TOPICS
Software
Latest version points to a shift in how Microsoft thinks about IDEs
Visual Studio 2026 18.5 arrives with two headline changes – a smarter code suggestion system and an AI-powered debugger. Yet developer frustration over color contrast and forced updates continue to overshadow the improvements.
Many developers are familiar with the problem: they are typing in the code editor and multiple assistants intervene with suggested code, causing distraction and confusion. Even within the Microsoft stable there are several of them.
IntelliSense is the older system, based on static analysis without generative AI and providing code completion and help text. AI-driven IntelliCode ranks suggestions and provides context-aware and whole line completions. GitHub Copilot suggests and generates whole blocks of code and is subscription-based but with a free version for limited use.
Until this release, IntelliSense and Copilot suggestions could appear simultaneously, confusing users about what keys like Tab will do and causing cognitive overload.
A solution is to disable Copilot, but for those using multiple code completion assistants, the new Visual Studio release “prioritizes the IntelliSense list and shows only one suggestion at a time.”
This small victory for a pre-AI world should not be misread as a retreat from Copilot. 18.5 also features a new debugger agent workflow which, Microsoft said, “represents a fundamental shift in how we think about IDEs.”
The new workflow, called agentic bug resolution, starts with an issue link or chat prompt describing the bug. Copilot will inspect the application, generate failure hypotheses, and set conditional breakpoints in the code. Next, the agent runs the application in debug mode, inspects the failure, and, all going well, proposes a fix.
While this sounds like a time-saver, we note that it also converts a standard developer task into something that now costs AI tokens each time it is used, meaning it is only a benefit if the AI fix is quicker to find and equally or more effective than what the human developer would have done without it.
More AI debugging is not a top developer request. Rather, devs still want to bring back the blue theme from Visual Studio 2022. This request is not just based on liking a certain color scheme; it reflects complaints of eye strain and a worse overall experience.
In Visual Studio 2026, the number of color tokens was reduced by around 87 percent as part of a migration to a semantic color system.
“The effect is straightforward: Token reduction → Loss of granular control → Reduced contrast → Lower readability → Reduced productivity. For developers who spend entire working days inside the IDE, this is not an aesthetic complaint. It directly affects cognitive load and output quality,” said one developer.
Microsoft closed an issue on this as “out of scope” but has left a similar issue open with a promise to review the complaints and propose “potential next steps.”
Another common gripe concerns forced Visual Studio updates, which now seem to afflict this developer tool as well as Windows itself. By default, a dialog appears periodically with the options “Update now” or “postpone,” where the default is to update when Visual Studio closes, but a user reports that “after several postpones, Visual Studio finally decided to update by itself.”
Microsoft said: “The primary reason for this feature is to help keep your environment secure and ensure you have the latest features, performance improvements, and reliability fixes without delay the next time you open Visual Studio.”
Many developers consider that they should decide when to update. “I’ve had this interrupt meetings, instructional lectures, and important sessions where I am running the console in debug mode,” said one.
A workaround has been found, and is given in the issue thread referenced above, involving an edit to a configuration file called state.json, with options not available through the settings user interface. ®
AI agents can’t be trusted, so don’t give them dangerous powers
We’re moving as fast as we can, says SK Group chair
PARTNER CONTENT: Recognized for breakthrough achievements in FWA, Network Ecosystem, and Native AI Baseband, ZTE solidifies its role as a key driver of Indonesia’s 5G-Advanced and AI economic growth
GitHub caught off guard by customers actually using the AI being evangelized
AWS better at running chip fabs than their mouths
Plus, Raspberry Pi edition finally catches up
Learn how a consumption-based operating model provides flexibility, improves efficiency, and brings predictability to infrastructure investments.
Modern applications are API-driven, interconnected, and often over-permissioned, making them an ideal target for AI-assisted attacks.
Join us to discover how to eliminate infrastructure silos and establish a standardized, enterprise-grade cloud-native platform.
Microsoft 365 is the backbone of enterprise communication, and its native security filters out the known and the noisy.
This is your technical deep-dive into the practical tools and techniques that define the next generation of resilient Dev and IT operations.
Step into the chaos of a live ransomware breach, test your response skills, and team up with other IT and security pros to outsmart cybercriminals
Ransomware attacks aren’t slowing down, and neither are we. Druva’s hit event, Escape Ransomware, is now fully virtual.
The identity and access models most organizations rely on were built for human users, not non-human identities operating independently.
The identity and access models most organizations rely on were built for human users, not non-human identities operating independently.
Join us to learn how to unlock real ROI by driving adoption of AI at scale.
ai and ml
AI agents can’t be trusted, so don’t give them dangerous powers
systems
We’re moving as fast as we can, says SK Group chair
Software
GitHub caught off guard by customers actually using the AI being evangelized
ai and ml
GPTZero claims only 5 of the report’s 45 citations matched their sources, raising questions about how the Big Four’s AI study was assembled
security
Telegram-based ‘Outsider Enterprise’ accused of sending millions of scam texts and impersonating trusted brands
Security
PLUS: US takes down Iranian propaganda sites; Marketing company asks ‘Why Do We Have Your Information?’ And more!
Security
PLUS: China upgrades smartphone surveillance tools; Ring eases anti-snooping stance; and more
Black Hat and DEF CON
Voting village reports have been so successful, says Jeff Moss, that the whole of DEF CON will now be included
Security
Went at equivalent of $3.5B+ valuation for entire firm, though portion sold not specified
Malware Month
On the plus side, infosec’s a good bet for a long, stable career
When a community came together after Red Hat said Windows was ‘probably the right product’
Project Headroom could save you big money, too
Sixtieth release adds more cores, delayed hibernation, and basic Wi-Fi 6 without losing its ascetic streak
Red Hat’s free distro loses a desktop, but makes an important new friend
Like AirDrop, minus the Apple lock-in
Blog post mourning decline appears to have helped knock what was left of the veteran app’s online presence offline
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Contact us
Advertise with us
Who we are
Newsletter
The Next Platform
DevClass
Blocks and Files
Situation Publishing
Cookies Policy
Privacy Policy
Ts & Cs
Do not share my personal information
Your Consent Options
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998-2026.
Leave a Reply