// V035 - Weekly Technology Vlog #35

Chris delivers a bank holiday weekly update packed with deprecation notices, new GitHub tooling, and reflections on accessibility and content strategy.

Azure Blog

• Azure Purview data governance event — Announcement of a digital event on September 28 showcasing Azure Purview capabilities for data governance strategy, lineage, and best practices.

Azure Updates

A deprecation-heavy week with retirement notices spanning 2022-2024, including Classic Cloud Services, ML Studio Classic, multi-step web tests in Application Insights, Log Analytics agent, and numerous VM series (Basic/Standard A, HB, NC, ND, NV). Key version upgrades required for Azure Functions (Python 3.6 → 3.8, Node 8 → 14), Azure Cosmos DB Java SDK (2.x → 4.x), and PHP 7.3 → 7.4. Notable GA releases include Azure Sphere OS 21.08, new ExpressRoute peering locations (Chicago, Pune, Sao Paulo), and Azure Batch capabilities. The Azure Policy Guest Configuration preview for applying settings inside machines drew significant community interest.

Azure DevOps Blog

• Azure Fun Bytes introduction to GraphQL with Adron from Hasura HQ, covering data mutations, data sources, and local GraphQL server setup.
• Community contributions on Azure Test Plans for Synapse Analytics, multiple backlogs in Azure DevOps projects, and Azure DevOps fundamentals.

GitHub Updates

• GitHub CLI 2.0 — Major release introducing a custom extension model for extending CLI functionality, similar to the Azure CLI extension pattern. Community extensions already emerging, including novelty ones like gh-screensaver.
• npm TLS deprecation — TLS 1.0 and 1.1 deprecated for the npm registry effective October 4, 2021, with 99% of traffic already on TLS 1.2.
• Linux 30th anniversary — Three blog posts showcasing 30 free and open-source Linux games.
• 2021 transparency report — Semi-annual report covering takedown notices, content removal requests, DMCA, and acceptable use policy enforcement.

Cloud with Chris

• Accessibility in tech — Episode with Kaizota on the experience of being hard of hearing at conferences, the challenges of background noise with cochlear implants, and the importance of closed captions. Chris reflects on his own audio processing challenges and commits to improving accessibility in his public speaking.
• Azure Front Door — Blog post comparing Front Door Classic vs Standard/Premium, covering Layer 7 load balancing, SSL offloading, and the difference between dynamic (Front Door) and static (CDN) capabilities.
• GitHub branch protection rules — New shorter-format blog post on shifting left with branch protection, covering pull request requirements, status checks, commit signing, and trade-offs for solo maintainers.
• Getting into DevRel — Episode with Martin Woodward on building developer communities, finding your motivation, and sustaining content creation long-term.
• Chris discusses evolving his content strategy for 2022, balancing shorter problem-solving posts with longer narrative content.