoft's ebooks are primarily guides to their software and operating systems, as well as some other tech topics like programming apps. These guides are incredibly thorough and detailed, some giving you great intro material to some Windows features and programs, and others giving you more information on programs you might already be familiar with.

They'll be great additions to your ebook library, so check out the Microsoft Virtual Academy website, and start downloading at absolutely no cost to you. To learn more about how easy these ebooks are to get, how to read them, and which ones to download first, read on below. Then, take what you've learned here, and get those ebooks, so you can start learning from them too!
How to get the ebooks

To download free ebooks from Microsoft Virtual Academy, you'll first need a Microsoft account. If you already have one from having a Microsoft device, great, you're one step closer to getting your free ebooks! If not, that's fine, the account is free and easy to get.

When you go to the Microsoft Virtual Academy free ebook library, if you have a Microsoft account, you'll find a "Sign in" link at the top of the page. Just click there, sign in, and you'll be able to download ebooks in no time. If you don't have an account, click "Sign in," and then next to the "No account?" question below the sign-in input, click "Create one!" to make your free Microsoft account.

Note: If you try to download a book before you've made a Microsoft account, you'll be prompted to sign in or create an account anyway. So you might as well get this step done first!

Once you're logged in and back at the MVA free ebook library, scroll through the selections and see which book you want to download. Once you've found one you like, click the "Download" button next to the right of it, and select your preferred format from the menu that appears. With your format selected, click "Download" again, and the ebook will download to whatever device you're using to look at the library.

To understand the different formats the ebooks come in, keep reading. Otherwise, enjoy your ebook!
The ebook formats

Microsoft was very aware that people read ebooks in different formats, and from different devices. Therefore, their ebooks, even their free ones, come in a variety of file formats to accommodate as many people as possible.

Most of the free ebooks are available as PDFs. This is a great format, as almost any electronic device can read it, but given the other ebook forms available via the Microsoft Virtual Academy, this one is best if you mostly read on your computer or tablet.

If you like to read ebooks on your phone, many of the free ebooks from Microsoft Press can also be specifically downloaded in a PDF for mobile form. The PDF for mobile format is a slightly smaller file, and can be read with more ease on a smartphone than a regular PDF, so it's a great option if that's how you like to read.

EPUB format starts to bring eReaders into the mix. Your computer, tablet, and smartphone can all still read EPUB files, but it takes particular computer programs for it. Smartphones and tablets often have apps that can read EPUBs since most of those operating systems have stores where you can buy ebooks, so the EPUB file should work with that. For your computer, you can get Calibre as a great, free ebook reading software. Your eReader should be fine to just read the file once you download it and put it on your device.

And if you really love your Kindle eReader, Microsoft Press and MVA has you covered. Quite a few of the free ebooks, especially the longer ones, come in Mobi for Kindle formats. Mobi is a file format that only works with Kindle devices. Just download the Mobi file to your computer, and transfer it to your Kindle as you would other computer purchases. From there, you'll be able to read the free ebook no problem.
Which ebooks should you get first?

There are quite a few ebook options on Microsoft Virtual Academy. With so many free ones, it can be hard to decide which ones might be worth your time, if you're not looking to understand a particular program or tech concept. Here are some of the more popular ebooks available, which you can get right now for free to start you off:

Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure, Second Edition, by Michael S. Collier and Robin E. Shahan teaches you about Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing service from Microsoft for building, managing, and testing apps. At 246 pages, the ebook doesn't go into every single feature of the program, but it does give a thorough look at all of the functions you need to know to use Azure, and use it to build new and innovative applications right from your home computer. Download this ebook now to start learning about building websites, virtual networks, and VMs as well.

Data Science with Microsoft SQL Server 2016, by Buck Woody, Danielle Dean, Debraj GuhaThakurta, Gagan Bansal, Matt Conners, and Wee-Hyong Tok, delves into one of the hottest topics in tech and business right now: data science, AKA analyzing data via scientific methods, processes, algorithms, and systems to get more knowledge and insight from it. Microsoft's SQL Server can be used to store and retrieve data for businesses, and this ebook teaches you how to use the SQL Server with an eye on data science, a method that can help companies more thoroughly understand their customers, and their patterns. This ebook is two years old now, but data science is only getting more popular. Try this free resource to start to get an understanding of it, particularly if you own a business, or want to bring some new ideas to the table at your workplace.

Deploying Windows 10: Automating deployment by using System Center Configuration Manager, by Andre Della Monica, Russ Rimmerman, Alessandro Cesarini, and Victor Silveira is designed to help the IT departments of companies and businesses upgrade computers to Windows 10 with little hassle. With any operating system change, computer settings shift, which can disrupt workflows or even misplace files. This ebook helps this transition not be a problem, particularly for computers that were already on Windows 7 or Windows 8. Though this ebook is designed for converting a lot of computers at once, this ebook could still be useful if you're updating to Windows 10 yourself, and don't want too much to change on your own personal computer.

Get all of these ebooks, as well as many others, for free on the Microsoft Virtual Academy website. Here's the direct link: