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Sr. Content Developer at Microsoft, working remotely in PA, TechBash conference organizer, former Microsoft MVP, Husband, Dad and Geek.
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v1.0.4 by github-actions[bot]
Thursday June 25th, 2026 at 5:39 AM

Release notes from copilot-sdk
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What's Changed

  • Add experimental multi-provider BYOK registry config across all six SDKs by @stephentoub in #1718
  • [changelog] Add changelog for v1.0.2 by @github-actions[bot] in #1714
  • edburns/java-add-spotless-to-java-coding-skill by @edburns in #1723
  • Add Java low-level tool definition E2E test and skill [1/6] by @edburns in #1721
  • Add Node.js low-level tool-definition E2E test [3/6] by @edburns in #1725
  • Add Go low-level tool-definition E2E test [2/6] by @edburns in #1724
  • Add Python low-level tool-definition E2E test [4/6] by @edburns in #1726
  • Add .NET low-level tool-definition E2E test [6/6] by @edburns in #1728
  • Add Rust low-level tool-definition E2E test [5/6] by @edburns in #1727
  • Fix codegen schema resolution for new @github/copilot package layout by @stephentoub in #1738
  • Update @github/copilot to 1.0.64-1 by @github-actions[bot] in #1739
  • Bump undici from 6.24.1 to 6.27.0 in /scripts/corrections in the npm_and_yarn group across 1 directory by @dependabot[bot] in #1742
  • Add capi.enableWebSocketResponses and provider.transport session options by @dereklegenzoff in #1711
  • Python: switch from bundled CLI wheels to downloading explicitly or at runtime by @SteveSandersonMS in #1744
  • Update @github/copilot to 1.0.64-3 by @github-actions[bot] in #1752
  • HTTP request callback support by @SteveSandersonMS in #1689
  • fix(rust): backdate extracted CLI mtime to stop build.rs self-invalidation by @redsun82 in #1776
  • Address stephentoub review feedback on HTTP request callback support (+ cross-SDK parity) by @SteveSandersonMS in #1775
  • Strong-name sign .NET SDK by @stephentoub in #1778
  • Harden bundled Copilot CLI extraction against corrupt/partial installs by @jmoseley in #1635
  • Clean up HTTP passthrough API by @SteveSandersonMS in #1784
  • Document Java memory section and add Copilot Memory links across SDK READMEs by @Morabbin in #1783
  • Add preamble section and preserve action to SDKs by @MackinnonBuck in #1713
  • fix(nodejs): handle stdio stdin errors by @sjh9714 in #1584
  • docs: add system message customization section to Python README by @Halcyonhal9 in #1066
  • Add embeddedcli.Path() accessor for the resolved CLI path by @tbrady77 in #1677
  • normalize-sharing-prompts-during-iteration by @edburns in #1729
  • Expose exp_assignments injection on session create/resume across all SDKs by @ellismg in #1750
  • Update @github/copilot to 1.0.65 by @github-actions[bot] in #1793
  • Add getBearerToken callback for BYOK providers (Managed Identity) by @SteveSandersonMS in #1748

New Contributors

Full Changelog: v1.0.2...v1.0.4

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1.0.65 by copilot-cli-release-app[bot]
Thursday June 25th, 2026 at 5:39 AM

Release notes from copilot-cli
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2026-06-24

  • /cd now persists the working directory so resuming a session returns to it, and discovers custom agents in the new directory
  • Commands with slash-prefixed string arguments (e.g. --body "/azp run") no longer trigger spurious filesystem permission prompts
  • Fullscreen timeline stays anchored when older content is trimmed
  • Resume open canvases automatically after restarting the CLI
  • Add an opt-in status bar item showing CI check status (passing/running/failing) for the current branch
  • Add a copilot skill subcommand (and a /skill alias for /skills) to list, add, and remove skills from a file, URL, or directory
  • Prevent the GitHub background from flashing on startup with non-GitHub themes
  • Prevent brief console windows from flashing on Windows when the agent runs hook commands or resolves command paths
  • Include userPromptSubmitted hook additionalContext in the model-facing prompt
  • Keep Windows paths intact when adding stdio MCP servers
  • Stop MCP shutdown from waiting on in-flight server connects
  • Restart the CLI without shutdown timeouts
  • Remove syntax highlighting from shell commands in the timeline
  • Keep custom-agent subagent model selections when using BYOK providers
  • Parse /every schedules on the session's main model
  • Render inline images reliably in tmux
  • The ask_user freeform option wraps text and keeps the cursor aligned
  • Save custom status line commands in /settings
  • Show the streaming byte count separately from the cancel hint
  • Handle wakeup misfires with a graceful message when no self-paced schedule is active
  • Silent MCP OAuth refresh reuses the granted scope so reconnects stay signed in
  • Up/down history and Ctrl+R reverse search now include past shell commands while in normal mode, so you can recall and re-run a shell command without first typing ! to enter shell mode
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10.0.80 by PureWeen
Thursday June 25th, 2026 at 5:39 AM

