Chevvron, yes I am sure thanks.
I can receive a D-ATIS on the ground 8000 miles away from destination, which combined with an up to date TAF can have a huge bearing on fuel and choice of alternate before I leave.
Conversely in the US they now have a single CPDLC login for the whole country, which generates your clearance and sends it directly to the aircraft when it is ready. If there is an amendment to our oceanic clearance, the whole new route can be directly uploaded into our FMS reducing workload and the chance for error.
As you say yourself you have been retired for a while and a modern flight-deck is a fully digital operation all over the world. My company (especially post MH370) knows instantly if I have a dodgy engine parameter, a smoke warning or even a change of route due to weather.
Telsboy I appreciate the sentiment about funding but these are basic things nowadays that sadly the UK is lagging far behind with and it's only seeing what the rest of the world has that you realise it. DATIS, DCL, ADS-B/C and even GLS approaches are the future and the maintenance of these modern systems is relatively little compared to the older kit.
When the midlands airport I referred to earlier closed indefinitely due to snow earlier in the year, the first we heard about it was from the passengers who were getting their news via Wifi onboard.
If you think installing a D-ATIS system is costly, then try a diversion with 600+ pax because you can't fly an ILS and are reliant on a minimal, changing cloud ceiling for a basic RNAV approach. Equally reducing the safety margin by descending through some of the busiest airspace in the world and having a level bust because one person is off air listening to how many birds are near the airfield.