In this session, Brian will explore the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-powered development environments and help you navigate the choices available to modern developers. With traditional IDEs being enhanced with AI capabilities and entirely new AI-first editors entering the market, choosing the right development environment has become more complex—and more important—than ever.

Key topics include understanding the difference between AI plugins for existing IDEs versus standalone AI-powered editors. Comparing popular options like Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code with GitHub Copilot, Replit, and Void. Brian will also explore and demo offerings from JetBrains in Rider, Google's code tools, and new innovations like Anthropic's Claude Code. How these tools handle code generation, debugging, and project understanding. The trade-offs between cloud-based AI services and local model execution. Integration with existing workflows and the Microsoft development ecosystem.

Whether you're considering your first AI IDE or looking to optimize your current AI-assisted development workflow, this session will provide the insights you need to make informed decisions about your development environment.

You will learn:

• The current landscape of AI-powered IDEs and coding assistants from major vendors
• Key differences between AI plugins, standalone editors, and command-line tools
• Practical demonstrations of JetBrains, Google, and Anthropic AI coding solutions
• How to evaluate AI IDEs for your development needs and team