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Masking Sensitive Data in Azure SQL

Applications often need access to data without needing access to everything. Social Security numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers are common examples. Storing them is required. Exposing them broadly is not. This is especially valuable when exposing a database to an AI agent through...
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WinGet Configuration: Set up your dev machine in one command

I've set up a lot of dev machines in my life. Traditionally, this takes a lot of time to get everything just right, but now there's a faster way with WinGet Configuration files. Let me show you how to go from a fresh Windows install to a fully configured dev environment with a single...
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Latest posts

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Feb 11, 2026
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Unlock language-specific rich symbol context using new find_symbol tool

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Sinem,
Hannah
Refactoring at scale is a time-consuming and error-prone process for developers. In large codebases, developers have relied on manual searches and incremental edits across multiple files to accomplish these tasks. Modern development workflows depend on fast and accurate code navigation...
Visual Studio Blog
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Feb 11, 2026
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Deploy to Azure App Service deployment slots with azd

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PuiChee (PC) Chan
azd now supports direct deployments to Azure App Service slots—quick, clear, and slot-aware for the first time.
Azure SDK Blog
Illustration of a planet representing Azure Cosmos DB with the text “Maximize Azure Cosmos DB Performance with Azure Advisor Recommendations.”
Feb 11, 2026
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Maximize Azure Cosmos DB Performance with Azure Advisor Recommendations

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Iria Osara
In the first post of this series, we introduced how Azure Advisor helps Azure Cosmos DB users uncover opportunities to optimize efficiency and make smarter decisions. This follow-up dives deeper into one of the most important categories of guidance: performance. If you've ever dealt...
Azure Cosmos DB Blog
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Feb 10, 2026
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.NET 11 Preview 1 is now available!

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.NET Team
Find out about the new features in .NET 11 Preview 1 across the .NET runtime, SDK, libraries, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, C#, .NET MAUI, and more!
.NET Blog
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Feb 10, 2026
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February Patches for Azure DevOps Server

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Gloridel Morales
We are releasing patches for our self‑hosted product, Azure DevOps Server. We strongly recommend that all customers stay on the latest, most secure version of Azure DevOps Server. The latest release, Azure DevOps Server, is available from the download page. To make it easier to find...
Azure DevOps Blog
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Feb 10, 2026
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.NET and .NET Framework February 2026 servicing releases updates

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Rahul,
Tara
A recap of the latest servicing updates for .NET and .NET Framework for February 2026.
.NET Blog
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Feb 10, 2026
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Building AI-Powered Apps with Azure Cosmos DB and the Vercel AI SDK

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Sajeetharan Sinnathurai
The Vercel AI SDK is an open-source TypeScript toolkit that provides the core building blocks for integrating AI into any JavaScript application. It works with 20+ AI providers out of the box—including OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, and more—so you can write your...
Azure Cosmos DB Blog
Ecma TC57
Feb 10, 2026
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Standardizing HLSL

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Chris Bieneman
The HLSL team is excited to announce the formation of Ecma Technical Committee 57; a committee to standardize the High Level Shading Language. The formation of this committee marks an important milestone in HLSL's development and strengthens Microsoft's commitment to HLSL as a...
DirectX Developer Blog
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Feb 10, 2026
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How did Windows 95 get permission to put the Weezer video Buddy Holly on the CD?

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Raymond Chen
Asking nicely, and asking a lot of people.
The Old New Thing
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Feb 10, 2026
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From Local Models to Agent Workflows: Building a Deep Research Solution with Microsoft Agent Framework on Microsoft Foundry Local

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Kinfey Lo
Introduction: A New Paradigm for AI Application Development In enterprise AI application development, we often face this dilemma: while cloud-based large language models are powerful, issues such as data privacy, network latency, and cost control make many scenarios difficult to...
Semantic Kernel
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Feb 9, 2026
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Time Travel in Azure SQL with Temporal Tables

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Jerry Nixon
Applications often need to know what data looked like before. Who changed it, when it changed, and what the previous values were. Rebuilding that history in application code is tedious and error prone. This is especially valuable when exposing a database to an AI agent through MCP servers...
Azure SQL Devs’ Corner
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Feb 9, 2026
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What should I do if a wait call reports WAIT_ABANDONED?

