Google's Gemini AI is getting one step closer to being more like an actual assistant. Starting with some Pixel 10 phones and the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, Gemini will be able to hail an Uber or put together a DoorDash order on its own.

It's called task automation, and it starts with a prompt to Gemini - something like "Get me an Uber to the Palace of Fine Arts." Gemini then launches the app in a virtual window on your device and goes through the process step-by-step. You can watch it all happen, with options to stop the automation or take control if necessary, or just let it run in the background while Gemini does its thing. The assistant …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Peter Steinberger talks about the creation of his viral AI agent OpenClaw and how being more "playful" makes for a better way to learn AI coding.

by Rhea Purohit in AI & I

TL;DR: Today, we’re releasing a new episode of our podcast AI & I, where Dan Shipper sits down with Alex Mathew, a 17-year-old student from Alpha High School, an unconventional AI-forward high school in Austin, Texas. Watch on X or YouTube, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up to get it in your inbox.

---

Depending on whom you ask, AI is either the best or worst thing that can happen to the next generation. The arguments come from educators, venture capitalists, op-ed writers, and anxious parents—but rarely from the young people in question.

On this episode of AI & I, Dan Shipper sat down with one: Alex Mathew, a 17-year-old high-school senior at Alpha High School in Austin, Texas.

Alpha School, a rapidly expanding network of kindergarten through grade 12 private schools, is not without controversy. Inside Alpha High School, there are no traditional teachers, all academic content is delivered through an AI-powered platform, and the adults in the classroom, known as “guides,” focus solely on supporting the students emotionally and keeping them motivated to learn. The students have two- to three-hour learning blocks every morning and spend the rest of the day going deep on a project in an area they care about, spanning art, sport, life skills, and entrepreneurship.

---

Click here to read the full post

Want the full text of all articles in RSS? Become a subscriber, or learn more.

Here’s what shipped in azd this February! This post covers release versions 1.23.3, 1.23.4, 1.23.5, and 1.23.6.

To share your feedback and questions, join the February release discussion on GitHub.

Highlights:

• JMESPath query support for filtering and transforming JSON output
• Deploy to Azure App Service deployment slots directly from azd
• Automatically install azd extensions in dev containers
• New --subscription and --location flags for azd provision and azd up
• Extension version requirements with requiredAzdVersion
• Remote build support for Azure Functions Flex Consumption plans

We want to hear from you!

Help us shape the future of azd by sharing your experience. We’re conducting user research to better understand how you’re using the Azure Developer CLI. Sign up to participate and make your voice heard!

New features

Query and output

azd now supports JMESPath queries, giving you the ability to filter and transform JSON output directly in the terminal.

• JMESPath query support: The new --query flag lets you filter and transform JSON output from any azd command using JMESPath expressions—great for scripting and automation. Query support also covers Message-type outputs, so filtering works consistently across all commands. For a deep dive, see our 1-min blog post: JMESPath query support in azd. Thanks @scottaddie for the contribution! [#6664] [#6735]

Deployment and infrastructure

Several improvements streamline the deployment experience, from deployment slot support to more flexible provisioning workflows.

• App Service deployment slot support: azd now deploys directly to Azure App Service deployment slots without extra scripts. For details, see our 1-min blog post: Deploy to App Service slots with azd. [#6627]
• Subscription and location flags: New --subscription and --location flags for azd provision and azd up allow overriding defaults per command without changing global or environment configuration. [#6777]
• Remote build for Functions Flex Consumption: New remoteBuild configuration option enables remote builds when deploying to Azure Functions Flex Consumption plans, avoiding local build requirements. [#6748]

Extensions

• Required azd version for extensions: Extensions can now specify a requiredAzdVersion field, ensuring users run a compatible version of azd before the extension loads. [#6747]

Dev containers

• Automatically install extensions in dev containers: The azd dev container feature now supports an extensions option, so you can specify azd extensions to install automatically when a dev container is built. For details, see our 1-min blog post: Automatically install azd extensions in dev containers. Thanks @stuartleeks for the contribution! [#6460]

AI and automation

• AI coding agent auto-detection: azd now detects when it’s running inside an AI coding agent and skips interactive prompts automatically, so automated workflows don’t hang. [#6633]

Bugs fixed

CLI and terminal

• Fixed arrow keys displaying as escape sequences in the Ghostty terminal emulator. [#6739]
• Fixed missing configuration keys not appearing in azd config options. [#6619]

Deployment and infrastructure

• Fixed remote build returning 404 errors when Azure Container Registry is in a different resource group than the target resource. [#6766]
• Fixed subscription cache being overwritten when switching between subscriptions. [#6770]
• Fixed azd init to fail fast when required values are missing in non-interactive mode. [#6779]

