Thanks to a quirk of the system, known as convergence, Welsh spending has been falling compared to levels in England.

BBC: Welsh government given limited borrowing powers

In the early smartphone years, the big telecommunications companies, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Seimens and others, formed a consortium to develop an operating system for smartphones called Symbian, to address convergence of telecommunications and technology albeit with the telecommunications bias.

FORBES: The Significance of Ericsson's Departure from Handsets

The VERGE report suggests that the process of convergence is already underway, as the LEED system and ASHRAE standards continue to drive changes in efficiency, telecommuting increases, and a move back to cities occurs.

FORBES: On The Verge of Change: A View of Our Future Energy World

"We are defining a new era of convergence in technology, with one unified operating system that underpins cloud computing, data centers, PCs and consumer electronics" says Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and VP Products at Canonical.

ENGADGET: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones, we go hands-on (video)