Reading Notes #643

In this week Reading Notes, we explore a diverse range of updates and insights from the tech world. From the latest features in the Azure SDK and Developer CLI, to an introduction to .NET Aspire and its innovative approach to Infrastructure as Code, there's plenty to catch up on. 

Jump into discussions on AI productivity, free Azure SQL tiers, and even a refreshing podcast on stress-free living. 

Let's get started!

Cloud

• Azure SDK Release (March 2025) (Hector Norzagaray) - Many languages are supported and now Rust is part of it. There also some new bits for Node and Python.

• Azure Developer CLI (azd) - April 2025 (Kristen Womack) - New features in the CLI, bug fixing and new possibilities in the website to search templates!

Databases

• Are You Azure SQL Database Curious? (Karen Lopez) - What?! Didn't know about that free tier. I could definitely use that; great news!

AI

• Does AI really make you more productive? (Salma Alam-Naylor) - I trust AI as much as I trust any code found after googling.Meaning it might works but to I need to understand what it is doing. There is no trust, is always gambling.

• Microsoft partners with Anthropic to create official C# SDK for Model Context Protocol (Mike , Maria) - New SDK is already available and it works!

Programming

• .NET Aspire - Microsoft's Attempt at Infrastructure as Code (darren horrocks) - This is a quick intro to .NET Aspire, perfect to learn what it is without going deep into the details.

• Making Software Like LEGO: How Aspire Brings the Pieces Together (David Fowler) - I really liked that image with the construction blocs. And also it seems my hobbies didn't change much in the past fifty years.

Podcasts

• Forking around (with the Linux Desktop) and Finding Out with Justin Garrison (Hanselminutes with Scott Hanselman) - Interesting discussion about Linux desktop and everything they can do. More people should know about that

• 359. Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want with Courtney Carver (The Greg McKeown Podcast) - Episode with the author of the book Gentle: Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want. It seams simple but must be hard to apply in today's word.

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 #424

Suggestion of the week

• Microsoft Build 2020 registration is not only open, it's FREE, it's LIVE, it's VIRTUAL, and it is all FOR YOU (Scott Hanselman) - Amazing news right?! Who doesn't needs some good news... I will see you there!

Cloud

• Microsoft’s Making Azure AD SSO “Free” (Brad Sams ) - That's an excellent news Azure Active Directory for everyone!

Programming

• Blazor WebAssembly 3.2.0 Release Candidate now available (Daniel Ruth) - We are getting closer now... I didn't have the time to try the last preview!
• Announcing Entity Framework Core 5.0 Preview 3 | .NET Blog (Jeremy Likness) - Awesome I'm looking forward to trying the final version. But in the meantime... why not try it.
• Blazor - Changing the title without JavaScript (Jimmy Engström) - A nice tutorial that shows how to go over certain boundaries in Blazor.
• Clean Coding in C# - Part I (Calvin A. Allen) - A great little post packed with 200% of wisdom.
• How to Integrate Unit Testing with ASP.NET Core 3.1 (Vijayaraj Angappan) - A very clear tutorial that explains how to use Moq and NUnit 2 great tools.
• Markdown .NET Core Library (Jason N. Gaylord) - That looks nice! And it's in .Net!
• Tips, tricks, hacks, and secrets from Alyson La (Alyson La) - A nice little list of pro tips...perfect to get started, or push forward if you are already a git user.

Podcasts

• 465: How to Lead a Virtual Team, with Susan Gerke (Coaching for Leaders) - Nice show. It doesn't matter if you are a manager or just that you work in a remote team, there nice tips.

Miscellaneous

• Visual Studio Codespaces (Nik Molnar) - I really like the new name I think it says more about what it is. And seriously how can I not like the new price! Less than 2$/day for a machine!

Reading Notes #422

Cloud

• Azure Functions: Extend Execution Timeout Past 5 Minutes (Chris Pietschmann) - Very cool post that explains how to take advantages of this new feature.
• Create, Build, Deploy and Configure an Azure Function with Azure DevOps and Azure CLI (Damien Bowden) - The perfect tutorial to get started with Azure DevOps.It contains all the code we need and a ton of references
• Introducing the Azure Key Vault Credentials Provider for Jenkins (Tim Jacomb) - Great news for all the Jenkins users and nice extension for Keyvault.
• Making an Interactive Cognitive Portrait Exhibit using some Creativity, .NET, Azure Functions and Cognitive Services Magic (Dmitry Soshnikov) - Very cool project mixing art and techno.

Programming

• GitHub is now free for teams (Nat Friedman) - That was definitely a piece of good news this week.
• Bring your own machine to Visual Studio Online | Visual Studio Blog (Allison) - Fantastic news! Before it was possible to access a powerful developer environment from our poor local devices. Now we can also access our own powerful machine from elsewhere! That's very very nice!
• Tips, tricks, hacks, and secrets from Jason Etcovitch ( Jason Etcovich) - An incredible post there is so many awesome tools and references in it.

