Reading Notes #682

This week’s Reading Notes bring together programming tips, AI experiments, and cloud updates. Learn to build Python CLI tools. Untangle GitHub issue workflows. Try running AI models locally. Catch up on Azure news. And explore ideas around privacy and cloud architecture. Short reads. Useful takeaways.

Programming

• Make a CLI command from your Python package (vast cow) - Nice way to create a CLI. It looks very simple.

• Programmatically Setting GitHub Issue Types (Den Delimarsky) - This post shares a cool workaround to work with types in GitHub

• 5 Minimal API myths and the real truth (David Grace) - Nice post, I really like minimal API, and it's true that people are asking themselves a lot of questions. Here you will find many great answers.

• How does Aspire expose resource connection info to the Azure Functions runtime? (Safia Abdalla) - This post explains how to connect Azure resources.

AI

• Private AI Coding: OpenCode + Model Runner - A very interesting post about how we can use local models in open code, looking forward to trying that.

• All the Azure news you don’t want to miss from Microsoft Build 2025 | Microsoft Azure Blog (Alysa Taylor) - Well, it's all in the title, and yes, this post is packed with news because Build is one of the biggest Microsoft events.

Miscellaneous

• Who Decides Who Doesn’t Deserve Privacy? (Troy Hunt) - A very interesting post about privacy. We should also think about all that when designing systems and applications.

~frank

Reading Notes #681

This week’s reads blend cutting-edge tech with practical insights, like how Aspire elevates JavaScript to a first-class citizen in modern development, or why AI’s push toward typed languages might just be the future. From building a self-hosted model registry to uncovering AI’s surprising role in video

production (who knew Adobe had a sound AI gem?), there’s plenty to unpack. And if data-driven wardrobe experiments count as quirky, this week’s got you covered too.

Programming

• Aspire for JavaScript developers (David Pine) - JavaScript and all its frameworks are now first citizen in Aspire. This post explains what it means and what the benefits are for developers.

AI

• Why AI is pushing developers toward typed languages (Cassidy Williams) - This post shares the evolution of which AI uses languages. I would agree, as I noticed TypeScript was used in more and more blog posts and videos I was seeing online

• Self-hosting a MCP Registry for discovery using modelcontextprotocol.io registry (Dominique St-Amand) - Nice real-life story about how to build a full app to help manage all those MCP servers

• What AI Has (and Hasn't) Taken Over in Video Production (Golnaz Alibeigi) - As someone who creates a lot of video content, I agree with Golnaz and was surprised by the Adobe sound thing. I didn't know about that.

Miscellaneous

• I tracked everything I wore in 2025. Was it worth it? - I never thought about data related to my wardrobe, but playing with data and trying to understand what it means and how it can be used, that's always a fun thing. Thanks for sharing

~frank

Reading Notes #680

In this edition of Reading Notes, I’m sharing articles about the evolving tech landscape, exploring WebAssembly’s potential through Blazor, uncovering the simplicity of .NET’s file-based apps, and reflecting on how 2025 reshaped software development. From podcasts dissecting 2026’s challenges to a heartfelt tech community milestone, this round-up blends cutting-edge tools with practical wisdom, proving innovation thrives in unexpected corners.

Ready to geek out? Let’s roll.

DevOps

• WASI 1.0: You Won't Know When WebAssembly Is Everywhere in 2026 (B. Cameron Gain) - It's through Blazor that I discovered WebAssembly, and since then, I keep an eye on that. It's a world of possibilities.

Programming

• File-based apps - .NET - Amazing source of information. It's all in one place. I used to call it projectless, but from now on, it's file-based

AI

• 2025 Recap: The Year Software Development Changed Shape (Srini Sekaran) - Great recap! It made me smile and cry at the same time. All so true...

Podcasts

• 5 moves to beat uncertainty and build a better 2026 (Modern Mentor) - Five tips to help us focus on what we have control on, and that should make our work better.

• Package Management in 2026 with Gary Ewan Park (.NET Rocks!) - Nice episode about Chocolatey, a great package manager. It was nice to hear from Gary again!

Miscellaneous

• Year 15: Why I'm Finally Hitting Publish (Golnaz Alibeigi) - Looking forward to read this blog.

~Frank

Reading Notes #679

Exploring the intersection of AI and code this week, I stumbled on a treasure trove of practical insights, from building AI agents in n8n to Meta’s groundbreaking SAM Audio model. The blend of low-code tools, IDE integrations, and deep dives into .NET profiling shows how innovation is bridging creativity and technical rigor. Whether you’re automating workflows or decoding audio separation, there’s something here to spark curiosity and curiosity-driven coding.

