I don't think so. There's a real urgency about this, and any pain involved in migrating is acceptable. It's no longer about money, but about control. Microsoft can keep their agreements, but that doesn't mean the French have to use any of their services or products.

The French have set up an entity for this migration, it produces software and migration services. It has been working on migrating regional governments for quite some time now. It's been entirely voluntary so far, but now we're seeing the new direction.

The French and Germans are also working together on various software projects, which means it's not just French resources and users involved.

Right, let's talk about the paper in question instead. It's based on:

"We draw heavily on data from the Decision Maker Panel in our micro analysis. The DMP is a large and representative monthly online panel survey of UK businesses that we set up in 2016. It is run by the Bank of England in partnership with King’s College London and the University of Nottingham and is supported by funding from the Economic and Social Research Council."

Do you think the Bank of England knows their own economy?

France and Germany are doing it! They both have made a lot of software from scratch (FOSS), and in France they're actively aiding their local governments transition (hands on assistance migrating). It's an extensive collection of applications replacing everything from Teams to Office.

France:
https://code.gouv.fr/en/action...

Germany:
https://www.heise.de/en/news/M...
https://www.opendesk.eu/en

The French and German governments got together to release an open-source Notion alternative called "Docs", which is a collaborative document editor that could potentially replace non-EU platforms like Notion, Confluence, Google Docs, and others.

Physical letter services can be replaced though. In Scandinavia, we have official digital mailboxes for important documents (government and businesses). It's not email, but another type of service.

Only certain types of private businesses (banks, insurance, etc) and government agencies can send you messages. Spammers and scammers are not able to send messages at all.

The mailboxes are free, but operated by private companies. You can only read the messages on the Web, or in the official app. You must use an official digital ID (with two-factor auth), but there are several digital ID platforms available. You're free to pick your own provider, but there are only two or three. There are fees for sending letters, but not for receiving them.

In Russia they jail people for talking about the war. Sometimes they make them apologize on SoMe. Speak badly about any politician and expect even worse; beatings, jail, etc.

Nah, the fund is not used for pensions, but we called it that to keep politicians in line on spending. A reminder if you like. It's for the future and our grandchildren, not today's old people. We have another fund for actual pensions.

We do use the interest from the SWF fund in our national budget, so it's paying for some things today - just not pensions alone.

What country do you live in? Up here in northern Europe, I haven't received a letter in years. Bank statements and bills have been digital for 25 years now. My mailbox is always empty. If we put a certain sticker on our mailboxes it's not legal to put fliers or advertisements in them. The companies respect the law.

Our national postal service stopped delivering mail daily because it had no purpose. They deliver every other weekday now. They're considering stopping deliveries of mail to households altogether and replacing it with post boxes in central locations. We already have pickup points (automated boxes) owned by the postal service, so people are already familiar with it. The elderly can still get their mail delivered weekly though. The postal service is focusing on delivering parcels instead of mail to stay viable.

Small local newspapers have gone digital, but national newspapers still make paper versions. Paperboys still have a route. The elderly can still get their daily paper.

As a man, I mostly see young men doing this. I don't take the bus or train that often, but when I do there's always some young boy playing music loudly. It doesn't even seem to be something they enjoy, it's like they can't stand a single moment of silence.

I know how young people behave now, so it came as no shock when the new people we just hired did exactly the same thing on a recent company trip. I haven't experienced it on international flights though.

I went to my favorite restaurant a few weeks ago. The young couple next to me were done eating by the time I was seated. They pulled out their phones and watched two different videos. Fortunately, they left after a few minutes, but I was ready to leave that table and/or restaurant.

India doesn't need to launch satellites, they have more than enough material to study at home. There are so many "black holes" of corruption!

Funny, as a European, I could say the exact same thing about the US... Heck, I could say that about almost any country, but not my own filthy rich country. We do have a space program though.

No, those kids are not your kids, Mr. American. They don't have the stuff, or live in your type of house. I know Americans and their wasteful lifestyles, their entitled and spoiled kids, the crap they buy, and how they're driving or driven everywhere. I know my American relatives well you see, and they all consume extremely much. When they visit, they're always a bit surprised to see how we live. No Starbucks or McD where I live, we walk everywhere, etc.

Those Portuguese kids probably use a lot less than you and your kids, in every sense, as the average European uses less. Portugal is a pretty poor country as well. Those idealist kids care enough to actually live the lifestyle they preach, they buy little, care for what they have, don't fly, etc. Have you ever taken a bus [as an adult]?

I know similar kids, it's hard to understand for old guys that have everything.

No, cancer is being researched and handled by the government. Unlike cancer, climate change is not being handled sufficiently, according to this lawsuit. This is the responsibility of the governments under existing law.

The kids will gladly study and help find solutions if only the government(s) will do their part. The governments will have to create the financing for the research and jobs that will develop solutions. However, it's the governments that have to write the budgets, laws, and make real changes and reforms in the country. You expect governments to act on known problems, and they're not doing enough.

I don't expect the kids will win, but it's not impossible. The laws were written to safeguard life and liberty, but if your life is threatened, the courts may expand the scope to include areas the original authors didn't imagine.

I'm not surprised that people act the same way in the US and Australia. People are people after all.

In my country, housing associations are very common, but they have a professional, non-profit organization backing them (nationally/regionally). It's a system that was established almost a century ago. It's usually run by the owners themselves (democratically elected board) or the partly by the association. The board gets help from the association to collect fees, financial management, legal assistance, etc.

We've established laws that gives owners rights and duties, and maintenance is obligatory. The local associations can create their own policies and rules, but they have to abide by the law. The owners/shareholders keep their boards in line, but the board also has to balance people's desire for lower monthly fees or new features.

This means older buildings can have a common debt in the millions or almost nothing, as they constantly renew and maintain the apartments (replacing bathrooms in particular) or the building's structure/exterior, parking garages, EV chargers, etc. Maintenance fees are usually affordable considering they cover insurance, cable TV/Internet, cleaning, maintenance and so on.

Tesla Bjorn from Norway has just the video(s) for you. He has driven EVs for 10 years now. His reports on actual performance during winter come with data, tips and opinions. He gives honest reviews (major int'l brands).

https://youtu.be/fsLMlozXjhk?t...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I would agree, if devs were the intended audience/market, but they're not.

The apps are obviously going to get developed, based on what we read in this article, and how Apple will provide it for *free* to attractive prospects (https://developer.apple.com/visionos/developer-kit/). Apple just needs a few good apps for the demos to kick-start the market anyway. Apple marketing is just that good.

Unlike the competition, Apple is targeting a completely different demographic; wealthier people, not gamers. That is obviously smart of them, considering the "prestige" it will earn them, and the limited numbers they can sell at first.

Apple is trying hard to be a luxury brand and this will just cement this product's status before the masses can even buy it. People go crazy for anything that will give them that faux rich look or cred. Once Apple gets mass production going there will already be a market waiting.