Extensions and configuration

• Fixed duplicate azd-service-name tag error during provisioning. [#6674]
• Fixed extension namespace conflicts when multiple extensions define overlapping namespaces. [#6671]
• Fixed environment variable substitution for array and object Bicep parameter types. [#6694]
• Fixed azd env config set to support non-string types (numbers, booleans). [#6789]
• Fixed telemetry event bundling issues. [#6698]

Other changes

• Improved provisioning error messages with more actionable guidance. [#6690]
• Improved error messages when provisioning fails due to region SKU unavailability, including suggestions for alternative regions. [#6771]
• Improved error classification for better telemetry and troubleshooting. [#6803]
• Improved delegated authentication messaging during interactive login flows. Thanks @scottaddie for the contribution! [#6808]
• Added soft-delete conflict detection hints when resource creation fails due to previously deleted resources. [#6810]
• Refactored container helper for improved maintainability. [#6649]

New docs

The Azure Developer CLI documentation continues to expand:

• Layered provisioning (February 12): New guide covering layered provisioning patterns for managing shared and environment-specific infrastructure in azd projects. Learn more
• Full-stack deployment guide (January 28): New content on deploying full-stack applications with azd, covering frontend, backend, and database components. Learn more
• Multi-tenant authentication guidance (January 29): Updated guidance on configuring azd for multi-tenant authentication scenarios. Learn more

New templates

The Awesome azd template gallery picked up 10 new community templates this month. Thank you to every contributor who shared a template—you make it easier for the whole community to get started on Azure.

Template	Contributor	Description
Quarkus Todo API Template for Azure Container Apps	Mark Anthony Estopace	Deploy a Todo API built with Quarkus to Azure Container Apps, using Azure Database for PostgreSQL.
Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server with OAuth 2.1 and On-Behalf-Of Flow	jsburckhardt	Deploy an MCP server with OAuth 2.1 authentication and On-Behalf-Of (OBO) flow to Azure Container Apps with secretless deployment using Federated Identity Credentials.
Azure App Service + Foundry Chat Starter	Jordan Selig	One-click azd template that deploys a Blazor Server chat app on Azure App Service integrated with Azure Foundry, VNet, managed identity, and Application Insights.
Azure Container Apps dynamic sessions with a custom container	Jeff Martinez	Create an AI-powered agent using Microsoft Agent Framework with Azure Container Apps dynamic sessions and a custom container.
Azure Functions TypeScript Event Hubs Trigger	Azure Functions Team	Event Hubs trigger quickstart in TypeScript, deployed to Azure Functions Flex Consumption with managed identity and virtual network.
Azure Functions Python Event Hubs Trigger	Azure Functions Team	Event Hubs trigger quickstart in Python, deployed to Azure Functions Flex Consumption with managed identity and virtual network.
Azure Functions .NET Event Hubs Trigger	Azure Functions Team	Event Hubs trigger quickstart in .NET, deployed to Azure Functions Flex Consumption with managed identity and virtual network.
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) KEDA Prometheus Scaler Demo	Chad Paynter	Get started with Kubernetes Event-driven Autoscaling (KEDA) scale rules in AKS. Includes optional support for Azure Container Registry, Managed Grafana, and App Routing.
Unified AI Gateway Design Pattern with Azure API Management	Azure API Management Team	Route requests to multiple AI services (Microsoft Foundry and Google Gemini) through a single endpoint with authentication, load balancing, and token limiting.
Data and Agent Governance and Security	Mike Swantek	Deploy governance policies for Microsoft Foundry, M365 Copilot, and Fabric. Covers Purview Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), data loss prevention (DLP), sensitivity labels, and Defender for AI.

New to azd?

If you’re new to the Azure Developer CLI, azd is an open-source command-line tool that accelerates the time it takes to get your application from local development environment to Azure. azd provides best practice, developer-friendly commands that map to key stages in your workflow, whether you’re working in the terminal, your editor or CI/CD.

• Install azd
• Explore templates: Browse the Awesome azd template gallery and AI App Templates
• Learn more: Visit the official documentation and troubleshooting guide
• Get help: Visit the GitHub repository to file issues or start discussions
• Share your feedback: We’re interested in learning how you’re using azd! Sign up for user research to help shape the future of the Azure Developer CLI

---

Heading to the MVP Summit on March 24? Come say hi—we’d love to chat about azd in person. See you there!

The post Azure Developer CLI (azd) – February 2026: JMESPath Queries & Deployment Slots appeared first on Azure SDK Blog.

The post Codex 5.3 vs 5.2 for .NET Developers appeared first on Uno Platform.

TX Text Control now offers a private NuGet feed with enhanced support for automated build pipelines. For organizations already using Azure Artifacts, that option remains fully available. This guide covers both approaches, helping you choose the best fit for your team.