AI

• 15 Practical AI Agent Examples to Scale Your Business in 2025 - This post contains many very good ideas of low-code agents that can really help you go through many different types of data

• Introducing SAM Audio: The First Unified Multimodal Model for Audio Separation - An insightful post about how AI could be used in audio

• How to Build an AI Agent in n8n for Beginners: Complete 2025 Guide (Snaplama) - I'm a fan of integration tools, and n8n is obviously part of those great tools. That AI node is very useful, and there are numerous ideas and applications you can explore with it. This post shares how you can do it as an agent, and I think a lot of people should try it

• When AI Amplifies Your Bad (and Good) Habits | The JetBrains AI Blog (Kris Kang) - Another post that helps us picture AI, giving us references to better understand how to use it to achieve the desired result.

• Bring your own AI agent to JetBrains IDEs (Sergey Ignatov) - This post shares many news, yes, you can bring your agent into writer, but also a collaboration with Zed and many new features related to those agents, looking forward to dig into those novelties

Programming

• Aspire 13.1 - Our holiday gift to you (David Fowler) - Nice update for Aspire!

• Creating a .NET CLR profiler using C# and NativeAOT with Silhouette (Andrew Lock) - A deep and very interesting post that plays with the unmanaged function.

• Aspire—Your Stack, Streamlined - Great release. There are breaking changes with Redis, so totally worth the 2 minutes of reading.

~frank

Reading Notes #678

In the ever-evolving tech landscape, this week’s reading notes blend cutting-edge tools with timeless insights. From Python’s growing role in .NET ecosystems to hands-on experiments with AI-powered data ingestion, there’s plenty to explore. Meanwhile, reflections on community, confidence, and finding our “second place” in a fast-paced world add a human touch. Jump into how developers are pushing boundaries, embracing new editors, and learning that growth starts with choosing courage, even when it’s scary.

Programming

• Python is First Class in Aspire 13 (Eric Erhardt) - As a .NET developer, I can totally see myself using that... In the near future

• .NET Conf 2025 Recap - Celebrating .NET 10, Visual Studio 2026, AI, Community, & More - .NET Blog (.NET Team) - The event is done, but the content is still there. I'm still going through myself, there's so much! All the slides, presentations, so much content available, everything about what and where to find

• Introducing Data Ingestion Building Blocks (Preview) - .NET Blog (Luis , Adam) - Pretty cool example using this new data block in C# file and AI to play with data.

• Trying out the Zed editor on Windows for .NET and Markdown (Andrew Lock) - I heard of Zed and was planning to try it, but this post saved me some time. The current unsupported razor pages is a show-stopper for me. But maybe later, if things changed.

Podcasts

• The 4 ways to rebuild your "second place" for belonging (Modern Mentor) - Did it all start because of a TV show?! Nevertheless, an interesting episode to help us find our spot and make those "first day work buddy" a better experience.

• Why you need to choose confidence (even when you're afraid), with Juan Bendaña (Modern Mentor) - Confidence isn't a character trait you're born with; it's a muscle you develop. I like the idea.

• World Leading Therapist: Why You Feel Stuck in Life & How to Get Unstuck (The Mel Robbins Podcast) - We talk to ourselves so much that what we say and how we say it can make a big difference. That's the topic of this very interesting episode.

Miscellaneous

• All good things must come to an end (Salma Alam Maylor) - I totally understand, but it is sad news to see her go out of the streaming business. She is amazing, I'm sure she's still rocks whatever she does.

~frank

Reading Notes #677

This week I'm looking at some interesting .NET stuff like Typemock's architecture and how Copilot Studio uses WebAssembly to boost performance. There's also a good reminder about why setting up CI/CD early (when your app is tiny) saves you tons of headaches later. Plus, I found a couple of great podcast episodes on building modern SaaS products and what actually makes a personal brand different from just having a reputation.

the toughther salad resisting to snow 

Programming

• ⭐ Typemock Architecture: How the .NET Isolation Engine Works Under the Hood (Eli Lopian) - An interesting framework with a lot of promises.

• Background tasks in .NET | Microsoft Community Hub ( riturajjana) - Short post with all the code.

• How Copilot Studio uses .NET and WebAssembly for performance and innovation - .NET Blog (Daniel Roth) - Nice real-life example of how to use technology to improve the user experience.

