Yes, Virginia, it is a slow news week in between Christmas and New Years. And no, Virginia, we don’t expect Microsoft (MSFT) to rescue (the tech news media) by announcing its new CEO today. But there are still plenty of interesting articles out there for technologists who follow Microsoft. To save you the trouble of much effort after your holiday feast, we’ve collected a few.

So sit back and enjoy. We’ll start you off slow and easy with some games. Games for Windows Phone.

Microsoft Brings Great Windows Games to Windows Phone

in the footsteps of the release of the Windows 8.1 Bing apps on Windows Phone 8, Microsoft this past week made three Windows 8.1 games, “Mahjong,” “Minesweeper” and “Solitaire Collection,” available on Windows Phone 8 as well. But these aren’t just ports: Like “Halo: Spartan Assault.” Here’s what else you get.

Hot Database Industry Trends

SQL Server Pros should take note. Here’s a collection of the important trends in databases. They include In-Memory OLTP, solid state disks (SSDs), and software-defined networking (SDN). Check out the full story here.

Todd Klindt Configures SQL Server for SharePoint 2013

If you spent your holiday “break” on configuring servers, this one is for you.  This author configures SQL Server to enable it as a SharePoint database server and fine-tunes his installation to improve his SharePoint 2013 performance.

Calculate the costs of moving on-premises email to Office 365

It’s not always a straightforward process, as this author learned. All has been restored to full health, he reports, once the problem was escalated within Microsoft. He’s now using the Wave 15 version of Office 365. Click through for the full story.

SQL Server Database Security Reminders & Resources

Data security is again in the news. Here are resources to assist you in securing your SQL Server environment.

28 Days Later: Dell Venue 8 Pro

Windows super expert Paul Thurrott provides has updated his review of Dell’s Venue 8 Pro Windows 8.1 mini-tablet. See what has changed and whether it’s worth your time here.