With Microsoft finally doing right by Windows 11 and the Windows Insider Program, it's time to start testing and provide some feedback. And then we'll see if we can really trust these people. Also, Stardock's Connection Explorer 1.0 is here! And if you want one of macOS's dumbest features on Windows 11, you can get it now.

Windows

• Yesterday was Patch Tuesday - Another month in paradise
• 26H1 - Eh, 24H2/25H2 - Narrator, File Explorer, display, Pen settings, WRE, Remote Desktop improvements
• Microsoft reveals how it will simplify the Windows Insider Program
• Two top-level channels, but really three
• A way to enable all features in new builds, finally, and easy channel switching. But there are complexities, of course
• New builds for Canary, Beta, and Dev - Two for Canary, but nothing new, Beta and Dev get Storage, networking, Windows Security, and Feedback Hub improvements
• The first Snapdragon X2-based PC is out, and Paul has that waiting in PA, and two more PCs are coming to Mexico
• PC sales were somehow up 2.5 percent in Q1, but the rest of 2026 will be a bloodbath
• Also, smartphone sales are doing even worse
• NVIDIA reportedly wants to buy Dell or HP ahead of a big PC chipset push. Interesting

Surface/Microsoft 365

• Microsoft is forced to hike Surface prices dramatically
• Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Hub
• Microsoft College Offer: 12 months of Microsoft 365 Premium, 12 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and a custom Xbox controller when students in the U.S. purchase a PC

AI/Dev

• Microsoft AI releases a faster and more efficient image model
• Amazon CEO tries to explain the AI spending
• Google app for Windows rolls out worldwide, but the Mac gets a Gemini app
• Claude for Microsoft Word arrives in Beta
• Claude for Desktop gets a major redesign for multiple AI agents
• Microsoft's reported plans to charge for AI agents
• .NET 11 Preview 3 arrives right on schedule, but there's nothing to see here
• Build session catalog is up - joking, but the new Windows native app strategy should just be vibe coding
• Google I/O registration is open, and you are never going to believe what the main topics will be - number five will shock you

Xbox & gaming

• New Xbox CEO says Game Pass is too expensive, also that the sky is blue
• Xbox will show off the next Metro game soon
• Starfield for PS5 is getting a fix
• Amazon Luna is stripping down to the basics e.g. "pulling a Stadia"

Tips & picks

• Tip of the week: It's time to get involved
• App pick of the week: Stardock Connection Explorer
• RunAs Radio this week: Internal Corporate Communications in 2026 with Emily Mancini
• Brown liquor pick of the week: ScapeGrace Vanguard

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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In 2021 I left work, the UK, and most of my friends and family behind. After what felt like half a decade trapped (at points literally) in a small flat in Manchester, I couldn't wait to get out and explore the world. It was an amazing, life-changing experience. But, after some years away, it was time to return home. And, in doing so, I had some decisions to make.

When I first arrived at Gatwick airport I had no idea what life was going to look like - I stayed with a friend, found some temporary work, and tried to reacclimatise to life at home. There were many reunions, tears, and more than one panic attack due to complete overwhelm - reverse culture shock is a real thing, who knew?

But, when all was said and done, though I made some vague attempts to see what was out there in the working world, it felt like there was really only one place I wanted to end up - and that was back at endjin.

I've now been back in the UK nearly two years, and back at work for 18 months, and there is definitely a lot to reflect on.

Remote Work and Digital Nomading

I know "digital nomad" can sound a bit buzzword-y, but it is the simplest label for how I have been living since I got back.

Having spent almost 3 years without staying in one place more than a month, the idea of signing a year-long lease felt terrifying in the extreme. And, endjin being a totally remote company (and having been so since 2018 - before it was cool...), I luckily didn't have to.

A lot of Airbnbs offer discounts for stays over a month, and with the current price of electricity and gas, you can often find options for far less than you'd pay at a standard rental - especially if (like me) you are drawn to places in the middle of nowhere, even in the depths of winter. So, that is what I did...

