I'm hoping governments that like this see the sense in putting resources into development, not just using it. A lot could be achieved if governments invest part of what they save by not paying Microshaft subscription fees.

Paid annually, Duolingo is inexpensive for something I use for a few minutes every day. (Streak at 1400, and that has a powerful effect on making you do at least one lesson per day.) Motivating someone to practise daily is something Duolingo does a good job of. I tried a cheap AI chatbot thing with speech and voice recognition, but it seemed their AI servers were overloaded, so I never got into it. But if Google can make a chatbot I can interact with, especially vocally, I'm sure to give it a good go. Trying to avoid paying around £40 a year is very cheapskaty.

Comparing learning vs assist: This is like comparing using an exercise machine to help you exercise, and using a robot to do the hard work of your workout for you. (Or going for a long ride on an e-bike vs an old school pedal powered ride.)

Sometimes a machine translator is what you need, but you learn little by using one. And learning is a mental muscle that benefits from regular practice and exercise. I did try Lango, but had too much trouble with the AI engine timing out or something (probably they lacked the AI muscle to run their app, something which isn't a problem for Google).

I look forward to seeing where this idea goes. A chatbot you can listen to and talk to and which can generate basic lessons will be of great benefit to many people. It's a matter of when, not if, this sort of thing becomes as commonplace as web searching.

You can't always buy a DVD or Blu Ray. Sometimes paying for streaming on Amazon is the only option available.

And it is like this with e.g. music software. If I 'buy a license' for Reaper (good IMO), you get a file that unlocks it without online activation. If I 'buy a license' for Bitwig, and Bitwig's activation servers stop playing ball, I lose my access to software I've paid for. Arguably if I buy something with iLok protection, it is up to me to protect the physical device if my licenses are stored on it. But that sucks too. But in general, if something requires online activation, and the activation servers are deactivated, you lose what you paid for (as happened with earlier version of Propellerhead Reason). In a sense, some licenses are like food which goes off after a 'best before date', or like hardware which has a warranty period and, after that warranty period, it may cease to function. Or perhaps a DVD where the disc goes bad after a while and becomes unreadable. In a sense, subscriptions are the most honest thing out there (and I am no fan of the modern fad for subscription software), where if you stop paying, you lose the capability of running stuff that you may depend on. At least with a subscription they make clear that if you stop paying your annual or monthly fee, you lose access.

So were Trump and Satan just a summer thing?

But for the many of us who don't use massive Excel files with lots of complex stuff, LO Calc is fine.

Most likely MS will slam the door on Office running on Windows well before Libreoffice does. And that is unlikely to happen for a very long time.

I may not have a PhD in thinky stuff, but someone running Windows7 is on outdated software even if their word processor is current.

"Grocery store in the arctic goes out of business. Residents now have two choices: move or live in harsh conditions."

never. Long after this pantsload of a nickel and dime shakedown fails miserably, I will continue to remember that Volkswagen is the kind of company who would even consider attempting to cheat its own customers for what amounts to pocket change, so I won't be even approaching a dealership. Thanks for letting me know because I previously had been thinking of Volkswagen as trustworthy. I'm glad I've learned before I made a huge mistake.

I'm a weak man... a weak, petty man...

No phone here.

Let me guess: the CEOs of AI companies assert it's happening really rapidly, while actual researchers are seeing impacts as slow.

Translation: In the same manner that Windows came up with a narrative about why screenshotting user activity is "good for the user", they're now coming up with a narrative about why listening/storing all audio at all times is "good for the user".

Whereas to me, this means windows machines now officially join the ranks of other machines-- like Alexa -- that I refuse to allow in my house EVER. It's arguable I could/should have gotten there even prior to this; let's call this the straw that will finally motivate me to go to the mattress about the issue with other people I live with.

I read that Luigi Mangione was motivated by his conversations with an AI. I wonder if that'd get through to them?

(It was, btw, an AI that told me that.)