Google Go

By way of Slashdot, I came across the Go Programming Language. I also came across a rumor that Google is discouraging the use of Python for new projects. I had considered Python to have an advantage over Ruby because of Google's sponsorship. Now, when I see an announcement for support of Go in Google App Engine, I'll have to start learning it. Too bad the acronym YAPL is already taken up a few ways, since this is yet another programming language.

Google apps for client documents?

Over on Slashdot someone posted a question on whether he should accede to his lawyer clients' desire to just use Google Apps for docs and email.

I have been a system administrator and a security consultant. There's a couple of questions one needs to ask oneself before making such a move:

1. How bad would it be for me if one of my documents or emails became public? Or, specifically, they got into the worst possible hands? What's my risk?
2. What are the likely consequences to my service provider if that happens? What's their incentive to keep my data secure?
3. What measures are available to me to secure my data? What will it cost me to secure my data?
4. Who has access to my data?

I don't even talk about threats, here. Whatever they may tell you, your service provider is a big black box to you, and you don't know about all the holes in that box.

As a system administrator, I had access to any data on our systems. Temptation.

Information security is about making your data cost more to access than it is worth to the person trying to steal it.

Google Apps Annoyances

I made the mistake of installing Google Calendar Sync. Now, any time I try to create a new event, it complains that I have exceeded the number of edits I'm allowed. Funny how these productivity enhancing tools eat up more time than if I never bothered with them.

The other annoyance is Google Notebook. I guess they intended it for little snippets, because I often find that the note I'm editing loses focus in the middle of my typing.