DevOps

• Why you should set up CI/CD from day one for your apps - LogRocket Blog (Lewis Cianci) - And I suppose that gives many reasons to start with the cicd, but on top of that, I would say when your app is super small ,it's much easier to create that cicd that at the end when it's super complex

AI

• Introducing GPT-4o Audio Models in Microsoft Foundry: A Practical Guide for Developers | Microsoft Foundry Blog (Allan Carranza) - New model.

Podcast

• 118. Designing Smarter SaaS Workflows: Rethinking Legacy Constraints - with Yasen Dinkov (Betatalks the podcast) - Great episode talking about what it means to build a Software As a Service (SaaS) today and what you need to do for it to grow.

• 757: The Key Elements of a Powerful Personal Brand, with Goldie Chan (Coaching for Leaders) - I really like this episode explaining the difference between personal brand and reputation and so much more.

~frank

Reading Notes #676

This #rd explores practical insights on leveraging GitHub Copilot for enhanced .NET testing, the rise of AI-driven documentation solutions, and the importance of security in coding agents. From dissecting Docker’s MCP servers to debating the merits of Minimal APIs, we cover a mix of .NET updates, developer workflows, and emerging best practices. Whether you’re refining build processes, optimizing codebases, or staying ahead of security trends, these notes offer a curated selection of ideas to spark your next project or refactor.

Let’s unpack what’s new and impactful in tech!

AI

• A New Approach for Coding Agent Safety | Docker - Security must be part of our top priorities, and it's very interesting to see docker's effort in this area

• Supercharge Your Test Coverage with GitHub Copilot Testing for .NET ( McKenna Barlow) - It's only in the insider version for now, but I'm looking forward to trying it and seeing if it's really better than the one prompt

• Are There Any Good AI Documentation Apps Out There? (Rachel Kaufman) - Great question! I believe there is a simple way to do that. More to come.

• 6 Must-Have MCP Servers (and How to Use Them) | Docker - Nice list of tools that can help your agents.

• Ask AI from Anywhere: No GUI, No Heavy Clients, No Friction (Frank Boucher) - A cool little tools that you can call from any terminal (yes it works via ssh too!) that call AI and ask a question or does a web research for you. The post and the video explains how it works and where to find the code.

Programming

• Reinventing how .NET Builds and Ships (Again) (Matt Mitchell) - This post is not a 30-second read, but it's a detailed story that explains all the facts and how it was built. That great new version 10 in terms of the build.

• Fetching GitHub content from C# (Thomas Ardal,) - Yes, those APIs are pretty cool.

• Why you must use Minimal APIs over Controllers for new apps (David) - I really like minimal API, but don't get in a rush to convert all your existing projects; the controller approach is also very valuable.

~frank

Reading Notes #675

Here’s a compact roundup of links and highlights I found interesting this week. You’ll find updates on Git, Chrome DevTools tips, C# 14 and .NET 10 coverage, Blazor upgrade notes, a practical Copilot + Visual Studio guide, plus a few useful tools and AI announcements. Enjoy, and tell me which item you want me to explore next.

AI

• Building for an Open Future - our new partnership with Google Cloud (Jeff Boudier, Simon Pagezy) - Cool 😎 news! Let's see what we can do...
• Check-In Doc MCP Server: A Handy Way to Search Only the Docs You Trust (Frank Boucher) - Cool little project. It's already done you just have to add it. It let Copilot (or agent) search in your favorite documentation website for you!

Programming

• Highlights from Git 2.52 (Taylor Blau) - I'm probably repeating myself, but I'm so surprised how little I know this fantastic tool. This post shares the last update, it's all very impressive.

• Six Things I Bet You Didn't Know You Could Do With Chrome's Devtools, Part 1 (Rachel Kaufman) - As most of my projects are web this post was very interesting. I'm looking forward for part two

• Introducing C# 14 - .NET Blog (Bill Wagner) - You would think that at version 14, there's not much to add or change? Well you couldn't be more wrong be prepared for a long and detailed post.

• Blazor and .NET 10: Breaking Changes, Fixes, and New Features (Simon Foster) - There's always a little risk when you're upgrading to a new version. Of course, .NET 10 could bring some... In this post, the author shares a problem had and the link where he found the breaking changes good read

• A step-by-step guide to modernizing .NET applications with GitHub Copilot agent mode - .NET Blog (Mika Dumont) - A great integration of Visual Studio and Copilot to help you upgrade or modernize your application. This post is a nice tutorial.

