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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 29/09/2026

Last week I spoke at NT Conference in Portorož, Slovenia. My session was all about optimizing GitHub Copilot and making it work for you. Thank you to everyone who joined, and to the NT konferenca team for having me. If you were in the room: what customizing file are you going to use first?

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 24/09/2026

Git Tip #27: You made two unrelated changes in the same file. How do you commit just one of them? Find my new short on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@Ba4bes/shorts #git #softwaredevelopment #devtips

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 22/09/2026

Azure best practices are well documented. Making them work for your organization is the hard part. I'm honored to be doing two sessions about this at @espccommunity.bsky.social in Amsterdam this December. Early bird pricing ends September 30. Tickets: espc.tech/conference/e...

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 20/09/2026

Adding the new ring is something special every year. But choosing what to put on my shelves is the biggest challenge! How many references can you spot? #MVPbuzz #MVP #Microsoft #GitHub

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 15/09/2026

Very happy to be at @techorama.bsky.social in Utrecht with my talk "One Size Fits None: Make Azure best practices work for your organization". Will I see you there on October 26-28? Use SPK26-BF-ZN8J as a temporary discount code for €100 off! pretix.eu/techorama-nl... .

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 02/09/2026

In October at NIC in Oslo, I'll be speaking about how you can use AI for Azure engineering and then contain it again through Azure policies. NIC will be in Oslo Spektrum and this is my first time in Norway! Who's also coming? More info: nicconf.com #Azure #GitHubCopilot #NIC2026

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 25/08/2026

I am speaking at CDC-Germany, 30 September to 1 October in Hanau. I get to give two sessions! → This Title Was Written By AI — and that was only the beginning" → Implementing Azure Policies: before the portal" If you're around Hanau at the end of September, I'd love to meet you there!

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 22/08/2026

ok ok, let's test this thing

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 18/08/2026

I'll be in Portorož, Slovenia in September. And not just for the stunning sea views I'll be there for NT Conference, the largest tech and business conference in Slovenia. It runs for the 31st time this year and I am happy to be part of it again. More information and tickets: www.ntk.si

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 13/08/2026

Git Tip 26: When creating a PR, GitHub gives you three options: Merge commit, squash and merge, or rebase and merge. Not sure what they do and at this point to afraid to ask? Watch my new Youtube short www.youtube.com/@Ba4bes/shorts

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Barbara Forbes | Ba4bes

Microsoft Azure MVP, Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and GitHub Star. Teacher @ LinkedIn Learning, Speaker and organizer @ conferences. https://ba4bes.com

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 09/08/2026

It Takes AI to Instruct AI Writing good instructions for your GitHub Copilot agent files is a skill on its own. Here's some guidance. #GitHubCopilot #AIAgents

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 06/08/2026

git merge and a pull request sound like there are the same thing? In this video I explain the difference A lot more git fundamentals are in my Git Essentials course on LinkedIn Learning: www.linkedin.com/learning/git... #Git #GitHub #SoftwareDevelopment #DevOps

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 02/08/2026

So what actually counts as production in your environment? @richcampbell.bsky.social and I almost got philosophical. But this is a very valid discussion when you are talking about Azure policy. The full conversation with Richard Campbell on Run as Radio: runasradio.com/Shows/Show/1...

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 30/07/2026

git tip 24: Your local branches don't exist anymore Run git branch and you will probably see branches that were deleted weeks ago. They are not haunting you. Your local repo just does not know they are gone yet. Watch the video to start cleaning up

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 30/07/2026

Printer is in business 🥳

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 28/07/2026

For my birthday this year, I got something I've wanted for a while: a 3D printer. 🥳 Another great way to waste my time. 😅 I'm currently waiting for new filament, the trial stuff was gone really quickly. So while I wait: what should my next print be? Drop your idea below.

