Take a Look Inside Google’s Data Centers

As part of an effort to build appreciation for how it actually runs online services like search, Google is showing off its massive computing resources.

Google only rarely gives outsiders a look at its data centers, but today it's trying to make up for lost time with a large online photo gallery and Street View tour of the computing hardware.

The company launched a new site, "Where the Internet Lives" with a lot of eye candy for people who enjoy racks of computer gear, raised-floor ventilation systems, multicolored cables, and massive air-conditioning chillers. Urs Hoelzle, Google's senior vice president for technical infrastructure, announced the site in a blog post today.

Here are some of the best shots I collected while roaming through Google's various data centers.

Google data centers use color-coded pipes to indicate what they are used for. The cycle is a mode of transport within the building.

The Matrix feeling, anyone? 

A Google center is incomplete without an Android model!

And Star Troopers!!!

All damaged hard-disks are destroyed within the center.

There is no denying that the data centers look extremely beau-ti-ful. Check them out for yourself and you may find something really beautiful.

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RailRadar : Spot Your Train in Real Time!

“Introducing RailRadar, where you can Map Your Trains Live ! On RailRadar you can not only find the latest train status, but also find nearby trains, see routes on maps, stops, and much more... as our trains make their journey through various parts of our glorious nation.”

RaiYatri.in on Facebook

The Centre for Railway Information Service (CRIS) has announced a new web application called RailRadar, which allows users to access location of a train on Map and track movements of trains on a real-time basis. The new RailRadar service is considered to be an improved version of the earlier tracking system ‘Spot Your Train’.

The RailRadar application has been jointly developed by CRIS and RailYatri team (Stelling Technologies) . The web app will help users find the exact geographical location of 6,500 passenger trains of the Indian Railways on Google Maps on a real time basis. Users can also access RailRadar service from their mobile phones, via the device's browser.

This move is certainly welcome on one of the largest rail networks in the world -- it operates more than 10,000 trains everyday. To find out where your train is, simply search for its name or number and RailRadar will spot it for you. You can also find trains by entering the name of the station. Blue highlights indicate trains that are on time while red means it's behind schedule. If you click on a train, it'll show its entire route from start to finish. 

RailRadar project is currently in a pilot mode and is expected to become a permanent feature in the coming months. The logical next step would be for this to be on smartphones via a dedicated app, though I don't think that's on the cards just yet.

This is a great move by the Indian Railways. It will help the millions of the daily travelers. Although how precise is the displayed information is yet to be seen. Check out there web app at http://railradar.trainenquiry.com.