I lived all over the UK - Devon, Yorkshire, Bristol, North Wales, and even spent the winter in Spain (something that convinced me more than ever that January in the UK just isn't for me). And, in all of this, I learnt a lot about what I value in the places that I live. The feeling of being able to walk out the door into nature is something that, for me, is unparalleled. That being said, somewhere with train connections allowing me to attend the 5+ weddings I need to go to (yes, I am in my 30s) is equally important. Two months spent in a depression fog in a village in Yorkshire taught me that access to a gym or at least some way to exercise when it's raining is also a must for my mental health...

Honestly, I do not think returning to work would have been possible for me at that point without this flexibility. My mental state was not great, and trying to go straight from years of constant movement into a rigid routine would have been too big a shock. Being able to choose where I lived, reduce pressure where I could, and make changes gradually meant I could build back up rather than burn out.

Remote-first work gave me the space to re-enter life in the UK on my own terms, and that flexibility is what has made the first year back at work feel in some ways like a continuation of the adventure.

What I Want to Carry Forward

I know that not everyone has the opportunity, means, or even desire to live month-to-month unpacking and re-packing, but I do think that there are some lessons that I've learnt which are applicable whatever your situation:

• Over-planning the next 1/3/5 years can make you more anxious, not less. One of the biggest things I had to accept when travelling was that nothing ever goes fully to plan. That's as true for life in general as it is for catching 4 buses in a day. Spending all my time running through every possible scenario and outcome is never as helpful as it feels in the moment. (As someone with anxiety, I know that's easier said than done. And, to be clear, I'm not saying don't plan at all - I'm told some financial planning is probably a good idea...)
• You don't need to work everything out at once. Trying something and deciding it doesn't work is far better than never changing at all. Most of the time, all you need to plan is the next step.
• Notice what makes you happy. Nothing makes me feel better than being in nature, so building a life around that feels not only logical, but necessary.
• Also notice what drains you. For me, winter has always been hard. Once I accepted that, it became much easier to make decisions that were actually good for me.
• Revisit your priorities every few months. What mattered to you last year might not be what you need now.
• Don't confuse discomfort with failure. Some uncertainty is just part of change, and it does not always mean you've made the wrong decision.

And, if you are considering stepping into the world of "digital nomading", some advice:

• If you are working, make sure that you have enough time to appreciate a place. The first couple of places I stayed, I was only there for a month. By the time I'd moved the first weekend and left the final one, I felt like I had barely found my feet before I was moving again. Plan a good margin between moves - back-to-back travel plus work can be exhausting very quickly.
• Think about the practical - what are some of the things that you do every day / every week that you'd struggle without - a swimming pool? A gym? A library? A pub within walking distance..?
• How much travel do you need to do whilst you are there? Can you find somewhere you love that doesn't mean spending 5 hours on a train multiple times per month?
• Always have a backup internet option. A local SIM/hotspot can save a lot of panic on work days.
• Budget for comfort, not just cost. Sometimes paying a bit more for location, heating, or a proper desk is worth it.
• Remember that it can be lonely. Moving around means you don't always build a base where you are living. Make sure you know what you will do if you are feeling alone - are there friends nearby? Do you have people you can call? Are there local groups you can get involved in?

Final thought

The biggest thing I have learned is that you do not need to blow up your whole life to make things better. You can use the same approach wherever you are: pay attention to what helps, be honest about what drains you, and focus on the next sensible step instead of waiting for a perfect long-term plan. That shift has made life feel less overwhelming, work feel far more sustainable, and I'm excited about building a life that works for me - whatever that might look like!

If you've been exploring the Microsoft Agent Framework, you've probably seen the Python DevUI example showcased prominently in the docs. DevUI is a fantastic inner-loop tool — it lets you visually inspect your agents: their messages, reasoning steps, tool calls, and conversation state, all in a browser dashboard while you develop locally. Think of it as Swagger UI, but for AI agents.

The problem? When I went looking for a .NET / C# equivalent, I couldn't find one. The official Microsoft Learn page for DevUI samples simply said: "DevUI samples for C# are coming soon." — Not great when you're trying to ship.

So I built one. This post walks through a complete, working .NET Core example using Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0, with DevUI wired up and ready to go.

What is DevUI?

