We talk to Anna Roth, a PM with the Azure Cognitive Services team. She gives is the low-down on these amazing services that can literally transform most businesses. 

https://www.microsoft.com/cognitive-services

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode148.mp3

Other updates:

Linux support in Azure App Service
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/azure-app-service-releases-a-preview-introducing-linux-support-for-node-js-and-php-stacks/
 
 Azure App Service Companion preview
 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=azureApps.AzureApps
 
 Azure Stream Analytics query testing now available in the new portal
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/stream-analytics-querytesting/

Azure Stream Analytics query testing now available in the new portal
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/stream-analytics-querytesting/

Keeping up with Azure Government: September Highlights
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/keeping-up-with-azure-government-september-highlights/

Azure PowerShell 3.0.0–Highlights and breaking changes
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-powershell-300/

Azure Backup hosts Ask Me Anything session
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-backup-reddit-ama-oct20th/

Deep Neural Network in Azure
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/machinelearning/2016/10/12/deep-neural-network-in-azure/

Running the MEAN stack on Microsoft Azure (Part I)
http://openness.microsoft.com/2016/10/10/running-mean-stack-microsoft-azure-part/

 Getting Started with Temporal Tables in Azure SQL Database documentation webpage. To use temporal retention, customers can visit the Manage temporal history with retention policy documentation webpage.
 
UltraPerformance Gateway tier for Azure ExpressRoute generally available
The UltraPerformance Gateway connects a virtual network to an Azure ExpressRoute circuit and provides five times the network throughput of the HighPerformance Gateway. Customers can now deploy more network-intensive workloads in their virtual networks. ExpressRoute UltraPerformance Gateway is currently available in the West Central US and Central US regions and can be linked to ExpressRoute circuits located in Chicago, Illinois and Dallas, Texas. More Azure regions and ExpressRoute locations will become available in the coming weeks.

Improving Azure App Service Node.js and PHP developer experience with Linux support
In March 2015, Azure App Service became generally available, making it easier for web developers to do cool things in the cloud. In addition to a great experience for .NET developers, it supports PHP, Node.js, Java, and Python stacks, as well as a number of open source web products. A new public preview introduces native Linux support for Node.js and PHP stacks.

Name update for Microsoft Cognitive Services in invoices
As of October 11, 2016, customers using Microsoft Cognitive Services for Bing Search APIs, Bing Autosuggest APIs, and Bing Speller APIs will see new overage meters in their invoices. Previously, for any Standard plan, overages appeared as Standard S2 meters. Resource prices will remain unchanged.

We have a bit of a geek-out with one of our listeners, Mattias Karlsson, about a topic that he's very passionate about - Kudu. He tells us why this is an indispensable tool when it comes to Azure App service and can also be used on-premises!

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode147.mp3

Twitter is the best option to find Mattias
                https://twitter.com/devlead

And the company he's a partner and sr. architect at is WCOM and is found here:
                http://www.wcom.se

Kudu is found here on GitHub:
                https://github.com/projectkudu/kudu

Other updates:

• General Purpose Instances: Prices of our Dv2 series VMs will be reduced by up to 15%. We are also lowering prices of our A1 and A2 Basic VMs by up to 50%.
• Compute Optimized Instances: Prices of our F series will be reduced up to 11%.
• Av2 series: In November 2016, we will introduce new A series virtual machines (Av2), with prices up to 36% lower than the A series Standard VM prices available today.

From <https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-lower-azure-pricing/?WT.mc_id=azurebg_email_Trans_1203_New_Lower_Azure_Pricing>

OMS TECH Fridays - Fall 2016 season
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/oms-tech-friday-skype-sessions-2/

Azure DocumentDB SDK updates include Python 3 support
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-documentdb-sdk-updates-include-python-3-support/

Azure IoT loves Open Source
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-iot-loves-open-source/

Real-Time Feature Engineering for Machine Learning with DocumentDB
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/real-time-feature-engineering-for-machine-learning-with-documentdb/

Microsoft Cloud coming to France
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-cloud-coming-to-france/

Required practice for applications integrating with Azure Active Directory
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/required-practice-for-applications-integrating-with-azure-active-directory/

Cale, Evan, Russell and Sujit have an in-depth talk with Rasmus Hald, a Technical Evangelist from Microsoft Denmark about a topic that is near and dear to him : Treating deployments as code.

He walks us through the 5 steps we can take to better manage our deployments in Azure:

1. Source Controlled
2. In code (Scripts & Templates)
3. Automated & Continuous Deployment
4. Testing
5. Feedback loop (Monitoring)

Link to his GitHub Repo: https://github.com/rasmushald/BrickOps

Reach out to him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RasmusHaldDK

Media file:

http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode146.mp3

Other updates: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/campaigns/ignite-2016/

We talk to Christina Compy, a Principal PM on the Azure team, about running Java apps on Azure.

