As reported in multiple places, including here and here, this seems to be due to an issue with Cloudstrike which is causing BSODs in Windows machines. The Tech Alert posted on the Cloudstrike website (accessible only if you have a Cloudstike login) provides a workaround which involves deleting files matching “C-00000291*.sys” from the Windows system directory.

Meanwhile, the world continues to marvel at the irony of a cybersecurity company taking down the systems around the world due to a botched update.

Reading through the linked article, I find this line - "As of April 2024, it is believed the manual intervention needed for the bank reconciliation process is costing the council £250,000 per month." This seems to indicate that they went for a pure Oracle ERP "out of the box" implementation without actually checking whether they would need some sort of a PaaS solution to handle the gaps in the "out of the box" features. Any mid-to-large sized Oracle ERP implementation invariably needs a PaaS layer to handle all of the requirements that the standard features do not support. I wonder what the reason was for not planning for a PaaS layer?

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.

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).