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 26/07/2026

GitHub Copilot is a generalist: Good at everything, optimized for nothing. Agent files fix that: you define a persona, the tools it's allowed to touch, and even the model it runs on, all in one markdown file. Full video with everything about Agent files on YouTube now: youtu.be/bRBflrvzg8I

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 23/07/2026

Stop Manually Deleting Old Git Branches | git tip 23 This command clears out remote branches that no longer exist on the server. No more guessing which branches are actually stale. Find out more on my Youtube: www.youtube.com/@Ba4bes/shorts #git #devtools #softwareengineering

youtube.com

Barbara Forbes | Ba4bes

Microsoft Azure MVP, Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and GitHub Star. Teacher @ LinkedIn Learning, Speaker and organizer @ conferences. https://ba4bes.com

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 21/07/2026

I'm excited to share that I'll be speaking at the Cloud & Datacenter Conference Germany this year! Join me in Hanau, Germany from September 30 to October 1. Get your ticket here: www.cdc-germany.de Looking forward to seeing you there!

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 16/07/2026

Yesterday, I got renewed as a Microsoft MVP! Let's keep the good things going, with the git tip of the week! Made a typo in your last commit message? Don't add a new commit to fix it. Find my tip on Youtube shorts: www.youtube.com/@Ba4bes/shorts #git #gittips #softwaredevelopment #githubcopilot

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Barbara Forbes | Ba4bes

Microsoft Azure MVP, Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and GitHub Star. Teacher @ LinkedIn Learning, Speaker and organizer @ conferences. https://ba4bes.com

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 25/06/2026

Git tip 21: When you set up git on your device for the first time, you configured your email address and user name. What if you need to use a different account for a specific repo? No problem! Want to learn the git basics? Find my course on LinkedIn Learning www.linkedin.com/learning/git...

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 21/06/2026

Microsoft just released MAI-Code-1-Flash in GitHub Copilot, their first coding model. They claim it beats Claude Haiku. I ran a few very unscientific tests in VS Code to see how they actually compare. Find the short on YouTube:

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Barbara Forbes | Ba4bes

Microsoft Azure MVP, Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and GitHub Star. Teacher @ LinkedIn Learning, Speaker and organizer @ conferences. https://ba4bes.com

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 18/06/2026

Can't remember that one long git command even though you use it all the time? Git alias lets you turn any command into a shortcut you define yourself. Want to learn the git basics? Find my course on LinkedIn Learning www.linkedin.com/learning/git...

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 16/06/2026

One more event before the summer! I am very happy to be part of Agent Con Utrecht on June 25th. My session about GitHub Copilot, let's see if I can fit it into half an hour this time! Tickets are completely free. Pick up yours: globalai.community/e/l9bfp20y

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 14/06/2026

A token is not a word and it's not a character. A token is the chunk of text a model processes as one unit. view my new short on Youtube: youtube.com/@ba4bes

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 11/06/2026

Git Tip #19: Every time you start a new repo, you add temp.txt to .gitignore. You don't have to! Git has a global .gitignore file. Set it once, and it applies to every repo on your machine. Find out how in this video

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 09/06/2026

Last week, I found myself in an unexpected round of PowerPoint karaoke at the yearly Zure event Zafari. I will not say my story had a lot of educational value, but it did give me a nice photo for my portfolio!

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 07/06/2026

Last week I would have asked GitHub Copilot pretty much everything. This week I used Google. GitHub Copilot moved to usage-based billing. We suddenly have to know what AI to use for what job. #GitHubCopilot #AITools #DeveloperTools

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 04/06/2026

Git Tip #18: Change the default branch name on your device Is your default branch still called master every time you run git init? You can change that so every new repo starts on main instead. Part of my ongoing Git Tips series. #git #gitconfig #devtips

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 02/06/2026

Had a great time last week at @updateconference.bsky.social Krakow. It had been a while since I talked about Defender for Cloud, maybe I should do it more often. Thank you to those who attended and to the organizers for creating a very nice and streamlined event

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Reposted by Barbara Forbes

nohwnd @jakubjares.com · 01/06/2026

38 minutes in, first #pspester demo at #psconfeu, keep them coming.

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Reposted by Barbara Forbes

Thorsten Butz @thorsten.butz.io · 01/06/2026

The rocket 🚀 launches. #psconfeu

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 01/06/2026

Well the first day of the new billing model is going well 😂

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 31/05/2026

GitHub Copilot agents can spend a lot of time on fixing the wrong problem. Most of the time the fix is not a better prompt. It is a plan. So plan before you agent. Full video on the new Github payment model: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKck...

