One Weekly read on Automation & Development

Win+R just got rebuilt with PowerToys DNA. Microsoft rewrote the Run dialog in C#/WinUI 3, using the same code that powers PowerToys Command Palette. Faster launch, dark mode, and ~\ lets you...

SAP just banned the AI that could help you leave. Their new API policy (published April 27, 2026) explicitly prohibits use of SAP APIs for “interaction or integration with (semi-)autonomous or...

The difference between a one-off AI session and a repeatable workflow is one file. I have a LinkedIn analytics dashboard built entirely with Claude. Drop new xlsx exports in, run Claude, get an...

The Taplio invoice landed. €50/month. I actually looked at it this time. Thought about the AI content features I had never touched, the engagement pods I do not use, the DM automation I had...

LinkedIn analytics tools charge you €50/month to show you your own data. LinkedIn already has it. All of it. Go to linkedin.com/analytics. Hit export. You get two xlsx files: follower growth,...

The best thing about AI as a pair programmer is that it never gets tired of me. A real pair programmer gets frustrated when you push back on the same decision for the fifth time. They sigh.They...

I never approve implementation until the plan that AI made survives interrogation. The pattern: 1️⃣ Build the implementation plan by AI in detail.2️⃣ Review it. Ask hard questions. What happens when...

Everyone is debating whether AI replaces developers.Nobody is asking if AI is the best pair programmer you have ever had. Pair programming has always produced better software. The evidence on that...

AI does not need MCP to call an API. It can make HTTP requests directly. Read the documentation. Handle authentication. Parse the response. No connector. No MCP server. Just the API and the model....

The skill that gets automated first is the one that looks most like translation work. Building flows in Power Automate is translation work: take a business requirement, find the right connectors,...

Connectors were always training wheels. They solved one specific problem: non-developers could not write API calls. So Microsoft built 400+ wrappers. Dropdowns instead of code. Useful. Genuinely...

Before you write a try…catch, answer three questions: 1 Do you know exactly which exception will be thrown?Not something might go wrong. A specific type. A specific failure mode. If you are...