Category Technology

Meaning and Origin of “Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts”

The phrase “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” is a cautionary expression that advises skepticism when receiving unexpected generosity, especially from a known adversary. It suggests that such gifts may conceal harmful intentions and urges the recipient to look beyond appearances.…

Kubernetes: The platform that keeps containers on course

Kubernetes is an open-source platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. These applications are like lunchboxes for software. They pack everything the app needs (including dependencies and configurations) to run so it works the same no…

The faces, hearts, and symbols that say what we feel

The word emoji comes from Japanese, combining e (絵, “picture”) and moji (文字, “character”). Though it sounds like “emoticon,” the two are unrelated. Emoji refers to pictorial characters, while emoticons are typographic expressions like :–) or :-P. Emoji were first…

The king, the tooth, and the wireless connection

What do wireless earbuds and Vikings have in common? Bluetooth, the wireless technology that connects devices over short distances, owes its name to a 10th-century Danish king. Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson was known for uniting Denmark and parts of Norway, bringing…

Bringing fire to systems monitoring: The story of Prometheus

Prometheus is an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit designed for reliability and scale. Originally developed at SoundCloud, it collects metrics from configured targets at regular intervals, stores them efficiently, and enables powerful queries and real-time alerts. It is widely used…

How Jenkins got its name, why it fits so well

Jenkins is a widely used open-source automation server that streamlines software development by automating tasks such building, testing, and deploying code. It plays an important role in continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), helping teams identify issues early and deliver updates…

Why the ‘Black Box’ can survive plane crashes

The “black box” in airplanes is actually two devices: the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). These record vital flight parameters and crew conversations, helping investigators understand what happened during an accident. Each recorder has specific…