DevUI is a lightweight developer dashboard shipped as part of the Microsoft Agent Framework. It is not intended for production — it's a local dev tool, similar in spirit to what Redux DevTools does for React or what Aspire's dashboard does for distributed .NET apps.

When you run your agent app with DevUI enabled, you get a browser UI that shows:

• The agent profile — name, instructions, registered tools
• The invocation request — what was sent to the agent
• The reasoning trail — intermediate steps and internal messages
• Tool calls — which functions were invoked and with what arguments
• OpenTelemetry traces — if you have tracing enabled

How DevUI Works in .NET

For .NET, DevUI is exposed through the Microsoft.Agents.AI.DevUI NuGet package. It integrates directly into ASP.NET Core's middleware pipeline via a single method call:

app.MapDevUI()

Internally, it hooks into the same OpenAI-compatible Responses and Conversations APIs that the agent runtime exposes, so every agent message flows through it automatically — no extra instrumentation code required.

Once running, navigate to /devui in your browser, and you'll see all registered agents listed in the left sidebar. Click one, send a message, and watch the chain-of-thought unfold in real time.

Prerequisites

Before writing any code, make sure you have:

• .NET 10 SDK or later (the example targets net10.0)

• Ollama installed (Ollama)

irm https://ollama.com/install.ps1 | iex

Project setup

Step 1: Create the project

Create a new minimal ASP.NET Core web application. This is the host that DevUI will attach to.

dotnet new web -n AgentFramework.DevUI.Example
cd AgentFramework.DevUI.Example

Step 2: Install NuGet packages

You need four packages in total: the Agent Framework hosting layer, DevUI itself, the hosting OpenAI connector, and the OpenAI client SDK.

dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.Hosting --prerelease
dotnet add package Microsoft.Agents.AI.DevUI --prerelease
dotnet add package OllamaSharp

Step 3: The code

Here is the complete Program.cs for this example. It registers a chat client backed by Foundry Local, defines two agents with different personas, enables the OpenAI-compatible response endpoints (required by DevUI), and maps the DevUI dashboard.

What each step does:

Step 1 — Chat client: We create an IChatClient backed by GitHub Models using the OpenAI client SDK. The AsIChatClient() extension bridges the OpenAI SDK to Microsoft.Extensions.AI's provider-agnostic interface. Swapping to Azure OpenAI or any other supported provider is a one-line change.

Step 2 — Agents: builder.AddAIAgent() registers a named agent with a system prompt (instructions). You can register as many agents as you like. Each will appear as a separate entry in the DevUI sidebar.

Step 3 & 4 — Responses + Conversations APIs: These are the OpenAI-compatible API endpoints that Agent Framework exposes. DevUI hooks into these to intercept all agent traffic. They must be registered before calling MapDevUI().

Step 5 — DevUI: app.MapDevUI() mounts the dashboard at /devui. The IsDevelopment() guard ensures it is never available in staging or production.

Step 4: Running the app

Launch the app in Development mode (the default when using dotnet run):

dotnet run
# Output:
# Now listening on: https://localhost:5001
# Now listening on: http://localhost:5000

Then open https://localhost:5001/devui in your browser. You should see the Weather bot agent listed in the dropdown at the top:

You can now interact with the agent:

Click WeatherBot, type "What's the weather in Brussels?" in the input box and hit Send. 

The right panel will show the full execution trace: the user message, response parts and the final response:

Extending the example

Adding tools

Tools are where agents get genuinely useful. You register them with AIFunctionFactory and pass them during agent registration. DevUI will show every tool call with its arguments and return value in the reasoning trail.

Exploring tools

Tool call tracing is one of DevUI's most valuable features during development. You can see exactly which tool was called, what arguments were passed, and what was returned — all without adding a single log statement.

Troubleshooting

404 at /devui

Make sure you have called both app.MapOpenAIResponses() and app.MapOpenAIConversations() before app.MapDevUI(). All three are required.

Also verify you are running in Development mode (ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Development). In Production, the IsDevelopment() guard prevents DevUI from mounting.

Package not found

The Agent Framework packages are currently prerelease. Make sure you're passing --prerelease to dotnet add package or explicitly specify the version string in your .csproj.