• Release v3.2.0 · basecamp/omarchy (basecamp team) - Nice! A lot of fixes and some nice new features: Ghostty new default (I was already using it), new key bindings (looking forward to try the workspace-related ones), and a new project named: try... Ooh! I love it!

Miscellaneous

• ZoomIt v9.21 | Microsoft Community Hub (Alex Mihaiuc) - If you are on Windows, please do you do yourself a favour and try Zoom it. Since I switched to Mac and Linux, it's the thing that I miss the most.

Reading Notes #674

This week: Cake v6.0.0 is out, Docker Desktop adds helpful debugging tools, and .NET 10 brings a ton of changes worth exploring. Plus some thoughts on working with AI coding assistants and a great cybersecurity podcast.

AI

• Treat Your AI Assistant Like an Overconfident Junior Developer (Marko Crnjanski) - I really like that I meant, I think it's pretty close to reality, and this post contains a lot of good tips.

• AI Vision: Turning Your Videos into Comedy Gold (or Cringe) (Frank Boucher) - A cool demo in Python that leverage AI Vision to watch your video and generate a funny roast.  

DevOps

• Cake v6.0.0 released - Great news! I will have to upgrade my pipeline. Hopefully, the upgrade will be smooth.

• Docker Desktop 4.50 Release (Deanna Sparks) - Nice update, and oh wow! I'm looking forward to try that debug, that's great news

Programming

• Get Ready for .NET Conf 2025! (Jon Galloway) - 3-day event and all about that net dispose chair, what is happening each day, so a good way to plan your listening

• ReSharper 2025.3: Day-One C# 14 Support, Visual Studio 2026 Compatibility, and Major Performance Gains | The .NET Tools Blog (Sasha Ivanova) - Great to see that those tools are ready for .NET so quickly

• Announcing .NET 10 - .NET Blog (.NET team) - There are so many changes. This post list a lot of things that just change with that .NET 10, and I really looking forward to watch in that video and read a more specific article to see demos and try it myself

Podcasts

• 116. The Evolution of Cybersecurity - with Paula Januszkiewicz (Betatalks the podcast) - What a great episode! Yes, about Cybersecurity but also about how to talk about a topic and share.

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #673

This week’s notes focus on where AI meets everyday development: Copilot and Azure for tighter, faster workflows, a thoughtful overhaul of Aspire’s deploy CLI, and a hands‑on look at building MCP servers in C#. Security threads through it all with practical DevSecOps and Shadow IT reminders plus podcast picks on teaching, acronyms, and tackling imposter syndrome.

AI

• Introducing the azd extension to configure GitHub Copilot coding agent integration with Azure (Kristen Womack) - That's a great idea! Getting Copilot in this deployment tool will help improve security and pass some blockers.

• Build & Leverage MCP Servers in C# for AI-Driven Development (Sam Basu) - This is a good post for learning the basics of the MCP server. And for C# dev, how to write one.

• How I used AI to redesign Aspire’s deploy CLI command (Safia Abdalla) - A very interesting post that shares the entire process of this refactoring.

Programming

• Cozy Aspire Dashboarding (Victor Frye) - Interesting usage of the properties to customize the dashboard, love it

Podcasts

• GitHub Spec Kit with Den Delimarsky (.NET Rocks!) - Happy to learn more about this Spec Kit, it looks very useful. Looking forward to trying it.

• Mind the Gaps: Teaching Devs, Taming Acronyms, and Surviving Imposter Syndrome with Tim Corey (Coding After Work Podcast) - I really enjoy Tim's content online, and it was nice learning more about him and his passion for helping others.

Miscellaneous

• Stop Shadow IT: Shared Responsibility for DevSecOps (Alison Gunnels) - Nothing new here, to be honest. When people work together, it's always better. And it's good to hear it from time to time.

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #672

Welcome to this week's reading notes! We're exploring topics that might seem refreshingly old-school at first, developer experience improvements, cross-platform packaging, logging strategies, and even podcast succession planning. You know, the kind of practical stuff that actually keeps our projects running. Though I should mention there's a conversation about local AI models tucked in there too, because apparently it's still 2025. Sometimes the best way forward is making sure our foundations are solid.

Programming

• How to Improve Developer Experience in Microservices Applications with .NET Aspire (Opaluwa Emidowojo) - Of course, there's a name for what the net aspire resolved. I never thought about it that way, but it makes total sense. By the way, Aspire is fantastic.

• Automating Away Cross-Platform Packaging Complexity for .NET Developers ( Uno Platform Team) - UNO platform can be packaged, for free, for all platforms. That's very convenient and easy to use it looks like.

