Kubernetes An Open Source Container Cluster Manager

Based on Google's experience running Linux containers within Google, they have designed and released Kubernetes, An Open Source Container Cluster Manager. Google says that they use Omega within Google, but you and I have more modest needs. So to fill the gap / need, Kubernetes a lean yet powerful open-source container manager was released. The cluster manager deploy containers into a fleet of machines, provides health management and replication capabilities, and makes it easy for containers to connect to one another and the outside world.
(For the curious, Kubernetes (koo-ber-nay'-tace) is Greek for “helmsman” of a ship.)

According to Google:
"Kubernetes was developed from the outset to be an extensible, community-supported project. Take a look at the source and documentation on GitHub and let us know what you think via our mailing list. We’ll continue to build out the feature set, while collaborating with the Docker community to incorporate the best ideas from Kubernetes into Docker."

Via Google

nogotofail, A Tools From Google To Test And Secure SSL.

Google's Android Security Team has built and for a while has been using a tool, called nogotofail, to verify that the devices or applications them and us using are safe against known TLS/SSL vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. Nogotofail works for most OS' in the use today like, Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, Chrome OS, OSX, basically any device you use today to connect to the Internet. nogotofail also comes with an easy-to-use client to configure the settings and get notifications on Android and Linux. There is an attack engine which can be deployed as a router, VPN server, or proxy.

To make TLS/SSL more secure and usable, Google released the tool as an open source project.OSS brings best of the industry together and makes projects like these even more versatile. Thanks to Google and the Android Security team, now anyone can test their applications, contribute new features, provide support for more platforms, and help improve the security of the Internet. Getting started instructions are here.

Google Online Security Blog: Introducing nogotofail—a network traffic security testing tool

Google's BulletProof Two-Factor Authentication Bypassed To Hack Into An Instagram Account.

Even though it is not due to any fault on the Google side, two factor authentication has been hacked using a cell phone carrier. (Yet Google should have a better way to resolve issues like these.).

It looks like pretty simple to hack, Provided that the hackers have your phone number and the email address.
Call the phone company, tell your phone is in the drink and to forward your phone number to a new number.
Then issues password change at Google, the authentication is sent to the new phone # and viola, password is changed and hackers have access to your Google account. Google and anything else connected to the Google account could be changed from this point onward.
It all came to light when a developer, Grant Blakeman, informed about his Instagram account getting hacked via Gmail, which in turn was protected by two-factor authentication. He posted his ordeal on ello | GB, and we are not very happy about the incident nor the takeaway. But one thing we took away is is that he is still using Google two factor authentication, but using an app instead of text to receive the authentication code. WIth all the faults, it is still better to use two factor authentication.

As for instagram (read below), if you do not have friends at high places, and if your account is hacked, you are hosed.

Resolution and Learned Lessons, from Grant Blakeman
Cell Phones 
As you might imagine, my cell phone provider was fairly non-plussed about the ordeal. They assured me I wouldn't be responsible for any charges to my account I didn't authorize, but also assured me that no one but me could make changes to my account. Ironic, I know. 
The takeaway: It is possible to add a voice authorization code to your account that the CSR is supposed to prompt from you to ensure changes can only be made to the account by you. I added that code and you should too. It's likely it may not have helped, but it's something. 
Google 
This one is still a black box to me. I can't find a way to report the incident to Google, and my cynicism tells me they deal with this kind of stuff enough that they wouldn't provide me with much information or resolution even if I could. I've since re-enabled two-factor auth, and I use an app to retrieve the authorization codes instead of texts. 
The takeaway: My Instagram account was tied to an email that was basically my name. That was probably a mistake. I have other public email addresses, so I'm not sure how someone would have known it was my Gmail account they should go after, but it probably wasn't hard to figure out. I've since moved all important accounts that allow password reset emails to a different address that does not contain my name, you might want to consider doing that too. 
Instagram 
Initially Instagram's support sent me an email saying that they could not verify that I had ever owned the @gb account in the first place (despite the fact that they had made me a Suggested User to Follow for a time) and would not be able to take any further action. Bummer. 
Thankfully, some friends in high places did some digging and prodding and an Instagram team member got in touch with me personally and worked to restore my username and account. In the end, I really appreciate their effort and kindness.

