I tested three MCP servers in Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4: Claude Gmail Search, Zapier Gmail MCP server, and GongRzhe’s Gmail MCP Server. I also submitted the same search prompt to Gemini in Gmail. The results varied greatly. Only two AI tools passed my test, one failed, and the most promising MCP server turned out to be useless.

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Migrating a Hyper-V host from Windows Server 2019 Core to Windows Server 2025 requires attention beyond just the virtual machines. The host's configuration is equally essential and includes network cards, vSwitches, and default paths, all of which need to be transferred accurately. Using Windows PowerShell, you can export key settings and restore them on a new server.

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Anthropic has introduced two new concepts for connecting AI models to resources through MCP: desktop extensions and connectors. Extensions are available only on Claude Desktop (Windows and Mac), while connectors are supported on both the desktop and the Claude.ai web app. All desktop extensions are local MCP servers, but not all local MCP servers qualify as extensions. Conversely, all remote MCP servers are considered connectors; however, not all connectors are remote MCP servers. Although some theoretical documentation about these new concepts exists, I mainly categorized them based on how Claude Desktop organizes the different types of MCP servers.

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Microsoft has released AI Shell v1.0.0‑preview.5, which provides a Windows-only security patch, while Preview 4 delivered substantial improvements—enhanced macOS side‑pane support in iTerm2, Entra ID authentication, expanded Invoke‑AIShell functionality (with new -PostCode, -CopyCode, and -Exit flags)—all based on community feedback to improve workflows across Azure OpenAI, macOS, and PowerShell. This article also explains how to install Microsoft AI Shell on macOS.

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Windows Server 2025 can run Windows and Hyper-V containers. The former share resources like the kernel with the host OS and have process-level isolation, while the latter run in virtual machines. To enable communication between containers and with physical systems, you must configure the network accordingly.

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VS Code version 1.102 introduced several useful new features in GitHub Copilot. Command allow/deny lists let you specify which commands the Copilot agent can execute without asking for permission. The resubmit feature enables you to edit a previous request and resubmit the prompt. Additionally, the new VS Code version includes various updates for managing MCP servers, including a curated catalog of MCP servers.

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Microsoft recently open sourced Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) under the MIT license, allowing anyone to freely inspect, modify, build, or distribute its source code. This article guides you through building WSL 2.6 from source, using CMake, a popular build system generator, on Windows.

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A new study by METR got a lot of attention online. It claims that developers often overestimate the productivity boost from AI tools. In a coding test, the researchers found that AI caused a 19% "slowdown" for developers. In my opinion, it's not AI coding that's overhyped, but rather the study's findings.

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The number of GitHub Copilot concepts continues to grow, and their similar names can easily confuse. This post offers an overview of all the concepts, along with a link to find more information. The main confusion stems from the Copilot tools on GitHub.com and GitHub Copilot in VS Code. Although there is some overlap, keeping these two areas separate is essential.

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Microsoft recently announced Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, which is aimed at European customers. The main goal is to provide more autonomous solutions in a politically complex climate, including options that do not require a cloud connection. Nonetheless, detailed information about the product has yet to be disclosed.

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Freeing up RAM on Windows can significantly improve system performance, especially when certain applications consume excessive memory. In this guide, you’ll learn how to free up RAM using taskkill on the command prompt, PowerShell, wmic, and the free Sysinternals RAMMap tool, with step-by-step instructions for each method.

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Microsoft Azure MCP Server allows AI agents like VS Code GitHub Copilot in Agent Mode to communicate with your Azure resources through natural language prompts. Azure MCP Server supports services such as Storage, Cosmos DB, Key Vault, and Logs.

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Grafana is an open-source platform for analytics and monitoring that allows you to visualize metrics, logs, and traces from any source. This blog post will walk you through installing the newly released Grafana 12 on Windows.

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Windows provides native tools for formatting hard drives, such as Disk Management, File Explorer, and DiskPart. Alternatively, you can use EaseUS Partition Master Free, which enables quick and easy formatting of hard drives and partitions.

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Microsoft is adding a Threads layout to Teams channel posts. This feature introduces a new level of structure that enables more interactive conversations, similar to social networks like Facebook or X.

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Windows 11 25H2 is scheduled for release in fall 2025. Windows Insider Program members can try out the update early in the Dev channel. Notably, Windows 11 25H2 isn’t a traditional in-place upgrade; it’s an enablement package, which is a minor update that unlocks dormant new features such as Quick Machine Recovery and Administrator Protection.

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Google's new Gemini CLI allows up to 60 model requests per minute and 1,000 daily requests. Professional developers might hit these limits quickly, but many IT admins will find the free plan sufficient. Compared to Anthropic Claude Code and OpenAI Codex CLI, I find Google's open-source AI-powered terminal more useful for the AI-augmented admin.

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The first open-source WSL release, Windows Subsystem for Linux, is available for preview. WSL is a platform that enables you to run Linux distributions within Windows. This article looks at the new release, 2.6, the open-source shift, and highlights updates to the stable branch, 2.5.

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ViVeTool is an open-source tool for Windows 10 and Windows 11 that allows you to enable or disable hidden or experimental Windows features. Microsoft often tests new features in Insider builds that are not immediately visible to all users. This program lets you manually control these hidden features without waiting for official updates.

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