It is still quite popular in India too though but it has been on s slight decline for the past 3-4 years.
Telcos are still advertising this feature mostly through unsolicited, automated calls. They call you up, play a list of songs and ask you to press an appropriate number to set a song as your "ringback tone". The thing with this is that a large percentage of mobile users are senior citizens and such calls often confuse them to the point where they inadvertently end up pressing a random number on the phone. Voila! The "ringback tone" is set and the telco can start changing for this on the monthly bills. I have a feeling that this entire thing is intentional.
UPDATE: Sept. 30, 2016, 12:51 a.m. IST WhatsApp has issued a new statement in which it says it "will" comply with the order from the Delhi High Court. A WhatsApp spokesman said, “WhatsApp will comply with the order from the Delhi High Court. We plan to proceed with the privacy policy and terms update in accordance with the Court’s order. The Court’s emphasis on the importance of user choice and consent is encouraging.”
I can't say for other countries but in India there is a huge market for homeopathy. The main reason for this is that homeopathic concoctions (you can't seriously call them medicines) are dirt cheap, even by Indian standards. So for many with limited incomes that is the first option when they fall sick. The second is the availability of self-proclaimed homeopathic practitioners. Books on homeopathy are readily available and cost little. So it is quite easy for people read up these books and start a part-time job dispensing these concoctions. And finally, Indian society, as a whole, inherently has a lot of belief in alternative systems of medicine such as ayurveda, unani, naturopathy and homeopathy. This might be because these systems either existed in India or became popular before mainstream/modern medicine.
Bonus Fact: Many Indians use the term "allopathy" when referring to conventional medicine. Not sure how widespread this usage is across the world.
That is the first thing that comes to mind....those buying these products usually have their own reliable sources to ensure that they are get what they pay for. So a huge challenge would be to identify the points in the chain where they can introduce these printed ones. And if someone does identify such points it would be more, easier, prudent and ethical to inform the authorities instead.
When there are only a handful of websites(with deep pockets) which can be accessed by "lots of people in India too poor to pay for internet", what is the guarantee that their offerings are unbiased and comparable to those offered though the open internet? What is the guarantee that this wouldn't lead to cartelization?
Here are a couple of hypothetical scenarios:
I create a website which propagates falsehoods about Pastafarians. I tie up with the ISPs to allow free access to my website. Lots of people start fanatically believing everything that they read on my website since they do not have access to other websites which offer unbiased opinions.
I create an app for transferring money. For each transaction I deduct a certain amount for my services but my app itself can be accessed for free. People end up paying for each transaction even though there might be other apps(not tied up with ISPs) which transfer money without any extra charges. In fact, a certain percentage of people won't even know that other alternatives exist.
Regarding the codes, Google says "Keep them someplace accessible, like your wallet. Each code can be used only once."
So, under the burning house scenario:
1. If you are inside your house, I would suggest getting out of the house ASAP. Google codes are the least your worries at that point.
2. If you are out...well, I hope you have Tyler Durden's number handy.
That's where the pre-generated pass-codes come into the picture. You can print out a bunch of those, keep them somewhere safe and use them when you cannot access your phone.
...that will ultimately end up where it started - the research lab. And in the meantime we mostly continue guzzling traditional fuel with the exception of a few EVs (with an admittedly fringe popularity).
Pacemakers have been around for sometime but they aren't the devices that the article is talking about. While some pacemakers are programmable, they are not "smart stimulators that monitor the body for signs of trouble and fire when necessary".
The article is from The Economic Times which is part of The Times Group. And as most Indian readers know, content from The Times Group isn't really well-known for grammar and accuracy.
1. The existing high-profile customer base across industry domains which demonstrate high-availability, security, scalability and all the other attributes that organizations look for when choosing a database
2. Vendor lock-in due to the myriad Oracle-owner applications that are strewn across an organization's IT landscape
3. IT implementers who keep pushing technologies offered by the big-ticket ERP vendors such as SAP and Oracle
4. The technical support that Oracle provides for its installations
From the quoted article:
"One reason the parchments have languished since then is their idiosyncrasy. They tell of people and places absent not just from Polo’s narrative but from known history. And they’re an awkward fit for the era’s known map styles—Portolan sailing charts, the grids and projections of Ptolemy, and the medieval schematics known as mappae mundi"
Looks like this too will ultimately be attributed to bored late-Medieval period pranksters.
Adding more to the complexity that Hinduism already is:
In many cases it is difficult to separate religious services from cultural occasions. For example, Hindu festivals such as Diwali and Holi have their origins in religion and in more traditional families they are celebrated with associated religious rituals. But most Hindus celebrate them merely as cultural occasions with Indians from other religions often joining in.
So I still contend: it's not very fair to gloat about ISRO making it on the first try *now* vs other first-failures, when the other first-failures were so long ago.
What about Yinghuo-1 and Nozomi? They were pretty recent missions which failed, 2011 and 2003 respectively.
And why not split it into a few more fragments for other terrorist/militant/organised crime/separatist groups across the world. There would be some collateral damage. But then who cares as long our countries are safe, eh?
Why cannot we force all websites and services to comply with a common password complexity rule?
There is a wide variation in the rules that phone companies, banks, utilities and various online services enforce when I create passwords. As a consequence, it becomes difficult to decide on a password-generating algorithm to create and remember passwords across these websites/services.
So, coming back to the question, can we not have a standard password complexity rule which every website/service has to stick to?
