Renfe wants you to use a folding bike when you ride the train. For this, it has announced a subscription service from 41 euros

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Getting on a train with a scooter or one folding bike It is a situation that we see more and more in our country, especially in more crowded cities and in cases where the situation requires this convenient type of mobility. For this reason, Renfe wanted to take advantage launching a service in collaboration with the bicycle company Brompton, to promote the combo of using a bike and train on daily Cercanías journeys. The idea is to rent a folding bicycle for a monthly subscription and combine it with the train to cover the stretch between home, the station and the final destination, without the need for a car. The problem they want to solve. Using a bicycle to get to the train has the main drawback of needing secure parking for the bike, and of course many prefer to avoid what the stations offer due to the risk of theft. On the other hand, during rush hour, getting a conventional bike onto a crowded car is quite stressful, and anyone who has ever done it knows it perfectly well. A folding bicycle avoids this type of situation, and Renfe wants to take advantage of it. What is included and how much does it cost?. The subscription starts at 41 euros per month with a 12-month commitment, or 49 euros per month if you opt for six months. The package includes a Brompton C Line four-speed (intermediate handlebar), theft and damage insurance, a full annual service and home delivery within three to five working days. At the end of the period, the user can renew, return the bicycle or buy a new one at a discount. The brand also offers a bonus of 200 euros for the purchase of a new bike to those who decide to keep the model, according to they count from El Periódico. why now. Spain is the third market in which Brompton launches this subscription service, after Germany (where it premiered last year) and France, where it launched this same year. The landing in Spain makes sense: the Renfe Cercanías network is one of the densest in southern Europe and last kilometer routes without a practical solution are a widespread problem in large cities. The argument of sustainability. Renfe frame the initiative in its environmental strategy. The company claims to have reduced its emissions to 3.79 grams of CO₂ per transport unit in 2024, a figure that, according to the Spanish Climate Change Office, is up to 35 times lower than that of private cars. Replacing short car trips with bike plus train is, in this context, the natural complement to that narrative. For the end user it is a very convenient option, although in a context of fatigue due to the flood of subscriptions that many of us pay for, it can make a certain dent in the proposal. What remains to be seen. The proposal makes sense on paper, but there are some factors that must be resolved, including the number of bike racks at the stations, the reliability of the service and whether the price is attractive for those looking for an alternative and convenient type of mobility. Buying a Brompton usually means spending more than 1,000 euros, so we will have to see if the economic argument convinces enough travelers for this business model to be successful. Cover image | Renfe In Xataka | Renfe has launched a real-time map to know where your surroundings are in 2025. And it works quite well

We just found an entire ecosystem hidden under the ocean crust

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For decades, science believed it was clear how life worked in the ocean abysses and pointed out that around the hydrothermal vents, which are the classic volcanic chimneys that spit out boiling water, oases of strange creatures flourished on the surface of the seabed. But a recent expedition has broken our schemes and it points out that life not only clings to the surface of these chimneys, but also hides beneath the earth’s crust itself. As we have seen. To achieve this featthe expedition named under the “VentUnderoworld” project entered the waters of the Pacific aboard the research vessel Falkor. But the researchers’ eyes were not enough, they had to use the robot SuBastian ROV submarine. And with this equipment the researchers did something that is rarely attempted: physically lift fragments of the oceanic crust around the hydrothermal vents. And in that underwater “underworld,” a vibrant macroscopic ecosystem thrived. What was seen. Until now, science assumed that benthic animals at these depths lived exclusively at the interface between the ocean floor and water. However, the images and samples collected confirmed the presence of live animals in these underground caves. And the great protagonist of this discovery is the Riftia pachyptila, which is nothing more than a huge tube worm which can measure more than two meters. Organisms that are famous for lacking a mouth and stomach and depending on the bacteria on the seabed to feed themselves while they were living and growing prosperously protected under the crust. But they were not alone, since they also found snails and a complex network of invertebrate animals. How they arrived. One of the great mysteries surrounding marine biology was how tube worms managed to colonize new hydrothermal vents so quickly after a volcanic eruption, especially due to the high temperature it reaches. This discovery provides the missing piece of the puzzle. Here the study concludes that there is a fluid connection between surface and subsurface ecosystems, and this causes the larvae of these animals to travel through hydrothermal fluids below the seabed, moving through cracks in the oceanic crust to colonize new areas from bottom to top. That is, the interior of the crust is not only a refuge, but a kind of underground “highway” of life. A new paradigm. This discovery is not something minor, since if these hidden cavities are inhabited in the Eastern Pacific Ridge, it is very likely that this underground ecosystem extends over a large part of the world’s underwater mountain ranges. In this way, expanding the “biosphere” into the interior of the crust means that the habitable volume of our planet has just become much larger, proving that there are still many mysteries here on our planet to be discovered. Images | bearfotos on Freepik In Xataka | China is making an “invisible ocean” of the planet: when it is finished it will steal the last advantage that the US had left

