Updated: July 14, 2008
Learning Snacks are free, short, interactive presentations about popular topics and have been created by Microsoft Learning experts. Each Snack is delivered by using innovative Microsoft Silverlight technology and includes various media, such as animations and recorded demos. At the end of each presentation, you can view more Snacks, learn more about the topic, or visit a related Web site.
Note To view Learning Snacks, you must install Microsoft Silverlight and enable pop-up windows.
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Microsoft Silverlight is the next-generation platform for accessing and delivering rich Internet applications. This Learning Snack highlights the features of the Silverlight plug-in, which delivers your media-rich Web applications to your end users. It introduces you to the Silverlight architecture and the tools with which you can easily design and develop your Web applications. It also introduces XAML, the language for collaboration between designers and developers.
Microsoft Expression Studio and Microsoft Visual Studio provide tools that designers and developers can use to create cost-effective Silverlight-based applications. This Learning Snack walks you through the tools' features, and explains how the tools help designers create attractive user interfaces and add rich content. It also describes how developers can create compelling interactivity around such user interfaces and content to produce a rich Web experience.
The tools for creating Silverlight-based applications provide a platform for smooth collaboration between designers and developers. This Learning Snack describes how the Microsoft Expression Studio tools and Visual Studio help designers and developers collaborate while they retain creative freedom over their individual domains. It also illustrates how XAML and the collaborative features of the tools make it easy for designers and developers to share their work.
Used in conjunction, Microsoft Expression Media and Visual Studio provide designers and developers with tools they can use to add high definition video, live feeds, and webcasts to their applications. This Learning Snack describes how designers can use Expression Encoder to encode video in a highly compressed but lossless format that conforms with the widely accepted VC-1 video format. It also demonstrates how developers can include RSS and other live feeds or webcasts in their applications.
Microsoft Silverlight incorporates important features of the Microsoft .NET Framework and uses XAML. This Learning Snack describes how the powerful and flexible Silverlight development environment facilitates the creation of cross-platform, networked applications. It explains how Silverlight uses the .NET Framework so that you can easily program for on-demand downloads, progressive downloads, and live feeds. It also describes how Silverlight supports a variety of file formats and easy file transfers.
Silverlight objects are the building blocks of a Silverlight-based application. These objects are then manipulated by the use of events. This Learning Snack identifies some of the important objects in Silverlight, such as the Canvas, Downloader, and InkPresenter objects. It explains how these objects can be manipulated by using appropriate input or non-input events. It also demonstrates how to script events.
This free Snack describes the benefits that Windows Server 2008 provides for installing and maintaining a branch office network. It demonstrates the installation of a branch office network by using the new server core option. It also lists the benefits of Active Directory read-only domain controllers (RODCs) and BitLocker Drive Encryption.
This free Snack explains the operational benefits of centralizing applications by using Windows Server 2008. It examines the benefits of Terminal Services. It lists ways to provide remote users with access to centralized applications by using Terminal Services Web Access. It also describes the requirements for providing a single sign-on for remote users.
This free Snack describes the new options available in Windows Server 2008 for installing and configuring Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and auditing changes to it. It lists the features of read-only domain controllers (RODCs) and describes how to perform a non-authoritative or an authoritative restore of AD DS data.
This free Snack describes the benefits of implementing Network Access Protection (NAP) in Windows Server 2008. It describes how to configure network and health policies for various types of clients. It identifies the options for configuring Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enforcement for NAP and demonstrates the steps for testing a NAP implementation with DHCP enforcement.
This free Snack examines and lists the features of Group Policy settings in Windows Server 2008. It demonstrates the steps for implementing Group Policy settings and the process of upgrading them. It also explains the purpose of security templates that can be imported into Group Policy settings.
This free Snack explains the new virtualization features in Windows Server 2008 and lists the system requirements. It also demonstrates the steps necessary to install Windows Server virtualization.
Organizations are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental and business benefits of adopting a Green IT environment. This free Learning Snack highlights how virtualization facilitates a Green IT environment. It describes the Hyper-V server role and System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) tool, which help create and support a virtualized infrastructure in Windows Server 2008.
This Snack describes some of the innovative new features in Windows Vista, including the sidebar that provides information at a glance. It showcases the Windows Aero technology and demonstrates the improved file organization techniques. In addition, this Snack walks you through the different ways you can search for information on your computer or on the Internet.