Instead of those irritating, little info boxes near the password field listing different passwords rules for different websites, we could have a URL pointing to the standard password rules which in turn would be maintained by an independent organisation.
Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/927/
What propels the spacecraft(please excuse my ignorance but then I am not a rocketeer) and how do we know that we have enough of the stuff to complete its manoeuvres?
Also, what happens if the results of Step#5 do not turn out to be too positive. Do you have any alternate plans of using it for some other purpose...maybe crash-land it into the nearest planet/comet/moon while it keeps transmitting atmospheric measurements?
Slashdot Mirror
It is still quite popular in India too though but it has been on s slight decline for the past 3-4 years. Telcos are still advertising this feature mostly through unsolicited, automated calls. They call you up, play a list of songs and ask you to press an appropriate number to set a song as your "ringback tone". The thing with this is that a large percentage of mobile users are senior citizens and such calls often confuse them to the point where they inadvertently end up pressing a random number on the phone. Voila! The "ringback tone" is set and the telco can start changing for this on the monthly bills. I have a feeling that this entire thing is intentional.
UPDATE: Sept. 30, 2016, 12:51 a.m. IST WhatsApp has issued a new statement in which it says it "will" comply with the order from the Delhi High Court. A WhatsApp spokesman said, “WhatsApp will comply with the order from the Delhi High Court. We plan to proceed with the privacy policy and terms update in accordance with the Court’s order. The Court’s emphasis on the importance of user choice and consent is encouraging.”
...if the newspaper ads in India, when it had a stopover here, are any indication.
Bonus Fact: Many Indians use the term "allopathy" when referring to conventional medicine. Not sure how widespread this usage is across the world.
That is the first thing that comes to mind....those buying these products usually have their own reliable sources to ensure that they are get what they pay for. So a huge challenge would be to identify the points in the chain where they can introduce these printed ones. And if someone does identify such points it would be more, easier, prudent and ethical to inform the authorities instead.
Regarding the codes, Google says "Keep them someplace accessible, like your wallet. Each code can be used only once." So, under the burning house scenario: 1. If you are inside your house, I would suggest getting out of the house ASAP. Google codes are the least your worries at that point. 2. If you are out...well, I hope you have Tyler Durden's number handy.
That's where the pre-generated pass-codes come into the picture. You can print out a bunch of those, keep them somewhere safe and use them when you cannot access your phone.
...that will ultimately end up where it started - the research lab. And in the meantime we mostly continue guzzling traditional fuel with the exception of a few EVs (with an admittedly fringe popularity).
Pacemakers have been around for sometime but they aren't the devices that the article is talking about. While some pacemakers are programmable, they are not "smart stimulators that monitor the body for signs of trouble and fire when necessary".
the Reykjavik Confessions
The article is from The Economic Times which is part of The Times Group. And as most Indian readers know, content from The Times Group isn't really well-known for grammar and accuracy.
Turns out the police certificate was forged.
1. The existing high-profile customer base across industry domains which demonstrate high-availability, security, scalability and all the other attributes that organizations look for when choosing a database
2. Vendor lock-in due to the myriad Oracle-owner applications that are strewn across an organization's IT landscape
3. IT implementers who keep pushing technologies offered by the big-ticket ERP vendors such as SAP and Oracle
4. The technical support that Oracle provides for its installations
From the quoted article: "One reason the parchments have languished since then is their idiosyncrasy. They tell of people and places absent not just from Polo’s narrative but from known history. And they’re an awkward fit for the era’s known map styles—Portolan sailing charts, the grids and projections of Ptolemy, and the medieval schematics known as mappae mundi" Looks like this too will ultimately be attributed to bored late-Medieval period pranksters.
Adding more to the complexity that Hinduism already is: In many cases it is difficult to separate religious services from cultural occasions. For example, Hindu festivals such as Diwali and Holi have their origins in religion and in more traditional families they are celebrated with associated religious rituals. But most Hindus celebrate them merely as cultural occasions with Indians from other religions often joining in.
So I still contend: it's not very fair to gloat about ISRO making it on the first try *now* vs other first-failures, when the other first-failures were so long ago.
What about Yinghuo-1 and Nozomi? They were pretty recent missions which failed, 2011 and 2003 respectively.
https://what-if.xkcd.com/94/
And why not split it into a few more fragments for other terrorist/militant/organised crime/separatist groups across the world. There would be some collateral damage. But then who cares as long our countries are safe, eh?
Why cannot we force all websites and services to comply with a common password complexity rule? There is a wide variation in the rules that phone companies, banks, utilities and various online services enforce when I create passwords. As a consequence, it becomes difficult to decide on a password-generating algorithm to create and remember passwords across these websites/services. So, coming back to the question, can we not have a standard password complexity rule which every website/service has to stick to? Instead of those irritating, little info boxes near the password field listing different passwords rules for different websites, we could have a URL pointing to the standard password rules which in turn would be maintained by an independent organisation. Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/927/
6. Send commands to fire engine.
What propels the spacecraft(please excuse my ignorance but then I am not a rocketeer) and how do we know that we have enough of the stuff to complete its manoeuvres? Also, what happens if the results of Step#5 do not turn out to be too positive. Do you have any alternate plans of using it for some other purpose...maybe crash-land it into the nearest planet/comet/moon while it keeps transmitting atmospheric measurements?
...is it more effective than the ADE 651?
This is precisely the reason why we will never know who Satoshi Nakamoto is.