Podcasts

• 195: The Hanselman Machine Learning Model (Merge Conflict) - Great episode where Frank and James discuss how James could build a sentiment analysis of Hanselman tweets, is it possible or not and what would be the cost (effort, and money).
• GitHub Actions with Enrico Campidoglio (.NET Rocks!) - I think it's my first .Net Show since the Pandemie. Well with was a create show that dig deeper in the GitHub Action. Loved it.
• 068: How to Build Your Personal Brand (CloudSkills.fm) - I really liked this episode as I did "created" my personal brand (without really realizing it ) a few years ago.
• 455: How to Create Great Relationships, with Colleen Bordeaux (Coaching for Leaders) - Interesting discussion with the author of the book: Am I Doing This Right?: A Philosophical Guide to Life in the Age of Overwhelm, that is now in my to read list/

Miscellaneous

• Backing up SQL Server databases to Blob Storage using Impersonation (Dominique St-Amand) - Nice post that not only shows us and to do backups, but how to do it in a very secured and structure way.Excellent!
• Free SSL vs. Paid SSL Certificates: Why Pay for SSL? (Chip Securis) - Before reading this post I assumed what could be the differences. NOW I know.
• How viewers can be actors in streams on Twitch (null) - Interesting post about streaming and how to leverage the channel points
• Microsoft Learning Blog (Alex Payne) - This is nice.

~

Reading Notes #417

Every Monday, I share my "reading notes". Those are the articles, blog posts, podcast episodes, and books that catch my interest during the week and that I found interesting.
It's a mix of the actuality and what I consumed.
Enjoy!

Cloud

• Making a cleaner and more intentional azure-pipelines.yml for an ASP.NET Core Web App - Scott Hanselman (Scott Hanselman) - This post provides explanations about the steps of an Azure Pipeline file. If you are new to azure DevOps it helps a lot with the comprehension.

• Azure Free Account? Is it really free? ( Michael Crump) - Ooh yeah! I still remember that moment where I created my first service.... Get started free is free.

• Build apps for free with Azure Cosmos DB Free Tier | Azure Cosmos DB Blog (Deborah) - A free NoSQL database with the specs of Cosmo...thatts really cool. This post gives you an idea of what it means and a few ideas of what you could do with it.

• Cloud migration: 5 common traps and how to avoid them (Rael Winters) - A great post that can really help you to avoid losing time and money...Once you know the traps, it's easier.

• Tip 254 - Use WAF to protect your web applications with Azure Front Door (Michael Crump) - Nice and easy tip to live more secure in the cloud.

• Tips for keeping your Azure Subscriptions Clean (Michael Crump) - Great post that explains how to keep your money in your pocket.

Programming

• Postman: The Easy Way to Work with APIs - Postman Blog (The Postman Team) - A wonderful tool, a most if you work with API.

• Upgrade Your .NET Console App Experience (Khalid Abuhakmeh) - A nice list of cool libraries to help to add color, table, and menus to our apps.

Podcast

• Making a Living on Instagram with J.N. Silva and Dave Krugman (That Creative Life) - Nice episode... Honestly, they got me with their history when they start doing photography.

• 192: Getting Started with Live Streaming (Merge Conflict) - Nice episode about what you need, or in fact what you don't need to start streaming.

Miscellaneous

• Recovering from Burnout and Depression (null) - An important topic. This post was recommended during a talk about remote working. Very interesting.

~

Reading Notes #177

Suggestion of the week

• The Modern JavaScript Developer’s Toolbox  - If you eared about those buzz words: Grunt, Gulp, Sublime, LESS, Angular, want to know more, This is THE post you are looking for.

Cloud

• Get Your Reading On: Azure eBooks (Jonathan Rozenblit) - 8 free books, what else to say... Thanks of course.
  
• Cloud Computing Can Make Any Old Beater a Connected Car (Alex Davies) - Interesting article about the close future.
  
• Azure API Management Part 1: An Introduction - Nice introduction about the APIM, nice warm up.
  
• Free ebook: Microsoft Azure Essentials: Azure Automation (Kim Spilker, Mark) - Nice free ebook.

Programming

• Getting Started with TypeScript – Classes, Types and Interfaces - Very nice and clear introduction wit also a video.
  
• Welcome Back! - The AJAX Control Toolkit March 2015 Update (Vittorio Bertocci) - Yeah! A long wait but it's here now... Learn all the nice features of this new release in this post.
  
• Comprendre et maîtriser npm - Introduction - The perfect post to get started, for whom read French.

Miscellaneous

• How Leaders Should React When Someone Disappoints (Peter Bregman) - Interesting post about how we should react, simple and efficient.