Turning off notifications 24/7 is no longer rude, it’s the new technological self-care

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In 2026, hyperconnectivity has reached unprecedented levels. However, in the midst of this constant noise, a paradoxical cure has emerged: ignoring those we know and love has become the new secret to a happy and peaceful life. As the magazine details Wiredwe are witnessing the rise of a digital tribe known as the “maximalists of the Do not disturb“. They are users who have decided to keep their phone notifications silenced 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What was once considered a serious breach of the social contract—the tacit obligation to always be available—is now a viral trend. On platforms like TikTok, videos celebrating “monk mode” or the non-stop use of “Do Not Disturb” mode rack up millions of views. In the comments, the debate rages: while some applaud it as the definitive act of self-care, others criticize it as a terrible lack of respect for others. What has happened to our availability? The norms of social etiquette have changed drastically over the last fifteen years. If at the beginning of the last decade the golden rule was “don’t call anyone after 10 pm”, the current rule seems to be “don’t call anyone, ever”, as I already warned The New York Times. Telephone calls without prior notice by message or email have come to be considered intrusive, uncomfortable and even alarming; Nowadays, if the phone rings suddenly, we instinctively assume that a misfortune has occurred. To stop this intrusion, users have taken the tools of their own operating systems to the extreme. The technical difference that has facilitated this radicalization is key: while the traditional silent mode turns off the tones but allows the screen to continue lighting and vibrating, settings such as “Do Not Disturb” mode or “Sleep Mode” act at a deeper level of the system. These tools block vibration, dim the screen light, and hide visual alerts, eliminating any physical interruptions. According to account Wiredfor many this habit began as a survival mechanism during the 2020 pandemic, when their entire lives were reduced to the screen. After discovering the peace it brought them, they decided to never turn on the notifications again. Personal limits versus social cost. Living in a silent digital limbo has profound psychological implications. Turning off notifications is a declaration of autonomy; Those who do so are not building a wall to isolate themselves from the world, but rather installing a “door” that they only open when their schedule and mental health allow it. But this position requires paying a social toll. Announcing that you live in “Do Not Disturb” mode is almost like declaring that you were vegan in the 90s: it is often perceived by those around you as a self-righteous or rude attitude. Friends, partners, and family members often get frustrated when they don’t receive immediate answers. For this reason, the maximalists of silence have learned that preventive communication is key to explaining that this is not a personal attack, but a necessary barrier. Paradoxically, this digital isolation improves relationships in the physical world. By not paying attention to a bright screen that demands their attention, these people demonstrate an absolute presence in face-to-face conversations, generating bonds of greater depth and trust. Expert support. Science supports this need for disconnection. The cost of always being available is very high and directly affects our mental and cognitive health. The studies warn of three major impacts: Symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity: An investigation, published in Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, has shown that constant interruptions caused by smartphones can cause symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity—associated with ADHD—even in the general population that does not suffer from this disorder. Simply having alerts on maximizes these interruptions and increases inattention levels. Stress due to job fragmentation: A study of University of California, Irvine revealed that when people are constantly interrupted in their tasks, they try to compensate by working faster. However, this accelerated pace comes at a severe price: one experiences increased workload, higher levels of stress, frustration, time pressure, and tremendous mental effort. Cognitive leaks: Adrian Ward, professor at the University of Texas, ensures that cognitive ability It is significantly reduced just by having the smartphone within reach, even if it is turned off. Added to this is that each notification causes “cognitive hiccups” of about seven seconds, splintering our attention. Once concentration is broken, it can take the brain more than 23 minutes to regain it. The digital paradox. Despite its benefits, silencing your cell phone is not a panacea for everyone. Previous research suggests that, for some people, turning off alerts can cause anxiety about missing something important (the well-known FOMO). This anxiety causes users to interrupt themselves more frequently to check the screen, resulting in a net increase in distractions. At the same time, the trend has been quickly absorbed by the market. An article from Guardian criticized how “productivity gurus” on TikTok they had commodified the #monkmode (monk mode), selling it as an isolated and somewhat melancholic self-optimization formula, forgetting that the human mind also fights against forced hyperconcentration. Finally, we come to a technological irony of our time. Recent clinical protocols, like the essay published in Frontiersevaluate the use of mobile applications mindfulness (like InMind) to combat work stress, burnout (burnout) and improve the engagement of office workers. In the middle of 2026 we depend on applications within our phones to cure the anxiety that that same device generates in us. The rebellion of silence. As we move into 2026, putting your phone on permanent silent has gone from being a simple setting in the settings menu to becoming a statement of intent. As they conclude in Earthis a reminder that human attention is a finite and extremely valuable resource, to be spent by conscious choice and not by the beep of an algorithm. In the end, as summarized by the testimony collected by Wiredgiving up immediate availability in the era of “always connected” is perhaps the most peaceful … Read more