• Define a default startup project in your slnx file - A simple fix for a painful problem when using slnx solution is now fixed.

Databases

• Add request logging to a database in an ASP.NET Core Web API (David Grace) - This is a nice tutorial showing step-by-step how to add and configure it

Podcasts

• 482: 1 Day Apps (Merge Conflict) - My first thought was 1 Day? yeah right! lol Cool episode sharing their journey with those building those types of apps.

• Local AI Models with Joe Finney (.NET Rocks!) - Nice episode chatting about local AI. Why would you do that, what are your options yadi yada.

• Rob Lowe Names Names: The Power of ‘Screw It’ (A Bit of Optimism) - Fun episode. Feels like a variation on how to not give it a sh!t theme, but it's always good to get reminded.

• Podcast Succession Planning: What Happens To Your Show When You're Dead? (Feed Your Brand) - This is a great episode! Yes things move fast from time to time, right ;)

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #671

From debugging Docker builds to refining your .NET setup, this week’s Reading Notes delivers a sharp mix of practical dev tips and forward-looking tech insights. We revisit jQuery’s place in today’s web stack, explore AI-enhancing MCP servers, and spotlight open-source projects shaping tomorrow’s tools. Plus, PowerToys gets a sleek upgrade to streamline your Windows workflow. 

Let’s check out the ideas and updates that keep your skills fresh and your systems humming.

Programming

• A quick look at Dev Tunnels (Mike Irving) - This post shares a very cool feature where you can make your local Host available to someone else to reproduce a bug or try an API without having to deploy. Pretty cool,

• 6 Steps for Setting Up a New .NET Project the Right Way (Milan Jovanović) - This nice post provides some simple best practices. It helps to keep the code consistent and efficient when the solution contains multiple projects or when multiple developers are involved.

• Debug Docker Builds with Visual Studio Code (Remy Suen) - Wow! Great update on this extension that will help us debug a dockerfile.

• Why I Still Use jQuery in 2025 (and When Not to) (Aniket Bhattacharyea) - I guess you know jQuery? If you do, this post tells us how to be sure when or not to use it. Nice.

AI

• 5 Essential MCP Servers That Give Claude & Cursor Real Superpowers (2025) (Prithwish Nath) - MCP servers are really powerful and really boost your compilot productivity. I wouldn't say they are essential, but definitely useful

• 9 open-source projects the GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code teams are sponsoring—and why they matter - Microsoft Open Source Blog (Stacey Haffner) - Those projects definitely need a look. They are very interesting if you're using mCP servers.

Miscellaneous

• PowerToys 0.95 is here: new Light Switch utility, faster Command Palette, and Peek with Spacebar (Niels Laute) - Lots of very interesting new features and a performance boost in this month's release.

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #670

Dives into the intersection of AI and development, exploring tools like GitHub Copilot’s AGENTS.md and the MCP Toolkit for automations, alongside .NET 10.0’s performance gains and OpenAI’s recent updates. Whether you’re optimizing serverless APIs with AWS Lambda or mastering the Web Animation API, this post highlights breakthroughs in code efficiency, model customization, and cloud innovation. Dive into these thought-provoking reads to stay ahead in a rapidly changing world.

Have a nice week!

Suggestion of the week

• OpenAI - 2 Updates That Might Change How You Build Software - Many new things from OpenAI. It's definitely a post to read. A lot of new things and changes that will impact our way of building stuff.

Cloud

• Building Fast Serverless APIs With Minimal APIs on AWS Lambda (Milan) - Nice post to get started with the serverless cloud AWS offering aka: lambda

AI

• Developer and AI Code Reviewer: Reviewing AI-Generated Code in .NET - .NET Blog (Wendy Breiding) - Interesting post that suggests a little twist on how to use AI to make code review with a little bit more focus.

• GitHub Copilot's starts supporting AGENTS.md: A step toward unified AI Instructions (Bart Wullems) - Nice move from GitHub to share a common instruction set across all different AI services

• Add MCP Servers to Claude Code with MCP Toolkit (Ajeet Singh Raina) - Very cool way to create automations. I have used a lot of low-code and different alternatives to create automation workflows in the past, but this mCP server interactivity is pretty awesome.

• Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) Explained (Ignasi Lopez Luna) - Nice post that shows how we can specialize a model ourselves for a very narrow, specific topic

Programming

• How .NET 10.0 boosted JSON Schema performance by 18% (Matthew Adams) - Another example of the gain in performance just by upgrading to the latest .NET version.

