Dealing with death threats to the president is what the black ops teams with no judicial oversight are for. 😉

But seriously, if some billionaire feels safe enough to threaten the president, they’ll probably start a coup if they don’t cooperate. How many people’s loyalty can they buy?

Why limit yourself to subscriptions if you can do both and earn even more money? 🤑

PS: Microsoft perfected this with Windows bloat ware, adverts and tracking. Why did they need to integrate that, if you already paid ca. 150€ (Home) or 250€ (Pro) for a licence? Those prices are integrated into the prices of hardware purchases too, in case anyone is wondering. Purchase a laptop without an OS and it’s generally about 100-150€ cheaper. Anyone interested in Microsoft 365 and Windows 365?

Real vanilla is also very expensive, so having an exotic and expensive flavour as the default is pretty weird.

And then you have ASML who sell the foundry equipment that makes the steel.

Still much cheaper than owning a car.

Better public transportation shouldn't mean that cars or motorcycles will be banned. It's a way to move more people more efficiently. Ideally, you wouldn't want to own a car or motorcycle, because other modes of transport provide a better service. While it might seem very German/European, it's actually not that straightforward if you consider that the modern car, truck and motorcycle were all invented in Germany (by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler) and that the economy of Germany and Europe as a whole is dependent on the automobile industry. However, other companies in other countries are facing similar problems, so it's not unique to Europe either. The ones which adapt best will survive (probably).

They still had to buy new hardware, because the newer Windows version didn’t support the old hardware anymore.

Not at all. Most German car companies know this and some have even said as much (focus on luxury cars, car sharing and subscriptions). The Greens (part of the government) have been pushing for better public transportation and now Germany has a nationwide ticket for just 49€ per month. We still need much more investment in infrastructure, but that opinion is shared by many town planners and politicians. An added benefit with reduced road traffic is that driving becomes easier and fun again.

Cars were almost banned when they first became popular. The existing infrastructure and traffic safety regulations (shared roads) were not adequate for a speeding death machine. However, cars were very important for the military, so highways and modern road networks were quickly pushed as “the future”.