Release notes from maui
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.NET MAUI 10.0.80 Release Notes

.NET MAUI 10.0.80 introduces significant improvements across all platforms with focus on quality, performance, and developer experience. This release includes 112 commits with various improvements, bug fixes, and enhancements.

Ai Agents

  • Add deep UI test execution to Copilot PR review pipeline by @kubaflo in #35376

  • [CI] Refactor ci-copilot pipeline: scope env vars per task by @T-Gro in #35324

Button

CollectionView

Core Lifecycle

DateTimePicker

🔧 Fixes

Dialogalert

Docs

  • docs: Add UITesting-Guide, ReleasePlanning, and ReleaseProcess to docs/README.md index by @PureWeen in #35195

  • docs: Fix hardcoded path and add library overview in Essentials.AI README by @PureWeen in #35194

  • docs: Update branch reference from net10.0 to net11.0 in DEVELOPMENT.md by @PureWeen in #35193

Drawing

🔧 Fixes

Entry

Essentials

Flyout

Flyoutpage

Hybridwebview

Label

🔧 Fixes

Layout

Map

Mediapicker

Pages

Platform

RadioButton

SafeArea

ScrollView

🔧 Fixes

Searchbar

Shapes

Shell

SwipeView

Switch

TabbedPage

Templates

Theming

Toolbar

  • [Windows] Fix for CS1061 build error caused by missing HasMenuBarContent property in MauiToolbar by @BagavathiPerumal in #35040

Tooling

WebView

🔧 Infrastructure (13)
🧪 Testing (14)
🏠 Housekeeping (1)
📦 Other (10)

Full Changelog: 10.0.70...release/10.0.1xx-sr8

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How agents are transforming work
Thursday June 25th, 2026 at 5:39 AM

OpenAI News
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A new OpenAI research paper shows how AI agents are transforming work, enabling longer, more complex tasks and expanding productivity across roles.
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Daily Reading List – June 24, 2026 (#811) by Richard Seroter
Thursday June 25th, 2026 at 5:38 AM

Richard Seroter's Architecture Musings
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We’re in process of doing our quarterly “check-ins” towards our personal goals. It’s a great moment for me to reflect and appreciate what my team has accomplished already!

[blog] How To Measure Development Productivity? Should you measure activity? Or output? Those are flawed categories, although they can have value at the team level. This post reminds us to consider desired outcomes and measure that.

[blog] Introducing computer use in Gemini 3.5 Flash. When you need/want agents that can “see” and reason across browsers and desktop, this sort of capability will be intensely valuable. Great to see it natively integrated into the Gemini Flash model.

[article] The Mom-and-Pop SaaS era has arrived. How many great ideas never got built because the cost of realizing them with software was too high? Not anymore.

[article] Lost confidence. When you can’t honestly quantify your confidence about the outcome, how do we proceed? Some really useful techniques called out here.

[article] Europe’s cloud sovereignty push may backfire. Related to the above point, I can’t predict how this goes. Doesn’t seem like it’ll go well.

[blog] Build Cross-Language Multi-Agent Team with Google’s Agent Development Kit and A2A. Cool demo, including downloadable source code. How do you make agents built in different languages work together? Here’s how.

[article] The AI Productivity Bill Comes Due in Production. The bottleneck probably moved downstream, and the work itself changes shape to be more about supervision.

[article] Kubernetes in the Age of AI. It’s a runtime for model inference, a host for agents, and probably more.