Lodsys '565 Patent, 24 Claims Rejected : Non-Final Office Action

The patent troll that have been haunting app developers on both iOS and Android platforms, Lodsys has received first office action. Four independent claims and 20 dependent claims have been rejected leaving zero independent claims and 8 dependent claims.
The USPTO (The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) granted the reexamination of two Lodsys patents challenged by Google and has issued a first office action on the '565 patent.. Four independent and 24 dependent claims challenged by Google, the USPTO has rejected all four independent claims and 20 of the 24 dependent claims in this patent.
Earlier, USPTO rejected 28 claims of the other patent of Lodsys challenged, the '078.
You can read about all the legal stuff about this case at Groklaw, where they take confusion out of simple facts like "rejection of claims" whether it is Google's claim or the claims associated with the patent.

260MW, Is What It Takes To Power Google!

Google has given us a bunch of firsts over the years and now has become the first Internet giant to let us know how much power it uses. Those servers, computers and everything else uses 260MW continuously.
With all the major companies in the world, Google has stepped up to reveal how much energy it needs to run it's engines, big and small. In addition to providing you and me with mind blowing numbers, these figures also shed light on how much the the massive expansion of Internet is affecting the global power usage, thus helping policy makers and other people involved in understanding the facts.
The 260MW power used by Google in it's entirety is enough to power a small city of about 200,000 homes and most of this energy is used in it's data centers. This is after all the efforts Google has employed to reduce power usage. Like custom build data centers that uses various methods to increase efficiency.
Google's Data center in Finland uses sea water to cool it's innards cutting down on electricity usage. Over all, according to a professor at Stanford University, J.Koomey, Google is relatively energy efficient and uses only 1% of electricity for it's data centers worldwide. Google owns about 3% servers world wide.

It has abother side as well, companies hosting their email with GMail, or in the cloud, saves and as much as 80% energy efficient than running an in house system.
Google also reported that it uses as much as 25% energy from renewable sources and plans to increase it to 30% this year.
Official Google Blog: How our cloud does more with less

Oracle - Google Android Lawsuit Surfacing Interesting Facts. Open Source Java!

It is fascinating to read about this lawsuit. In an email by Android boss Andy Rubin to Google's Sergey, Larry Page and some other Googlers, reveals that Google could have had an annual Java license for $100 million and the group agreed to decline it. If ever Oracle manages to get a injunction over Android, costs of getting a new license will be million folds of the 100 million.
Another fact that coming out is the SUN proposed  a Redhat style Android distribution with Open Source Java. Yes hind sight is 20/20 but it is not too late to learn more about these facts.It IS fascinating.
Read more at FOSS Patents.

Protecting Users From Malware Using Knowledge Gained From Data

You may have seen an unusual sign if you visited Google recently, like in the image above. That is Google and power of data acting together with security engineers to protect you.

If you see the message, your machine is infected with a strange variant on malware.

Google was able to detect that computers infected with this strain of malware is sending traffic to Google via a set of proxy servers.

Google expect to help out users with eradicating these malware by warning users when traffic is coming from these proxies. Users are directed to a special help page to work with antivirus software to remove infections.

So far this is what Google / we know about these infections;

• The malware appears to have gotten onto users' computers from one of roughly a hundred variants of fake antivirus, or "fake AV" software that has been in circulation for a while. We aren't aware of a common name for the malware.
• We believe a couple million machines are affected by this malware.
• We've heard from a number of you that you're thinking about the potential for an attacker to copy our notice and attempt to point users to a dangerous site instead. It's a good security practice to be cautious about the links you click, so the spirit of those comments is spot-on. We thought about this, too, which is why the notice appears only at the top of our search results page. Falsifying the message on this page would require prior compromise of that computer, so the notice is not a risk to additional users.
• In the meantime, we've been able to successfully warn hundreds of thousands of users that their computer is infected. These are people who otherwise may never have known.

