Reading Notes #702

This week’s compilation explores a mix of critical topics ranging from integrating AI models with SQL Server to navigating the complexities of Azure container troubleshooting. I’ve selected these particular articles because they offer practical ways to streamline your workflow and better understand the latest shifts in cloud infrastructure and software development.

Databases

• How to host an AI text embeddings model for SQL Server using Ollama (Greg Low) - Cool use of Ollama to get free AI with our databases.

AI

• Learn Anything With My /teach Skill (Matt Pocock) - I use AI to learn many times, but I didn't think doing a skill. Looking forward to trying it.

• How AI coding agents actually use your technology - Microsoft for Developers (Waldek Mastykarz) - A very interesting post that explains all the steps executed by VS Code harness when we submit our prompt. The post also provides some insights on why AI could still get bad results even if we provide SDK and MCP servers.

Cloud

• Troubleshooting Azure Container Apps and Jobs for .NET and Django Workloads | Microsoft Community Hub - First post of a series that covers the most frequent issues and provides methods to investigate and resolve the problems.

DevOps

• Open Source Observability: Tools, Setup, and Trade-offs (Spence Taylor) - A post that introduces many different tools used to collect or display information about logs and metrics, with potential challenges and more.

Miscellaneous

• How I made a 45-video course without wanting to die (Salma) - Doing a series that will work definitely requires preparation. Thank you for sharing Salma.

• Working with product managers (sean goedecke) - Was I that lucky all my life that I never encountered those types?

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. 

 ~frank

Reading Notes #701

Modern infrastructure and AI agent development move fast, requiring a sharp eye on both backend stability and frontend polish. This week’s curated notes highlight critical shifts in observability, security best practices for autonomous agents, and practical updates for .NET MAUI apps. Check out these essential reads to stay ahead of the curve.

AI

• Build 2026: From observability to ROI for AI agents on any framework | Microsoft Foundry Blog (Sebastian Kohlmeier) - Foundry offers observability features and has many other whistles. There were a few sessions about that during Build. This post provides an overview and session names for demos.

Programming

• Give Your .NET MAUI Android Apps a Material 3 Makeover - .NET Blog ( Gerald Versluis) - So simple that it's hard not to try it

DevOps

• Why Choose Pulumi Over Terraform? (Pablo Seibelt) - I have never tried Pulumi or terraform, but they look great, and after reading this post, I'm very interested in learning more about ballooning

Data

• AI observability vs monitoring: What's the difference? (Jesse Sumrak) - Do you know the difference? You understand both, but where one ends and the other starts? Good post to clarify that.

MS Build

• How to Secure AI Agents: A Practical Overview (Srini Sekaran) - This post suggests grounded practices and explains the reasons behind them.

• Microsoft Agent Framework at BUILD 2026 | Microsoft Agent Framework (Shawn Henry) - List of Microsoft Build event sessions about the Agent framework.

~frank

Reading Notes #700

Seven hundred weeks.

When I started taking notes about the articles I was reading, I never imagined I would still be doing it 700 weeks later.

Back then, my notes lived on a USB key. I carried a small personal wiki with me and used it to save interesting articles, ideas, and discoveries. It was a simple way to build my own searchable knowledge base so I could find things again when I needed them.

In 2011, I started sharing those notes publicly on my blog, Franky's Notes. A few months later, I made another important change: I switched from writing in French to writing in English. At the time, I wasn't fluent, but I wanted to improve. "Notes de lecture" became "Reading Notes", and every week became an opportunity to learn something new while practicing a language that would eventually become a big part of my career.

Over the years, the format evolved. Articles were joined by podcasts, books, videos, and whatever else helped me learn and stay curious. Technology changes constantly, and one of the things I enjoy most about working in this industry is that there is always something new to discover.

What never changed was the habit itself.

Most mornings start the same way: a coffee, my e-reader, and a few articles. Throughout the week, I collect the things that made me think, taught me something, or simply felt worth sharing. Then, every Monday, I publish a new edition.

Seven hundred weeks later, these reading notes have become much more than a list of links. They are a record of what caught my attention, what I was learning, and how both technology and I have changed over the years.

If you've been reading along for a while, thank you. If you're new here, I hope you discover something interesting in the links below.

Suggestion of the week

• Harness, Scaffold, and the AI Agent Terms Worth Getting Right (Sergio Paniego, Aritra Roy Gosthipaty) - This post shares a list of definitions. If you feel like there are some terms used in the "AI world" that you are not sure what they mean, this post is for you.

AI

• Building an On-Device Voice Assistant with Microsoft Foundry Local | Microsoft Community Hub (Lee Stott) - Cool project! Really need to look into the local Foundry.

• Building Fluent Icon Finder with the WinUI Copilot Skill (TheJoeFin) - I like the idea of these vibe-coded tools, as I often spend a lot of time searching for the right icon.

• The Untrusted Autonomous Workload and AI Sandboxes (Vladimir Mikhalev) - Very nice post that shares how Docker sandboxes could help us do our work safely.

• 9 Things People Get Wrong With /grill-me and /grill-with-docs (Matt Pocock) - These are excellent tips to use with this skill, but they are also true in many other circumstances.

• Meet Gordon: AI Agent for Container Workflows | Docker (Nuno Coracao, Deanna Sparks) - Gordon looks like the specialized agent we are all looking for. Looking to see if it delivers as advertised.

Programming

• aspire init is no longer one-size-fits-all. The aspireify skill and your coding agent tailor the AppHost to your repo. (Erik Lieben) - I would say an interesting twist in this new version. A smart upgrade (pun intended)

Miscellaneous

• An important update: Transitioning Gemini CLI to Antigravity CLI - I migrated this week to Antigravity IDE 2.0, and it works great. I had an intense coding session with the CLI (thanks to the crappy weather), and it just worked! No issues, no adaptation, no conversion. 5/5

~frank