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode145.mp3

Resources:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/web-sites-java-get-started/
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/develop/java/
http://tryappservice.azure.com/

Other updates:

https://trello.com/b/FAA147vS/azure-api-management-product-roadmap

Bletchley - release & roadmap - Cryplets deep dive
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/cryptletsdd/

Project Bletchley - Blockchain infrastructure made easy
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/project-bletchley-blockchain-infrastructure-made-easy/

Data Factory supports multiple web service inputs for Azure ML Batch Execution
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/data-factory-multiple-web-service-inputs-azure-ml-batch-execution/

Announcing the release of Azure Mobile Apps Node SDK v3.0.0
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-release-of-azure-mobile-apps-node-sdk-v3-0-0/

Build cloud apps at warp speed
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/build-cloud-apps-at-warp-speed/

We have a great chat with James Baker, from the Azure DX team, about an interesting service that he has worked on called DASH that helps get around the current performance limitations on Storage accounts.

https://github.com/MicrosoftDX/DASH 

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode144.mp3

Other updates:

Join the Microsoft Azure Stack Meetup @ Ignite 2016
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/join-the-microsoft-azure-stack-meetup-ignite-2016/

Azure Event Hubs Archive is now in public preview, providing efficient micro-batch processing
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-event-hubs-archive-in-public-preview/

Service Fabric on Linux support available this month
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/service-fabric-on-linux-support-available-this-month/

Announcing the General Availability of Storage Service Encryption for Data at Rest
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-general-availability-of-storage-service-encryption-for-data-at-rest/

Free ebook: Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure, Second Edition
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/microsoft_press/2016/09/01/free-ebook-microsoft-azure-essentials-fundamentals-of-azure-second-edition/

Devcon 2 - Ethereum conference
https://ethereumfoundation.org/devcon/

We talk to Ning Kuang from the Open Source Technology Center @ Microsoft about their efforts to get Cloud Foundry running on Azure.

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode143.mp3

Blog: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/general-availability-of-cloud-foundry-and-preview-access-of-pivotal-cloud-foundry/

Cloud Foundry on Azure GA guidance: https://github.com/cloudfoundry-incubator/bosh-azure-cpi-release/blob/master/docs/guidance.md

Pivotal Cloud Foundry Market Place template: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/partners/pivotal/pivotal-cloud-foundryazure-pcf/

Sujit talks to Anton Babadjanov, a PM in the Azure team, about API Management. He walks us through the history of the service, what is available today and what's to come tomorrow.

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode142.mp3

API Management blog: http://aka.ms/apimblog

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/AzureApiMgmt
http://www.twitter.com/antonbaa

Extra:
API Management screencasts: http://aka.ms/apimvideos

Other updates:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/announcing-mysql-in-app-preview-for-web-apps
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/azure-devtest-labs-auto-shutdown-notification
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/public-preview-microsoft-cognitive-services-computer-vision-api-and-academic-knowledge-api
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/event-hubs-in-the-azure-portal

Cale, Russell and Sujit talk to Katrien De Grave, a Microsoft Azure TSP from Belgium. She de-mystifies App Service Environments (ASE) for us.

The landing page for ASE info: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/app-service-app-service-environments-readme/ - also contains a list of all ASE articles which are sometimes hard to find in the navigation bar
My twitter: @katriendg
My blog: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/katriend/

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode141.mp3

Other updates:

PowerShell is open sourced and is available on Linux
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/powershell-is-open-sourced-and-is-available-on-linux/

Azure Government Blog: Introduction & highlights
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-government-blog-introduction-highlights/

Azure SQL Database Threat Detection, your built-in security expert
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-sql-database-threat-detection-your-built-in-security-expert/

Portal support for Azure Search blob and table indexers now in preview
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/portal-support-for-azure-search-blob-and-table-indexers-now-in-preview/

Service Bus messaging in the Azure portal
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/service-bus-messaging-in-the-new-azure-portal/

Evan and Cale talk to Kevin Lam, a Principal Program Manager in the Azure product team, about Logic Apps.

Blog: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/logicapps

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevinlam_msft

            https://twitter.com/logicappsio

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode140.mp3

Other updates:

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/appserviceteam/2016/08/11/introducing-a-quicker-mobile-app-quickstart/

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/improved-linux-support-and-other-enhancements/

The guys chat with Casey Watson, an Architect in the AzureCAT team, about his work building cloud apps that span multiple clouds. 

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode139.mp3

https://github.com/caseywatson/mantle

Other updates:

Microsoft: a Gartner cloud computing leader across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-a-gartner-cloud-computing-leader-across-iaas-paas-saas/

Visual Studio Team Services digest: August 2016
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/visual-studio-team-services-digest-august-2016/

Application Insights: Track an Analytics query in a dashboard
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/application-insights-track-an-analytics-query-in-a-dashboard/

Azure N-Series preview availability
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-n-series-preview-availability/

Azure SQL Database new premium performance level P15 generally available
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/sql-database-p15-general-availability/