Conclusion

Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 shipped in April 2026 with stable APIs and first-class .NET support, but the C# DevUI story was underdocumented. This post fills that gap with a working end-to-end example.

The setup comes down to 3 packages, five lines of registration code, and one route mapping. From there, you get a functional local debugging dashboard that dramatically shortens the write-run-fix loop for agent development in .NET. However, it is not yet fully supported in .NET so expect some issues and unsupported scenarios.

The code for this example is straightforward to extend. Have fun!

More information

microsoft/agent-framework: A framework for building, orchestrating and deploying AI agents and multi-agent workflows with support for Python and .NET.

Ollama

Agent Framework documentation | Microsoft Learn

DevUI Overview | Microsoft Learn

wullemsb/DevUIExample: C# example for using DevUI in Agent Framework

Learn the basics of SQL and find answers to frequently asked questions about this essential database language.

The post SQL FAQs appeared first on MSSQLTips.com.

In this post, we tell you how to write what you love – not what other people think you should write.

One of the first things we do on a Writers Write course is ask you to list the last 10 books that you have read. The rule of the (very big) thumb being that you will probably write what you like to read.

I always smile when people list all these wonderful literary works that have won Pulitzer Prizes and Booker Prizes. Then, somewhere, usually around number four, they add something like a good old bodice-ripping romp. This is always done with a lot of blushing and explanations like, ‘It’s a fun read’ and ‘It’s for when I really need to relax’.

Why Do These Books Embarrass Us?

I like reading and writing romance, but it is frowned upon. The books are supposedly badly written, with unrealistic plots and flat characters. And I agree; some of them are atrocious, but it has nothing to do with the genre. I have found the same problems in all genres, including the literary ones. Bad writing is bad writing in any genre.

Well said, Stephen, but it is easier said than done. 

How To Write What You Love

Try This Exercise

1. List the last 10 books that you have read.
2. Write down the genre of each.
3. Write down what viewpoint it was written in.
4. In what era was/is it set?
5. What tense did the author use? Past or present?
6. Gender of the protagonist. What did you like or dislike about them?
7. Gender of the antagonist. What did you like or dislike about them?
8. Description: Too much, too little.
9. Dialogue: Good, bad, too much, too little.
10. Setting: Was the setting integral to the plot?
11. What was the inciting moment?
12. Identify the three surprises or twists.
13. Identify the friend and love interest.
14. What did you like about the book?
15. What did you dislike about the book?

Spot The Similarity

Even if every book was written in a different genre, or if they seem completely random, you will find similarities. Maybe three had female protagonists and two were male, but what was the commonality between them? Were they all detectives? Were they all strong leaders? Did they refuse to give up? Were they mavericks?

Pull the books you read apart. Dissect them. What did you love about them? What kept you turning the page?

Life is too short to write stories that don’t excite us. Write what you love, not what you think your mother, your professor, your spouse, or your friends expect you to write.

The Last Word

Try to write the stories you love to read using this formula. Silencing your internal critic is hard enough. Don’t let them take the joy out of your writing (or reading).

by Mia Botha

If you enjoyed this blogger’s writing, you will love:

1. 4 Point Of View Choices For Writers
2. Where Does Conflict Come From In Fiction?
3. Writing Competitions To Inspire You
4. How To Write Epic Beginnings
5. How Much Magic Do You Need In A Fantasy Novel?
6. Why Do Writers Fail To Finish Their Books?
7. How Much Does It Cost To Write A Book?
8. A Quick Start Guide To Writing YA Fiction
9. A Quick Start Guide To Writing For Children
10. The Importance Of Paper When You Plan Your Story
11. 6 Important Things About Flash Fiction

The post How To Write What You Love appeared first on Writers Write.

How are LLMs changing software development? Carl and Richard talk to Rob Conery about his experiences as a consultant bringing the new AI tools and techniques into companies. Rob talks about focusing on the most painful problems first to show the team quick results and make their lives better. The conversation digs into how these tools seriously change the way developers work and what it takes to embrace those changes. Lots of good thinking from a very experienced developer on how to do more than ever before!



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