The chip industry has its own Lego black market. ASML created it by accident

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Rick Lenssen works as a data analyst at the Dutch company ASML and builds Lego models on the weekends. It could have remained there, a mere hobby shared with his children if the company that employs him did not design and manufacture the lithography machines necessary to produce microchips, one of the key elements of current technology and one of the key suppliers of TSMC, Samsung or Intel. Now, his Lego designs imitating the original machines reach four-digit figures on eBay. 380 million in 851 pieces. It appeared in the ASML online store at the end of November 2024: a Lego model called TWINSCAN EXE:5000, measured 35 centimeters long and cost $227.95. It reproduced the high numerical aperture extreme ultraviolet (High-NA EUV) lithography machine that the company delivered to Intel in late 2023 and that allows chips to be printed from its 2 nanometer node. The actual equipment weighs 165 tons, has more than 100,000 parts and had to be transported in three Boeing 747s. The Lego set reproduced it in the style of the popular toy brand, it included a purple ray that represented ultraviolet light and a minifigure with the full clean room suit that technicians wear. The product sheet, perhaps anticipating what was to come, already warned that multiple orders from the same customer would be cancelled. Brick Lenssen. This is the nickname given to Rick Lenssen, a 39-year-old company employee who became interested in Legos. by chanceafter taking his children to a toy fair in the Netherlands. His first personal project was an exact replica of the ASML campus in Veldhoven: two years of work, 2,500 euros out of his pocket and 25,000 pieces, with details as obsessive as the peregrine falcon that nests on a roof of the complex, accompanied by a pigeon that, according to him, acts as food. He designed everything first on the computer and assembled it in the attic of his house. Where do I put this. Lenssen then encountered a drama that will be familiar to any Lego fan: what to do once you finish building the set. He offered it to the campus itself, but they didn’t want it. Lenssen wrote to ASML’s CEO on a Friday night, and within hours he wrote back saying he loved the set. To get the model out of the attic, it had to be dismantled piece by piece (like the real ASML machines), and company workers loaded it into a van. Today it is the first thing visitors see when they arrive at the company’s reception. It’s official. The jump to merchandising officer arrived later, with a model of the skyline of the campus in charge of promoting an internal app, and then the two models of machines. He was not the first: Jeroen Ottens, an ASML engineer who had worked at Lego, I had modeled a previous version. The cheapest model in the current range, the TWINSCAN NXE:3400C, at $166.70, was not born as a commercial product either: it started as internal training tool before becoming a special edition open to the public. It took Lenssen a few weeks to design the current two sets, one with a 61-page instruction manual. Your only compensation is a copy of each model. Employees only. The sales policy is one unit per person and verified ASML email is mandatory. For weeks, some fans managed to place orders bypassing that restriction due to a security hole in networks, and measures had to be taken: in December 2024 ASML began canceling orders from buyers without an actual corporate email. The EXE:5000 file even disappeared and can only be consulted today through the Wayback Machine. The same corporate email restriction covers the rest of the merchandising of the company, yes, much less coveted: sweaters, mugs, pins and Christmas decorations. eBay fever. Of course, speculation was not long in coming, as It usually happens with Lego sets that disappear from the market. Individual sets of those designed by Lenssen have been seen for $600, while the complete collection reaches $4,500. Before closing that section of the store, ASML sold 1,355 units of the latest model (there are 44,000 company employees, possibly not all of them interested in building with toy blocks). Although the comparison is absurd, only six of the real machine have been sold. In Xataka | The great fear of the US is that ASML’s UVP machines will continue to arrive in China. So he is going to intensify his trade war