Official Google Blog: Using data to protect people from malware

Final Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour, An Epic Feat.

 After 30 years of triumph and tragedy, NASA’s space shuttle era is drawing to a close as Space Shuttle Endeavour took it's last flight. Then again Youtube, Google PBS News hour and NASA is presenting you with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a part of this special moment.YOU can ask NASA Crew Questions for a LIVE Interview From Space. Follow the link after the video.

PBS Newshour at Youtube

Fly With Google! Google Purchases ITA For $700 Million

Google just announced about its purchase of ITA, a Cambridge, Massachusetts based Flight information provider for to airlines, travel agencies, and online reservation systems. Basically, it is the center of flight data.

A consortium of rivals including Microsoft, Kayak, Expedia, and Travelport; has tried to stop Google from getting it's hands on ITA by trying to beat Googles offer, last spring. But Google’s $700 million was bigger than theirs, I guess. Microsoft, Kayak, Expedia, and Travelport rely on ITA for their flight data needs.

"ITA's very talented team has created an impressive product to organize flight information," said Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google. "Their technology opens exciting possibilities for us to create new ways for users to more easily find flight information online, and we're looking forward to welcoming them to Google."

"It is a privilege to work with a most skilled and dedicated team to build innovative technologies that people use every day," said Jeremy Wertheimer, CEO & President, ITA Software, Inc. "We are all looking forward to continuing and expanding our efforts as part of Google."

Official Google Blog: Taking off with ITA

Google Holodeck For Streetview

Google HOLODECK revealed at recent Google IO in San Francisco.

Tags: google, holodeck, streetview

Safe Web Practices With Googles "Browser Security Handbook"

Web Browsers, Firefox, Opra, Chrome, IE are part of our day to day lives now. We even look at our phones through tiny browsers and make sure that the new phone has one.
Some people fight for browsers and some make them, better, safer everyday. Developers and webmasters try hard to keep up with challenges of being compatible with all the browsers. There are lot of camps of browser alliances and I belong to a few of them! I use Chrome and Firefox most of the time.
But this is about safe web practices, with the help of Google security folks, who have written a handbook for general public, users and developers alike!. Thanks G.
"In hopes of helping to make the Web a safer place, we decided to release our Browser Security Handbook to the general public. This 60-page document provides a comprehensive comparison of a broad set of security features and characteristics in commonly used browsers, along with (hopefully) useful commentary and implementation tips for application developers who need to rely on these mechanisms, as well as engineering teams working on future browser-side security enhancements."
Google Online Security Blog: Announcing "Browser Security Handbook"

Tags: web browser, google, Browser Security Handbook, Google security

Google Goes To Macworld 2009

Google has gone to Macworld bringing with it the Picasa debut for the Mac OS X. But Google Mobile, Geo, & YouTube also came for the ride. But I like this on my iPhone!

Official Google Mac Blog: Macworld Has Arrived

Too bad no more Macworld!

Tags: google, Macworld, iPhone

Gmail Themes!

If you thought that Gmail interface was boring, now you can rejoice and color your Gmail with new themes! The Gmail team has released more than 30 themes ranging from a shiny theme with chrome styling, to one that turns your inbox into a retro notepad. In between there are nature themes that change scenery over time, weather driven themes that can rain on your mailbox, and fun characters to keep you in good company. But I like the old school ascii theme (Terminal).
To customize your inbox, go to the Themes tab under Settings. I am holding on to ASCII theme for now!

