October 2025 - The future of Astro is revealed, Biome support arrives, Astro skyrockets in GitHub's Octoverse 2025, and more!

While the .NET bot is busy exploring the ocean depths, we're here on the surface, ready to dive into what's new across the .NET ecosystem - AI, .NET Aspire, GitHub Copilot, of course .NET 10, and a whole lot more.

Whether you're just starting your coding journey or looking to level up your skills, the .NET Conf Student Zone 2025 is your gateway to the world of modern software development. For all the details, surf to the official site: https://www.dotnetconf.net/.

📅 Join us live on November 14, 9 AM PST — don’t just watch .NET Conf, be part of the Student Zone made for you!

What's the Student Zone All About?

.NET Conf Student Zone is designed specifically for students.

The main .NET Conf dives deep into professional-level sessions - the Student Zone brings that same energy, but with a focus on hands-on learning, mentorship, and kick-starting your developer journey.

Think of the Student Zone as your VIP pass to the .NET ecosystem. We have an incredible lineup of speakers delivering hands-on sessions, and real talk about how you can grow your career with Microsoft technologies.

.NET 10 is open source, cross-platform, and enables you to build cutting-edge AI applications. Whether you want to build web apps, mobile apps, cloud services, or dive into AI development, .NET has your back. Plus, with GitHub Copilot in your corner, you'll be coding smarter, not harder.

How to join

Stream it live on November 14 at 9AM PST on https://dotnetconf.net or catch it afterward on YouTube. Bring your questions - we'll be in chat to help you out. Add it to your calendar now.

Join .NET Conf at 9:00 AM PST on November 14

 

Meet Our Amazing Speakers!

We've lined up an all-star roster of Microsoft experts paired with talented student ambassadors. Here's what you can expect:

.NET CLI for Beginners

Led by: Pablo Lopes & Hamna Khalil  

New to the command line? No worries! We'll show you how the .NET CLI can be your best friend for creating, building, and running applications. It's simpler than you think.

Aspire in Action

Led by: Maddy Montaquila & Andres Rodriguez  

Ever wondered how to build cloud-native apps that just... work? Aspire makes distributed applications feel less like magic and more like... well, actually it's still pretty magical.

AI is Fun with .NET 10!

Led by: Bruno Capuano & Pablo Lopes  

Artificial Intelligence isn't just for tech giants anymore. Come see how you can integrate AI into your .NET applications and build something incredible. Spoiler alert: It's easier (and more fun) than you might expect!

Best Practices to Code with Copilot!

Led by: Simona Liao & Sharda Kaur  

GitHub Copilot is like having a coding buddy who never gets tired. Learn the tips, tricks, and best practices to make the most of AI-powered coding assistance. Your future self will thank you!

Microsoft Student Programs + Career Pathways

Led by: Tracey Salem, Shiva Ford, and Microsoft FTEs  

Meet full-time Microsoft employees who were once in your shoes, former Microsoft Student Ambassadors and Imagine Cup participants who turned their passion into careers. They'll share their journeys, insider tips, and how you can navigate your own path to success.

.NET is for Everyone

Led by: Stacey Haffner & Siyal Dhande  

Inclusivity isn't just a buzzword for us, it's a commitment! Discover how .NET's open-source nature and vibrant community make it accessible to developers from all backgrounds, experience levels, and walks of life.

Ready to Dive In?

Mark your calendars for November 14th, 9:00 AM PST! Grab your favorite tropical drink, put on your brightest beach shirt, and get ready to level up your dev game. The future of .NET is open source, AI-powered, student-friendly, and it starts with you. For more details, catch the latest waves at https://dotnetconf.net and add the event to your calendar!

This week, we discuss Claude’s new Excel skills, whether AI is augmenting or automating humans, and the latest developer surveys. Plus, AI making the command line cool again!

Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode 544

Runner-up Titles

• Cote’ shock jock mode
• Art with squids
• Command-Line Life Style
• AI isn’t for experts.
• The triumph of the command line
• The command line lifestyle is now available
• I don’t even know what sed is
• The Human Line

Rundown

• Anthropic's Claude is learning Excel so you don't have to
• Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts: Reuters, citing sources
• The State of Developer Ecosystem in 2025
• “The Pragmatic Engineer 2025 Survey: What’s in your tech stack? Part 3.”

Relevant to your Interests

• ChatGPT's Atlas: The Browser That's Anti-Web - Anil Dash
• OpenAI acquires Software Applications Incorporated, maker of Sky
• PayPal shares surge 13% after OpenAI deal to become the first payments wallet in ChatGPT
• Internet Pioneer AOL to Be Acquired by Italian Tech Company Bending Spoons
• What is Configuration as Data?
• RDEL #115: What are the 2025 benchmarks for the DORA 4 metrics?
• a16z Is Funding a 'Speedrun' to AI-Generated Hell on Earth
• An ex-Intel CEO’s mission to build a Christian AI: ‘hasten the coming of Christ’s return’
• Removing Jeff Bezos From My Bed ◆ Truffle Security Co.
• Grammarly rebrands to 'Superhuman,' launches a new AI assistant
• Why the “Free” Chef Version Could Be Your Most Expensive Mistake
• The Wayback Machine’s snapshots of news homepages plummet after a “breakdown” in archiving projects

Nonsense

• How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA

Conferences

• Wiz Wizdom Conferences, NYC November 3-5, London November 17-19
• SREDay Amsterdam, November 7th, Coté speaking
• DevOpsDayLA at SCALE23x, March 6th, Pasadena, CA
  • Uxse code: DEVOP for 50% off. CFP open until Dec. 1st.

SDT News & Community

• Join our Slack community
• Email the show: questions@softwaredefinedtalk.com
• Free stickers: Email your address to stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com
• Follow us on social media: Twitter, Threads, Mastodon, LinkedIn, BlueSky
• Watch us on: Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok
• Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté
• Sponsor the show: ads@softwaredefinedtalk.com

Recommendations

• Brandon: Who Is Michael Lombardi? Debunking the Myths of UNC's GM
• Matt: Shell Game podcast
• Coté: "What Grant Reviewers Actually Look For (and What They Ignore)."

Photo Credits

• Header

Download audio: https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/9b74150b-3553-49dc-8332-f89bbbba9f92/3d0b87cb-111f-475d-afa1-0474bc0326d3.mp3

In this episode of the AWS Developers Podcast, we dive deep into the world of networking from a developer's perspective. Join host Sebastien Stormacq and guest Alex Huides, Principal Network Specialist Solutions Architect at AWS, as they explore why developers should care about networking in the cloud. They discuss the evolution of networking roles from traditional IT to cloud environments, explain fundamental AWS networking concepts, and examine various connectivity options like VPC Peering, Transit Gateway, and PrivateLink. The conversation highlights the challenges of managing network connectivity at scale in multi-account and multi-region architectures, while setting the stage for a deeper discussion about Amazon VPC Lattice in next week's episode.

With Alexandra Huides, Principal Network Specialist Solutions Architect, AWS

AWS Networking Essentials

Download audio: https://op3.dev/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/developers.podcast.go-aws.com/media/188.mp3

Ryan talks with Deepak Singh, VP of Developer Agents and Experiences at AWS and lead at Kiro, about spec-driven development in a vibe coding world. They explore how AI tools have evolved from autocomplete to sophisticated agents that can write code based off of just specs, and how AWS has pioneered spec-driven development through their Kiro agent.

I recently listened to How AI Is Changing Writing — with Tony Stubblebine from the Big Technology podcast, hosted by Alex Kantrowitz. This was one of the more interesting and relevant episodes for me. I embedded the interview below and also added my own summary of the important points and my analysis.