• The Web Animation API (Christian Nwamba) - It's the first time I've read about this web animation API, pretty cool even if we need to be careful, I think that precision offers could be very interesting for some animations.

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #669

This week explores the synergy between Dapr and WebAssembly for modern microservices, highlights the transformative potential of Wasm 3.0 for .NET developers, and delves into best practices for structuring Rust web services. In the AI realm, we examine the emergence of developer-friendly AI frameworks like Microsoft’s Agent Framework and Google’s Jules Tools, which bridge AI capabilities directly into terminals and workflows. Additionally, we examine AI obfuscation techniques and their implications, alongside updates on Perplexity’s free Comet AI browser and its new background assistant. Whether you’re building scalable systems, optimizing code, or integrating cutting-edge AI tools, this post offers a snapshot of trends shaping tech today.

Cloud

• How Dapr and WebAssembly Team Up for Microservices (B. Cameron Gain) - New and better version of Dapr.

Programming

• Wasm 3.0 for .NET Developers (Sam Basu) - Wasm 3 looks amazing! And that Uno Studio.. I'll have to try!

• The best way to structure Rust web services - LogRocket Blog (Jude Miracle) - I don't code in Rust, but I was curious about the project structure. This is a nice post to learn exactly that.

AI

• Introducing Microsoft Agent Framework (Preview): Making AI Agents Simple for Every Developer - .NET Blog (Luis Quintanilla) - The new SDK was released last week, and honestly, after trying it, it works really well, so more to come on that. This is a great post to get started

• Meet Jules Tools: A Command Line Companion for Google’s Async Coding Agent (Jiahao Cai, AK Kulkarni) - The Google AI is now also available directly from our terminal. More options for the users.

• Obfuscation for AI: How it Works, Best Practices, and Metrics – PreEmptive (preemptive) - It's been a while since I last used a station in my code because I'm doing demos most of the time, but it always fascinated me. I feel I should try it with AI, it looks very interesting and powerful. This post shares a lot about what's possible, the risk, and so much more

• Perplexity’s Comet AI browser now free; Max users get new 'background assistant' (Rebecca Bellan) - Interesting new product from Perplexity

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #668

This week covers Microsoft’s open-source Agent Framework for agentic AI, prompt-injection risks and mitigations, and the causes of language model hallucinations. It also highlights NuGet package security updates, Azure SQL Data API Builder improvements, Reka’s new Parallel Thinking feature, and the latest in AI benchmarking.

Cloud

• Announcing Aspire 9.5 - .NET Blog (Jeffrey Fritz) - I'm genuinely excited to try it. Aspire is such a great tool 🔥.

Programming

• Publishing NuGet packages from GitHub actions the easy way with Trusted Publishing (Andrew Lock) - Nice post that[explains the details of this new secured process on Nuget (.NET package library)

AI

• MCP Prompt-Injection: The Trust Paradox in AI (Saurabh Davala, Sundeep Gottipati) - This is a good post to learn to start learning about the real danger. To be aware of the potential risk and learning about what we can do.

• Why language models hallucinate - Very interesting post that explains the reason why we still have hallucinations and how it works

• Introducing Parallel Thinking for Reka Research (reka) - New feature released that improves the performance of our web research, fantastic!

• Measuring the performance of our models on real-world tasks - Interesting idea of benchmark looking forward to see how evolves

• Introducing Microsoft Agent Framework: The Open-Source Engine for Agentic AI Apps (Takuto , Shawn , Elijah) - Nice evolution of semantic kernel and AutoGen. It comes hot supporting .NET and Python.

Databases

• Data API builder 1.6: Advanced Behaviors with Special HTTP Headers (Jerry Nixon) - Nice quick post about more advanced features on the data API builder (aka DAB)

Miscellaneous

• We all have a choice (Salma Alam-Maylor) - It's all in the title
  

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #667

This week post explores the intersection of AI, cloud, and DevOps, featuring updates on Microsoft’s Logic Apps integration, practical .NET tools for system automation, and strategies to enhance documentation for AI-driven workflows. Whether you’re refining enterprise security practices with NuGet’s Trusted Publishing or diving into the ethical nuances of AI through vector databases, this post offers a blend of technical deep dives and thought-provoking discussions. Don’t miss the podcast highlights, from DevOps innovation to the business impact of employee well-being, perfect for developers, architects, and curious minds alike. Let’s connect the dots in a world where code, creativity, and collaboration drive progress.

Programming

• sleep-pc: a .NET Native AOT tool to make Windows sleep after a timeout (Andrew Lock) - Nice post, just like I like them explaining what works, what didn',t building an application, fixing a real-life issue.