[blog] Is it thinking or is it broken? Building transparent AI chat UIs with Genkit. Is this thing on? You might ask that when waiting to see if the AI service is stuck, thinking, or something else. Here’s a pattern for showing a heartbeat.

[blog] Skills Over MCP. Can we ship the manual with the product? That’s what this working group is trying to figure out.

[article] OpenClaw and Hermes agree on what an agent is. They disagree on what controls it. Interesting. Jani helps us understand the philosophical difference between the two personal agent platforms.

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The 3 Surprises Every Story Needs by Writers Write
Thursday June 25th, 2026 at 5:38 AM

Writers Write
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This post is about the three surprises or plot points every story needs. You should surprise your reader at three specific stages in your book.

I have been writing about first drafts these past few weeks. Step three is all about inciting moments, but we have written many posts about this before.

‘An inciting moment is the moment of change for your character. It can be positive or negative, but it must be big enough to force them to act and to deal with the situation. This can be as big as a tank driving into the living room or as subtle as a discomforting sentence.’ (source)

Look at these posts for more on inciting moments:

  1. Why Is This Day Different? Knowing When To Start Your Story
  3. Start Here: Three things you need to do at the beginning of your novel

In short, your inciting moment is the moment of change, which should give you your protagonist’s story goal. That goal should drive your story.

Right now, I want to talk about the big surprises or plot points in your story: About one third into your story you should give your reader a surprise, then the middle should have a bigger surprise, and near the end, you should have another big surprise or plot point.

Think of the three acts of a story. What is the most significant development in each?

The 3 Surprises Every Story Needs

In total, you should have five plot points or surprises.

  1. The Inciting Moment – Gives you the story goal.
  2. Surprise One – Things get worse and the goal changes or stays the same, but the odds are increased.
  3. Surprise Two – It can’t get much worse than this and the goal changes or stays the same, but the odds increase again.
  4. Surprise Three – Did I just say that things can’t get worse? This is the Dark Night of the Soul.
  5. The End – Wraps it all up in a satisfying manner.

Now, these are only five scenes of 60. Obviously, the other 55 scenes are important too. But these five alter the story. The inciting moment gives you the goal, the three surprises change or re-affirm your protagonist’s goal and the end, is well the end. Each surprise needs to be set-up. You use the other scenes to do that.

A Perfect Example

I went to see the Minions movie. I loved it. This is how I break it down.

THIS CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!
  1. Inciting moment: The Minions don’t have a Villain to serve. Kevin, Stuart, and Bob set off to search for a new Le’Boss. Goal: To get a boss.
  2. Surprise One: They arrive in New York and learn about VillainCon, where all the villains will be – most importantly, Scarlet Overkill. They beat the other Henchman in the challenge and Scarlet takes them to London with her. Goal: They have achieved their goal, but they must prove themselves to her.
  3. Surprise Two: In London they meet Herb, Scarlet’s weapon-inventing husband. Scarlet wants to take over the world and orders the Minions to steal Queen Elizabeth’s crown. Goal: Steal the crown. They fail and Bob is crowned king.
  4. Surprise Three: Bob abdicates and gives Scarlet the crown. Scarlet orders their execution. Goal: They flee and are separated. Stu and Bob are captured. Kevin ends up in Herb’s unfinished enlargement machine and is zapped. Kevin is now Godzilla-sized. Herb and Scarlet shoot a lava missile at Kevin. He grabs Scarlet and Herb who are blown up by their own missile and Kevin shrinks.
  5. The End: The queen gets her crown back and rewards the minions. Scarlet returns in true villainous fashion and steals the crown again. She is stopped by a young villain, who we will later know as Gru, who runs off with the crown and takes the Minions with him. The End: The minions have found their new Le’Boss.

Of course, there are many other things that also happen in the story, but these scenes are the backbone. Ask yourself what are the three big changes in your story. They should take your hero closer to, or further from, their goal.

The Last Word

Every story needs three key surprises or plot points. These moments should be placed at important stages in your book to keep readers engaged. In this post, we showed you where to place these surprises and why they are so important for strong storytelling. Good luck and keep it surprising.

Source for image: Pixabay

Mia Botha
by Mia Botha

The post The 3 Surprises Every Story Needs appeared first on Writers Write.

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