So you’d rather be in a forest with a mali than in one with a bear?

1. Different countries use different technologies and bands, so you’ll need to check what works in your country.

2. If you want a cheap phone with long support and just want to text, call, and be able to hot spot, your options are either getting a used (or old) flagship (better specs and build quality, fewer years of support) or getting a new entry-level phone (lower specs and build quality, but longer support).

For used flagships, I would suggest older models of Sony or OnePlus. Fairphone or Pixel would have longer support in theory, but the specs and build quality are worse so this rarely matters.

For new entry-level phones, I would suggest Xiaomi’s Redmi or Poco lines. The UI is bad, but specs are good and they are less locked down than most other companies. If you want a better UI, try Nokia / HMD but be prepared for worse specs. Avoid Samsung like the plague.

I’ve heard Google use Debian as gLinux and I feel many other giants also use it and sponsor it and I’m not comfortable choosing it as my distro.

They use Debian for the same reason all heavy industry is built using steel and not whatever flashy new composite is in the news today. It works. Debian is slightly harder than Ubuntu / Mint to install and set-up, but probably the easiest to maintain since it is extremely stable and forgiving. It will also work on just about any hardware.

And don’t worry about the sponsorships. Debian is run by the community; the sponsers don’t get to decide anything.

Yeah, it’s a political compromise. Not what’s best for the students. At most the school could have offered you Urdu instead of Hindi, since it uses a modified Arabic script and has a few Arabic words.

It’s still ‘Hyderabad’, by the way! Thankfully the religious nutcases haven’t won elections in that state.

India - local language, English and Hindi

(Language is a controversial issue in India, and the present situation is more a political compromise than what’s most useful, with many rules and exceptions, and some states / schools simply ignoring the whole compromise altogether.)

Sorry, my bad. So these people are software funding agencies?

While this is great, aren’t wealth funds required to get a return on investment? How does that work here?

The system in my country is that the QR code is meant to be public, and contains either your mobile number, or if you want to hide that, a UPI ID (which you can set and can be a random alphanumeric string). But having access to a person’s QR only lets you send money to them. The payment verification happens between the sender and the central database, on behalf of the sender’s bank, and can be done using a PIN / OTP.

For example, I go to a shop and buy sweets. The shopkeeper would have their QR code displayed prominently throughout the shop. I scan it to get their phone number / UPI ID, and then tell the app to send them so many rupees. The central database asks me to verify the payment. Once I verify, both I and the shopkeeper get an SMS saying x rupees was debited / credited. The app can also store transaction history in case there is any confusion later.

If I’m sending money to a friend, I already know their mobile number, so I can bypass the whole QR business and tell the app to just send money to their number.

See my reply to [email protected].

Thank you, but I’m from India and we’re mostly QR now. Cards exist and a few people use them, but most shops are phasing them out since they have to pay a transaction fee (QR payments are free). SEA and parts of West Asia also use QR, but the systems aren’t interconnected.

But isn’t there an annual service fee?

The way it is implemented in my country, the QR itself is just a standard QR code that tells your phone the recipient’s phone number / upi address. So you could, say, replace a shop’s QR code with yours and get any money customers send them, although it would be pretty easy for the police to find you.

Oh yes I know cards use NFC. My question was about phones.

Yes, you need a phone network, but not internet. Also there is a small charge.

As I said above, the people being forced to sell their dignity are the victims, and need help and rehabilitation. My hatred and disgust are reserved exclusively for those who exploit them, and the economic and social system which enables such behaviour.

Interesting. But why would people get a card if you already have the QR system? Isn’t it more expensive?

That makes sense. I’m in India, and I think most of Asia (except Japan) uses QR.

It can work without internet only for amounts below 2000 rupees, and only if you’ve enabled that option.

The backend is a government system called NPCI. The frontend can be any app that follows the standards laid down by NPCI. This includes Google Pay, Walmart’s Phonepay, SoftBank’s PayTM and NPCI’s own BHIM. Many banks also have their own apps, but most of these are BHIM reskins.

Isn’t the Senate your upper (smaller, less powerful) house? The Opposition Leader is the leader of the biggest opposition party in the lower (larger, more powerful) house.