Kubernetes has some impressive baked-in role based access controls (RBAC). These controls allow administrators to define nuanced permissions when querying Kubernetes resources, like Pods, Deployments, ReplicaSets, etc. For those familiar with Kubernetes, the value of RBAC is immediately recognizable. A single Kubernetes cluster can contain your organization’s entire CI/CD pipeline, highly available SaaS products, or infrastructure that is in the process of being moved to the cloud.

Technologies build on other technologies to compound growth. It’s no coincidence that of the companies with the highest market capitalization within the US, the first non-tech company is the eighth one down: Berkshire Hathaway. Nor is it a coincidence that tech startups can take their valuation into the 10 digits in a flash on the backs of other tech companies. This pace of growth can only be afforded by the innovation of new technology.

I was going through a row of photography books in an antique store when I got a call from Bucky Moore, our lead investor and a board member. “Let me know if you need anything from me. This is getting serious,” he said. He seemed concerned. It was Sunday, March 22nd, right after the shelter in place order went in effect here in California. The next day, COVID-19 was no longer just in the news, it was everywhere.

“Ev, do you have time later today to discuss the new web GUI for the command line terminal?” said the Slack message. It came from Alex, our user experience chief and the product in question is the SSH client. Part of me was worried. The command line environment had a sanctuary where I found peace and happiness away from the world of browser-based tools.

Let’s have a look at two popular ways of opening remote shells: the good ol’ ssh and its modern counterpart, kubectl exec. Below, I will only look at the “kubectl exec” subcommand and its friends. kubectl itself is a swiss-army knife for all things Kubernetes. Comparing all of it to ssh is like comparing systemd to BSD init. Also, I will use “SSH” to mean “OpenSSH”, which is the de-facto standard for SSH protocol implementation.

Did you know that in the United States, the Social Security Number was never intended to become the defacto method for physical identification? On its surface, this may come as a shock given how ubiquitously SSNs are used for this exact reason, but looking beneath the surface, we find that SSNs are terrible forms of identification. Ignoring the security concerns of a nine digit numeric code, an SSN is not for universal identification.

Just like how computers use trusted third parties and chains of trust to connect with one another, organizations use (admittedly much slower and more human powered) authoritative standards organizations (AICPA) and certified audit firms to create a trust system between organizations.

Designing software is tough. Whether you’re a designer, a product manager, or an engineer, we all play a major role in what the end user gets their hands on. Perhaps one of the most critical pieces on the journey to making great software is the relationship between designers and developers. When software is done right, it’s easy, intuitive, and a joy to use. This is no accident - it’s very intentional and it often takes countless iterations to get products to look and feel great.

The modern human likely has profiles on dozens of applications. Whether it’s social media applications, music/video streaming, or workspace resources, each of us must manage accounts that contain personal information. Over time, these siloed applications have become increasingly connected. Twitter allows news sites to directly tweet, Discord searches Facebook for suggested friends, and Jira creates user accounts using Github profiles.