• DOCX Meets Markdown: Preparing Enterprise Documents for AI (Bjoern Meyer) - I have been using Pandoc for years, but this also look like an nice tool.

AI

• Prompt Files and Instructions Files Explained - .NET Blog (Wendy Breiding) - One question I often hear is how can I tell Copilot the standard and conventions my enterprise uses. Well, now I can send them to this post. Well done!

• Here’s how to turn off Copilot (Mark Downie) - Thank you Mark for this post. Let me send you some people too😉

DevOps

• New Trusted Publishing enhances security on NuGet.org (Evgeny , Sean) - This tutorial explains how to use the new process with the 1h token for improved security.

Podcasts

• 113. Vector Databases and RAG for Grounding AI in Reliable Data - with Christian Peeters (Betatalks the podcast) - Great episode on tech education and how vector databases/RAG make AI more trustworthy with real data

• ohn Bristowe: The Latest from Octopus Deploy - Episode 368 (Azure & DevOps Podcast) - Loved this episode, I don't know a lot about Octopus. Discussing deployment pipelines, AI integration in DevOps, and the evolution from manual weekend deployments to automated, reliable workflows.

• The business case for employee well-being (Modern Mentor) - Really enjoyed this episode on how workplace wellbeing isn't just about perks but building better work systems that boost both results and employee experience

• Becoming A Podcast Guest Magnet: Sharing The Benefits Of Guesting On A Podcast (Feed Your Brand) - Packed episode on how to make your podcast irresistible to high-profile guests by focusing on what's in it for them and turning your show into a guest magnet.

• Making Video Games in 2025 with Celeste's Noel Berry (Hanselminutes with Scott Hanselman) - Cool episode about the tech-behind-the-scene of building indie games. I had so many WHATS!? listening to this one.

Miscellaneous

• Microsoft Introduces Logic Apps as MCP Servers in Public Preview - InfoQ (Steef-Jan Wiggers) - Interesting idea, I can totally see how an AI agent could use different workflows to start processes or get information and continue pretty cool

• llms.txt: Robots.txt for Docs in the AI Era (Dewan Ahmed) - Oh nice! Let's update this on our websites.

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #666

Welcome to another edition of my reading notes! This week I've gathered some interesting finds across programming, AI, and general tech topics. From exciting Cake updates to practical AI implementation advice, here are the articles that caught my attention recently.

Programming

• Cake.Sdk 5.0.25257.82-beta released (devlead) - I'm happy to see the new release of this cake version coming to a recent .NET version. I have one of my projects using cake, and I was waiting for it; this is amazing

AI

• Performance Improvements in .NET 10 (Stephen Toub) - There's a lot of good advice in this post. Assuming you're using AI you should definitely read it

• Reka Speech: High Throughput Speech Transcription and Translation Model with Timestamps (reka team) - Because not only should the text be translated into different languages, but the voice too! If it's now possible very easily.

• Vibe coding has turned senior devs into ‘AI babysitters,’ but they say it’s worth it (Dominic-Madori Davis) - True experience of a new ‘AI babysitters’...

Miscellaneous

• 9 Rules for AI PoC Success That Actually Ship (Jim Clark) - Very useful post that shares great advices that are easy to implement and that will have a huge impact on your projects

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #665

In this edition, we explore modern development's evolving landscape. From Microsoft's .NET Aspire simplifying distributed applications to AI security considerations, Git workflow optimizations, and backlog management strategies, there's something here to spark your next breakthrough.

The tech world never sleeps, and neither does innovation. Let's explore what caught my attention this week and might just spark your next big idea or solve that problem you've been wrestling with.

Programming

• .NET Aspire - Why We Should Consider It And How To Get Started (Barret Blake) - If you didn't try the .NET Aspire yet, just give it a try, create a new project and after the Ooh! and Aah! I'm sure you will want to use it everywhere.

• How to delete all squash-merged local git branches with one terminal command (Salma Alam-Naylor) - Nice tool. The best ones are often the ones you create yourself. But be careful when it deletes stuff.

• Identity and Access Management for .NET (Khalid Abuhakmeh) - This package looks very interesting to add multiple handlers to an HTTP client. The first question that pops in my mind is why this is not already in .NET, I think it should. I'll definitely give it a try.

AI

• Docker Acquires MCP Defender for Agentic AI Security (Andy Ramirez) - Security stays a priority, and Docker made a good move with this acquisition.