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 28/05/2026

Git Tip #17: Find out who wrote that weird line of code with git blame You find a line of code that makes no sense. git blame shows you every line in a file, who wrote it, and when. Use -L to narrow it down to a specific line range. Warning: sometimes it was you.

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 26/05/2026

Last week I spoke at Infoshare in Gdańsk. A panel full of healthy AI skepticism, then a full room of GitHub Copilot enthusiasts. The contrast was the best part. Beautiful city too. Hope to be back.

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 24/05/2026

Your two-line question might carry 30 to 40,000 input tokens before GitHub Copilot even sees it. Here's what actually goes into every Copilot request. The prompt you type is usually the smallest part of the bill. Want to control what goes into that context? Full video: youtu.be/rKckbwCxXO4

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 21/05/2026

git tip #16: Committed to the wrong branch? Use git cherry-pick Want to understand the basics of git? My Git Essentials course is on LinkedIn Learning: www.linkedin.com/learning/git... #git #github #devops #softwareengineering #programming

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 21/05/2026

Had an amazing session at InfoShare conference in Gdansk, Poland. Great crowd and GitHub Copilot behaved itself, so all was good ✨️ @github.com #Copilot

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 19/05/2026

In less than two weeks, PSConfEU celebrates its 10th edition. I love that this year, for the first time since the one that could have been in 2020, the person who got us all into trouble will be there as well. jsnover.com is back! Are you joining us? psconf.eu

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 17/05/2026

I pulled my GitHub Copilot stats for April. Let's just say I was not checking my models. 😅 GitHub now has a premium request analytics report. Use it to get your own stats! #GitHubCopilot #GitHub #DeveloperTools #AI

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 14/05/2026

Git Tips #15: git diff You're about to commit and you've completely forgotten what you changed. Watch the video for some options. Want to get the basics down on git? My Git Essential training course can help you out: www.linkedin.com/learning/git... #git #devops #developer

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 12/05/2026

I let AI write my code, my posts, and my plans. Not all of it went well. I am sharing all of it at Codegarden 2026 in Copenhagen on June 10-11, in my session: AI as Your Sidekick: Real Lessons, Real Results. Get your tickets: codegarden.umbraco.com/tickets/ #Codegarden #AI #SoftwareDevelopment

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 10/05/2026

Here is how I made GitHub Copilot pay for itself: I let it check my Azure environment I am now saving $30 to $40 a month with something I would not have found the time for without Copilot. Check my YouTube video for more details: www.youtube.com/shorts/MqThx... #GitHubCopilot #CloudCost

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GitHub Copilot cut my Azure App Service bill by $40/month

Here is how I made GitHub Copilot pay for itself: I let it check my Azure environment With the right MCPtools, plugins, or even just a CLI connection, Copilot will start digging in your environment…

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 07/05/2026

Git tip 14: Named your branch mew-feuture? Don't panic! Watch the video for the fix. Want to get comfortable with Git from the ground up? Find my course on LinkedIn Learning: www.linkedin.com/learning/git... #LinkedInLearning #git #gittip #developer

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 05/05/2026

I am speaking at Update Conference Krakow (May 27-28) on kickstarting a secure Azure environment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Come say hi if you're there. Discount on your ticket? Use code BARBARAFORBES10 krakow.updateconference.net/en/2026/sche...

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 03/05/2026

Your terminal prompt can show your branch, unpushed commits, and command duration automatically. No git status needed. Mine runs on Starship (starship.rs). Find my new Youtube short about it on my channel: www.youtube.com/@Ba4bes What does your prompt look like? Share a screenshot! #devtools #git

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 01/05/2026

In Azure networking, it is always DNS. And if it is not DNS, it is DNS. Another clip from the conversation with @rikhepworth.com in the Microsoft studio. Full debate in the long video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRrx... #Azure #AzureNetworking #CloudArchitecture #MVPBuzz

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Barbara Forbes @ba.4bes.nl · 30/04/2026

Made a mess of a file and want it back to the last committed state? git restore is the command you need. No commits needed. No panic required. Want to learn more about git? Find my full course on LinkedIn Learning: www.linkedin.com/learning/git... #git #gitrestore #gittips

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