software engineering

Dave Plummer’s confession — that his Windows NT port of the beloved Space Cadet pinball ran “as fast as it could,” eventually spiking to “like, 5,000 frames per second” on modern hardware — is as entertaining as it is instructive, and it revisits a compact engineering lesson about timing...

Dave Plummer’s confession that the worst bug he ever shipped was tied to the beloved Windows pack‑in game Pinball is more than a nostalgic anecdote — it’s a compact lesson in resource management, legacy code risk, and the kind of tiny design decisions that can balloon into systemic problems as...

Elon Musk’s Macrohard gambit reframes a long-running joke into a formal strategic test: can a coordinated swarm of AI agents, fed by massive model families and hyperscale compute, actually simulate and replace the work of a modern software giant like Microsoft? Musk’s xAI recently surfaced a...

Ritvika Nagula’s short, pragmatic playbook for résumé engineering — developed while she applied broadly after graduating in December 2018 and that she says helped land four job offers including from Microsoft, Amazon, and eBay — reads less like a list of tricks and more like a blueprint for...

In a landmark move for the developer and AI communities, OpenAI’s GPT-5 is now available in public preview across all paid GitHub Copilot plans, redefining the very concept of AI coding assistance. Touted as the biggest leap yet for developer productivity, GPT-5’s integration with GitHub...

Cracking the code to landing a coveted role at one of the world’s major technology companies is a dream for many aspiring software engineers. As hiring standards soar and competition intensifies amid economic uncertainty in the tech sector, actionable insights from insiders have never been more...

A senior software engineer’s résumé might open doors, but Ritvika Nagula’s approach proved it can unlock them at some of the world’s most competitive tech giants—including Microsoft, Amazon, and eBay. In a hiring environment awash with automated rejections and mass online applications, Nagula’s...

The landscape of Windows app development is on the cusp of a transformative shift as Microsoft publicly details its plan to open up the Windows UI Library (WinUI) framework to broader community engagement. For years, developers and enthusiasts have called on Microsoft to fully open source the...

The landscape of modern software development was jolted by a move many believed was unimaginable just a decade ago: Microsoft is initiating the process of open-sourcing significant parts of Windows 11, specifically its user interface layer. For those who have watched Microsoft’s evolution from a...

The integration of agentic AI coding tools into corporate engineering workflows is rapidly transforming the software development landscape. These autonomous systems are not merely assisting developers but are increasingly taking on tasks independently, leading to significant shifts in...

Microsoft’s tentative journey toward open-sourcing the Windows 11 user interface framework, known as WinUI, marks a significant shift in the technology giant’s approach to transparency, collaboration, and developer empowerment. For many years, Microsoft’s cultural attitude toward open-source...

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...

GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered code completion tool developed by GitHub and OpenAI, has been lauded for its potential to revolutionize software development by assisting developers in writing code more efficiently. However, as with any emerging technology, real-world experiences can vary...

Microsoft’s Visual Studio has long stood at the center of professional software development, renowned for its deep integration with .NET and extensive tooling that supports everything from application lifecycle management to debugging enterprise-grade projects. While Visual Studio Code (VS Code)...

Microsoft’s evolution from a software-centric behemoth into an artificial intelligence powerhouse is reverberating not just through its product lines, but also throughout its internal compensation structures. The dramatic pay scale reshuffling within Microsoft offers a compelling lens on the...

Microsoft's aggressive investment in artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a significant surge in compensation for AI-focused roles within the company. Recent data reveals that AI engineers at Microsoft are commanding salaries that not only reflect the high demand for their expertise but also...

Microsoft's strategic pivot towards artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a significant restructuring of its workforce, characterized by substantial investments in AI talent and concurrent layoffs in other sectors. This dual approach underscores the company's commitment to leading the AI...

Windows 11's Start menu is once again at the center of user experience discussions, this time with a significant but subtly implemented change: the introduction of Categories powered not by cloud intelligence or real-time AI inference, but by a hefty, locally-stored 15MB JSON file. While...

As Microsoft launches its 2026 fiscal year, confirmation of significant summer layoffs has sent shockwaves across the technology sector and partner ecosystem. The Redmond-based giant has officially acknowledged its plan to cut less than 4 percent of its workforce—an adjustment translating to...

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations are under constant pressure to modernize their technological infrastructure while maintaining the reliability of existing systems. This dual challenge necessitates professionals who can seamlessly integrate innovation with operational...