five devices on which to use it for free if you are a Prime customer

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It is difficult for a voice assistant to understand colloquial expressions well or to know you well to be able to speak to you naturally. But this was until arrival of Alexa+an improvement of the Amazon assistant that has landed today in Spain with the aim of we no longer have to learn the Alexa language and we can communicate more easily. Amazon Echo Show 8 (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links For example, in Spain, we have partnered with companies like Tripadvisor, Cabify and TheFork to make reservations on our behalf. This is just a glimpse of what Alexa+ can do for us; a service that It will be free in early accessbut it will then cost 22.99 euros per month if contracted separately. In Spain, the company has confirmed that it will be included in the Prime subscription. To find out if you have early access to Alexa+, just go to the landing that Amazon has created and is usually for those who have an Echo device compatible with the enhanced voice assistant. If this is not your case, you have no choice but to buy a compatible device to access this improvement. But what are some of the devices on which to use Alexa+? Below we show you some. Echo Show 8 and 11 from 199 euros: a smart display (8 or 11 inches) with AZ3 Pro chip. Fire TV 4K Select by 54.99 euros: for TVs with 4K resolution but without Dolby Vision & Atmos. Echo Dot by 64.99 euros: with powerful and immersive sound. Echo Studio by 239 euros: with AZ3 Pro chip and Dolby Atmos. Echo Show 5 by 109 euros: 5.5 inches and surveillance camera function. Echo Show 8 and 11 The most recent version of the Amazon smart display It is one of those devices where you can enjoy Alexa+. It costs, at this time, 199 euros and if this size is too small for you, you can buy it for 239 euros in its 11-inch version. The brain of this Echo Show 8 is the advanced AZ3 Pro chip and it is a device that integrates a digital home controller. It offers HD resolution and you can turn this screen into a digital photo frame and make video calls. Amazon Echo Show 8 (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Amazon Echo Show 11 (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Fire TV 4K Select Some Fire TV Stick models are also compatible with the new Alexa+. One of them is the cheapest that Amazon has for sale. It is about the Fire TV Stick 4K Selectwhich you can buy for 54.99 euros. He Fire TV Stick 4K Select It is aimed at those people who have a 4K television (but it is not compatible with Dolby Atmos or Dolby Vision). It connects to the HDMI port of your TV and its remote comes with a direct access button to the voice assistant. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Echo Dot smart speakers Echo Dot They are also one of the devices on which you can enjoy Alexa+. If you want the latest generation model, the most economical (64.99 euros) is the recommended one for you. This Echo Dot allows you to enjoy music and podcasts with powerful and immersive sound. It also integrates a digital controller and features the spherical design of the company’s latest generations of smart speakers. Echo Dot (Latest generation) | smart speaker The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Echo Studio This is one of the latest smart speakers that Amazon recently introduced. He Echo Studio It is another of the beneficiary devices of Alexa+. It went on sale at the end of October 2025 and is available for 239 euros. One of the things that stands out about the Echo Studio is that it offers sound Dolby Atmos and integrates a digital home controller. Mount the chip AZ3 Pro and its luminous ring, in this new version, occupies the front part instead of the upper part of previous generations). Amazon Echo Studio (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Echo Show 5 And if you have an older Amazon device, there are some that also support Alexa. Such is the case of Echo Show 5which you can also buy now for 109 euros; thus being the company’s most economical smart screen. He Echo Show 5 It is already an iconic Amazon device that mounts a 5.5 inch touch screen. It is a very compact model, so you can easily put it in any corner of the house. Also works as surveillance camera and allows you to make video calls and watch streaming apps. Echo Show 5 (Latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Amazon and Javier Márquez (Xataka) In Xataka | Best Amazon Fire TV. Which one to buy and recommended models to convert your TV into a smart TV depending on use In Xataka | Best “smart” Amazon Echo speakers. Which one to buy and recommendations based on use