Tags: google, gmail, gmail themes

Getting Your Content On Google! Or How To Ride The Google Bus.

pic by Ana Belén Ramón

If you thought that in it's mission to organize the world's content would take you to the web heaven. Yes it would but you need to get on the bus somewhere. No you really don't have to pay to get on the bus if you know what you are doing and how to do it.
So how do I get to know how to?
Don't be alarmed, Google in it's wisdom, have added two new sites to help you with the task. You can visit the Submit Your Content site of course to submit your stuff and the new Content Central blog and the first post!
Both these resources from Google will aid you getting on the Google Bus via Google Web Search, Maps, Product Search, Book Search, YouTube, iGoogle and more. Once you are in, you can learn about SEO and get a window seat and be more visible.
info via Official Google Blog

Tags: Google Bus, SEO, Google, Google Web Search, Maps, Product Search, Book Search, YouTube, iGoogle

Google Had A Third Developer / Founder?

Yes me too, I was taking some course during that time too! Anyway I already own some of those those wonderful stocks! But Hupert Chang seems not to!, who claims Google was designed by Larry Page, Sergey Brin and him in February 1997
I am in no way to say anything but to point you to the source! blogoscoped!

Tags: google, Pagerank, larry Page, Sergey Brin

Google Chrome, Leave M$ and Enter the Gworld

If you were wondering if Google's Chrome is just a part of a browser war, I think you got it wrong. It is what most desktop application providers like M$ dread, it is a path to liberation of web applications. The design of the program, which is open source and that includes a Java script engine that is geared towards faster and safer web applications. The Java Script engine will provide offline access and local storage for Web applications, is also embedded in the browser.
So where is Google going with this browser? I would think this is a part of Google's Microsoft Killer. So why don't you down load and test the Beta Chrome! This post is created using the Chrome.

Google We Need Force Feedback Street Views!

View Larger Map
If you like cycling, then I am sure you love the "Tour De France", the exhilarating bicycle race through the France. Since every one is not capable of visiting France to watch the race, we all used to watch it on the TV.
Now thanks to Google Street View, you can take a tour of the Tour De France! You can actually be on the road, alas you cannot feel it. Google We Need Force Feedback Street Views!

Official Google Blog: Tour the Tour de France with Street View

Tags: google, google maps, google street view, tour de France

Google On Privacy Center Link And A Whole Lot!

Google has changed its homepage, which you may have seen already from various Save as Draftwebsites reporting. Now Google is providing a link to its “Privacy Center” on the homepage, ending one of the big privacy and beauty dramas, we were playing for a while!.
I hope this will chill some people now!

Official Google Blog: What comes next in this series? 13, 33, 53, 61, 37, 28...

Tags: privacy, Google, Google Privacy Center

(Jump) Start Your Career At Google Mailroom

If you ever dreamed of getting a job delivering, handling or anything to do with postman, now it is time to make that dream come true. Gmail is saying;
Official Gmail Blog: We're hiring
Start At Your Career At Google Mailroom

Updated:
Since more people seems to be lost at finding the directions (Just click on the header line) I am posting more info on the hiring part.
You can learn more and apply on new gmail hiring page.
Current openings are;

• Rapid Prototyper
• Analytics Engineer
• Software Engineer
• User Interface Software Engineer

tag: google, gmail, Google Jobs

Microsoft's top lawyer Cries Foul, On Yahoo Google Ad tests.

It seems Microsoft's top lawyer does not like Yahoo and Google getting cozy, He on Thursday warned that any deal between Yahoo and Google would hurt competition. WOw! This coming from a company that has been sighted as a monopoly!

"Any definitive agreement between Yahoo and Google would consolidate over 90 percent of the search-advertising market in Google's hands. This would make the market far less competitive, in contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo," Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said in a statement.

The statement follows reports that Yahoo is considering a limited test of using Google to deliver some search advertising.

Smith said Microsoft will "assess closely all of our options." Microsoft is looking and even threatening to purchase Yahoo!

Iread it at CNET.

tag: M$, Yahoo, google, Yahoo google ad deal, proposal to acquire Yahoo,