developer workflow

Windows 11’s quietly powerful Dev Drive feature is one of those under‑the‑radar tools that can materially shorten build times and repository operations by changing where — and how — your project files live on disk, and it’s worth a hard look if you do any software development, frequent...

For years the accepted script for serious development read like a manifesto: run Linux on your primary machine, dual‑boot if you must, and keep Windows for gaming or creative apps. That script is fraying. A growing number of developers are finding that a well‑tuned Windows 11 environment —...

Short, sharp, and unsettlingly useful: a hands‑on recheck of free AI coding assistants in mid‑2025 found that only three free chatbots reliably completed a practical four‑test developer suite on first pass — GitHub Copilot Free, ChatGPT Free, and DeepSeek — while five other widely promoted free...

Smart App Control arrived in Windows 11 as a quiet, opinionated guardian: built to stop untrusted and potentially malicious apps before they run, it pairs cloud intelligence, code-signing checks, and machine learning to make near‑instant allow/deny decisions — but its design choices produce...

When Microsoft rewrote its Linux support into WSL2 it solved the subsystem’s compatibility and many performance problems — but it didn’t convert Windows into a full Linux host. For the majority of developers and tinkerers, WSL2 now delivers the right amount of Linux: a real kernel running in a...

On a Windows box I reach for a Linux shell first — not because Windows tooling is broken, but because the Unix-style command line gives me the fastest, most portable path from idea to execution. That preference, which many readers will recognize from long years of using bash, zsh, or other...

OpenAI’s GPT-5 launch was staged as a Google-friendly moment — Gmail and Google Calendar were shown on-screen — but the quiet, rapid work under the hood handed Microsoft a far broader, more consequential prize: deeper GPT-5 integration across Teams, SharePoint, GitHub, Copilot, and Azure that...

Microsoft is poised to revolutionize its flagship integrated development environment (IDE), Visual Studio, by embedding artificial intelligence (AI) at its core. An internal memo from Jay Parikh, Executive Vice President of CoreAI at Microsoft, outlines plans for "Visual Studio 18," a...

If you're developing a website destined for a Linux server—a common scenario given Linux's dominance in web hosting—it makes sense to simulate your production environment as closely as possible during local development. Many developers, particularly those using Windows as their primary OS, face...

Microsoft’s embrace of artificial intelligence for internal code review is rewriting the rulebook for software development at scale. In what represents a significant milestone in enterprise deployment of generative AI, the tech giant revealed that its in-house AI-powered code review assistant...

Unchecked vulnerabilities in core developer tools can threaten the digital foundation upon which software infrastructure depends, and the recently disclosed CVE-2025-46835 is a prime example of risks that emerge from seemingly innocuous workflows. As the software ecosystem becomes ever more...

For seasoned Windows users, the allure of constructing a tailored development environment is irresistible—especially in an age where applications, libraries, and containers sprawl unchecked, threatening the stability and cleanliness of one's daily driver system. This desire for isolation and...

The landscape of software development is undergoing a transformative shift with the advent of AI-driven tools capable of autonomously writing and updating code. Microsoft's latest enhancement to GitHub Copilot, known as Agent Mode, exemplifies this evolution, signaling a new era in AI...

GitHub has unveiled a groundbreaking AI coding agent designed to autonomously handle tasks such as fixing bugs, adding features, and enhancing documentation. This agent is seamlessly integrated into GitHub Copilot and activates upon assignment of a task by the developer. Operational Mechanism...

Windows 11, in its continuous evolution, has often tread the delicate line between serving mainstream users while empowering power users, developers, and tinkerers. In a subtle yet significant twist, Microsoft is now rolling out a new "Advanced Settings" feature, poised to bring a substantial...

The arrival of Visual Studio Code 1.100 marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of developer tooling, as Microsoft elevates its lightweight, extensible code editor with an advanced suite of AI-powered features that promise to reshape how coders interact with their environment. With the April...

When Microsoft first unveiled the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), it signaled a major shift in how professionals and enthusiasts could harness both Windows and Linux tools within a single, seamless environment. No longer restricted to the moats separating the two operating systems...

For years, developers faced a rigid ecosystem where the choice of programming language often dictated the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) they could use. From Java’s long-standing partnership with Eclipse to Python developers flocking to PyCharm, language tooling was a strong linchpin...

Microsoft’s recent move to restrict its C/C++ extension for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) exclusively to its first-party products has stirred significant concern and debate throughout the developer community. As of version 1.24.5 released on April 3, 2025, the extension now refuses to work on...

In 2025, Microsoft's Copilot has significantly advanced its AI-driven coding capabilities, marking a transformative period in software development. Initially introduced as a tool to assist developers by suggesting code snippets and automating routine tasks, Copilot has evolved into a robust...