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Raymond Chen
It's your one chance to make amends.
The Old New Thing
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Feb 6, 2026
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What’s New in vcpkg (Nov 2025 - Jan 2026)

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Augustin Popa
This blog post summarizes changes to the vcpkg package manager as part of the 2025.12.12 and 2026.01.16 registry releases and the 2025-11-13, 2025-11-18, 2025-11-19, 2025-12-05, and 2025-12-16 tool releases. These updates include support for targeting the Xbox GDK October 2025 update,...
C++ Team Blog
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Feb 6, 2026
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Mastering User Settings in SharePoint Framework

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Paolo Pialorsi
User preferences and settings are fundamental components of modern web applications. When developing SharePoint Framework (SPFx) solutions, the ability to store and manage user-specific configurations across devices and sessions becomes crucial for delivering personalized experiences....
Microsoft 365 Developer Blog
Feb 6, 2026
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Building an AI Skills Executor in .NET: Bringing Anthropic's Agent Pattern to the Microsoft Ecosystem

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Matt Kruczek
We welcome guest author, Matt Kruczek, to share how to build a complete Skills Executor in .NET, combining Azure OpenAI with the Model Context Protocol (MCP) C# SDK to bring the same agentic patterns to the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll see how to define reusable skills, connect local and external tools, and orchestrate intelligent agent loops—so enterprise teams can standardize AI behavior without hardcoding business logic.
Microsoft Foundry Blog
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Feb 6, 2026
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Masking Sensitive Data in Azure SQL

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Jerry Nixon
Applications often need access to data without needing access to everything. Social Security numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers are common examples. Storing them is required. Exposing them broadly is not. This is especially valuable when exposing a database to an AI agent through...
Azure SQL Devs’ Corner
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Feb 6, 2026
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How can I prevent the user from changing the widths of ListView columns in version 5 of the common controls?, part 2

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Raymond Chen
Preventing the resize cursor from appearing.
The Old New Thing
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Feb 5, 2026
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Enable Soft Delete in Azure SQL

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Jerry Nixon
Sometimes applications need to remove data without actually losing it. Soft delete keeps rows in the database while making them invisible to normal application access. This is especially valuable when exposing a database to an AI agent through MCP servers like SQL MCP Server, where safety...
Azure SQL Devs’ Corner
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Feb 5, 2026
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Securing Aspire Apps with Microsoft Entra ID

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Jean-Marc Prieur
Learn to secure Aspire distributed applications with Microsoft Entra ID authentication. Use AI skills with GitHub Copilot for a 5-minute setup, or follow the detailed guide to understand JWT Bearer protection, OIDC sign-in, and automatic token handling.
Aspire Blog
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Feb 5, 2026
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.NET Framework 3.5 Moves to Standalone Deployment in new versions of Windows

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Tara,
Brett
An announcement of .NET Framework 3.5 servicing updates on new versions of Windows.
.NET Blog
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Feb 5, 2026
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Go 1.25.7-1 and 1.24.13-1 Microsoft builds now available

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Davis Goodin
A new release of the Microsoft build of Go including security fixes is now available for download.
Microsoft for Go Developers
Entra ID Authentication
Feb 5, 2026
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How to Enable Microsoft Entra ID for Azure Cosmos DB (NoSQL)

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Sudhanshu Khera
Strengthen Identity Security and Eliminate Account Keys Identity is becoming the new security perimeter. As organizations modernize their cloud applications, long‑lived secrets and shared keys introduce unnecessary risk. Azure Cosmos DB now fully supports Microsoft Entra ID for both...
Azure Cosmos DB Blog
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Feb 5, 2026
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How can I prevent the user from changing the widths of ListView columns in version 5 of the common controls?

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Raymond Chen
Deny changes to the width.
The Old New Thing
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Feb 5, 2026
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Minimal GitOps for Edge Applications with Azure IoT Operations and Azure DevOps

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Maho Pacheco
How we built a minimal, scalable GitOps workflow for edge applications using Azure IoT Operations, Azure DevOps, and a multi-repo strategy. Includes pipeline templates and scripts for real-world deployments.
ISE Developer Blog
Feb 4, 2026
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MSVC Build Tools Versions 14.30 – 14.43 Now Available in Visual Studio 2026

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Augustin Popa
When Visual Studio 2026 reached General Availability in November, it included several versions of the Microsoft C++ (MSVC) Build Tools: 14.50 (initially shipped with Visual Studio 2026) 14.44 (initially shipped with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14) 14.29 (initially shipped...
C++ Team Blog
January 2026 (version 1.109)
Feb 4, 2026
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January 2026 (version 1.109)

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Visual Studio Code Team
Learn what is new in the Visual Studio Code January 2026 Release (1.109). Read the full article
VS Code Blog
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Feb 4, 2026
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The OS for Intelligence: How GitHub Bridges the Fragmented AI Landscape

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Poornima Prasad
We are currently living through the "fragmentation phase" of the AI revolution. If you’re a developer, you know the drill: You have Claude Code open for reasoning. You have ChatGPT open for logic checks. Then you drop into your terminal to actually build the thing—manually...
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