• AI Injection Attacks (ericlaw) - Great post that talks about the current risk when using AI and how we should try to do our best to protect the important information.

Open Source

• Prioritizing your backlog (Mark Downie) - So true! Sorting the backlog is not always that simple.

Podcast

• How to Get Things Done, Stay Focused, and Be More Productive (The Mel Robbins Podcast) - This compelling episode (available in audio and video) takes a fresh approach to productivity. Having read their books, I found the conversation particularly engaging and highly recommend it.

~frank

Reading Notes #664

Welcome to another edition of my weekly reading notes! This week's collection brings together some fascinating developments across the tech landscape. From the intricacies of building cross-platform .NET tools to impressive AI breakthroughs like Warp's stellar performance on SWE-bench, there's plenty to explore. I've also discovered some thought-provoking content about leadership, product management, and the art of meaningful communication. Whether you're interested in the latest AI tools, looking for career insights, or simply want to stay current with industry trends, this week's selection has something valuable for every developer and tech professional.

Programming

• Using and authoring .NET tools (Andrew Lock) - Interesting post that shares the behind-the-scenes when you're building a tool for multiple targets and the challenge that it represents. Those also share the new ways of .NET 10

AI

• Warp scores 75.8% on SWE-bench Verified! (Suraj Gupta, Daniel Peng) - New Warp update, great performance.

• Spec-driven development with AI: Get started with a new open source toolkit ( Den Delimarsky) - A new tool that looks very promising. A multi-agent specification driven and compatible with Visual Studio Code. Worth trying it

• Google Gemma3 270M : The best Smallest LLM for everything (Mehul Gupta) - Interesting... It makes sense to have a tiny model available on our phone; smaller devices and much simpler tasks.

Podcasts

• Design at GitHub with Diana Mounter (.NET Rocks!) - Very interesting, discussion about so many things: career, the balance between design and engineering, GitHub, and so much more.

• How to Lead with Value with Dr. Morgan Depenbusch (How to Lead with Value with Dr. Morgan Depenbusch) - I really enjoyed this episode about the little things we can do to shift the way we interact with others.

• 746: How to Make Small Talk with Executives, with Lorraine K. Lee (Coaching for Leaders) - A very rich episode to start improving the way we see and use small talk.

Miscellaneous

• The two-ear Product Manager: Why balanced listening is your superpower (Bart Wullems) - This post shares great insight about how to become a better product manager. It's a good read, I strongly suggest it to everyone.

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank

Reading Notes #663

Here are my reading notes for the week: a mix of AI research and evaluation, .NET and Linux troubleshooting, testing framework changes, and JavaScript/TypeScript perspectives, plus a few podcast episodes on C#, work design, and software modernization that I found worthwhile. 

AI

• Introducing Research-Eval: A Benchmark for Search-Augmented LLMs (Reka Team) - One thing that has fascinated me since the beginning of this AI trend is how they test and measure the efficiency of those models. This post is going to go into details and share the benchmark (oss) and the results very interesting

Programming

• Fixing an old .NET Core native library loading issue on Alpine (Andrew Lock) - Great post that not only provides the solution but also explains the process of thought and experimentation to find that solution. I love it!

• Converting an xUnit test project to TUnit (Andrew Lock) - Like Andrew said in this post, changing your test framework is a big deal, but I will definitely consider TUnit for my next project. A very interesting post.

• JavaScript or TypeScript? How To Benefit From the Dichotomy (Ivan Velichko) - Interesting opinion for an interesting question, and the author has a lot of experience in many different types of language so it's a good read

Podcasts

• C# 14 with Dustin Campbell (.NET Rocks!) - Nice episode talking about C# and more precisely things that are related to Razor Pages. Always nice to listen to Carl and Richard.

• 10 Steps To A Manageable Podcast Social Media Plan (For You Or Your Assistant) (Feed Your Brand) - In this episode, she goes over all the steps to do our Podcast Social Media Plan. What to do or not, things to avoid, and this kind of details.

• How work design can reignite tremendous results (Modern Mentor) - Two Modern Mentor episodes this week, I love those shorter, concentrated episodes. This one focuses on ideas to help leaders redesign how work gets done.

• How to learn at work when there’s no time for learning (Modern Mentor) - That one is about bold ideas to spark new ideas and learn from them.

• The Transformation Trap: Why Software Modernization Is Harder Than It Looks (Screaming in the Cloud) - Interesting episode that covers interesting topics like AI in software development and upgrading legacy systems.

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

If you have interesting content, share it!

~frank