that the only one with missiles is Iran

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For weeks, Allied commanders did not understand why their most advanced systems were unable to intercept all the projectiles falling on the cities. The surprise was enormous when they verified that, in full Gulf Warsome were enough few Scud missiles thrown irregularly to force deploy huge resources defensive forces and alter the pace of an entire military campaign. The mathematics of missiles. After weeks of war, the confrontation in the Middle East It has ceased to be just a question of military capacity and has become a problem of specific inventories, with figures that condition any future decision. CNN counted through the last CSIS analysis that the United States has already consumed about 45% of its Precision Strike Missileabout 50% of the THAAD interceptors and Patriot, in addition to approximately 30% of their Tomahawks and more than 20% of the JASSM. In other words, although these levels do not prevent continued operations in the short term, they do significantly reduce the ability to sustain another high-intensity conflict in parallel, especially against an adversary like Iran. It’s not shooting, it’s replacing. The replacement of these systems introduces a clear boundary: annual production barely reaches about 100 Tomahawk units and less 500 JASSM-ERwhile interceptors like SM-3 or SM-6 They have even lower rhythms. Even with contracts to expand production, the period to recover previous levels oscillates, according to the Pentagonbetween three and five years. In practice, this means that every current launch has a future strategic cost, because there is no quick way to replace it in the event of escalation. Iran maintains the volume. Faced with this wear and tear, analysts from the Pentagon itself have assured that Iran preserves thousands of missiles ballistic and cruise, although many require reconditioning or have failures resulting from hasty modifications. Plus: problems in aerodynamic stability, propellant wear or changes in guidance systems (such as the transition to BeiDou after GPS interference) have reduced accuracy in some cases. Even so, they said that the volume is still sufficient to maintain launch rates for weekswhich introduces a saturation factor that complicates any defense. David Sling Defenses to the limit. The impact of that pressure has already been seen in the intensive use of interceptorswith systems like David’s Sling o Arrow 3 operating near critical levels. In fact, several analysts said that, in some scenarios, the reserves would not allow a continuous defense to be sustained. beyond 72 to 96 hours without immediate replenishment. It is not a trivial fact and, in fact, it would change the logic of the conflict, because even with advanced systems, a prolonged defense depends directly on the interceptor availabilitynot only its effectiveness. Operational limitations if resumed. The data that handles Washington They talk about a scenario where, if the war were reactivated, the United States would have about 2,800 to 3,000 Tomahawk and little more than 400 long-range guided bombssupported by aircraft carriers and destroyers, but with clear restrictions after prior consumption. For example, the use of less advanced munitions like the JDAM would imply greater exposure of aircraft to enemy defenses. In addition, logistical factors such as fuel arise here (with reduced European reserves around 20%) that would limit the duration of an intensive air campaign. The strait as added pressure. In parallel, Iran is clearly demonstrating ability to challenge the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining exports through oil tankers that avoid control by turning off transponders and indirect routes. Despite interceptions and diversions of more than 28 vessels, dozens of cargo ships and oil tankers they have managed to crosswhich shows that maritime control is not absolute and that Tehran retains room for economic and strategic maneuver. The great unknown. If you like, the result of all these factors is a scenario very different and disturbing for Washington, one where, after weeks mass consumptionthe United States enters a possible resumption with limited inventorieswhile Iran, despite its failures, continues to have sufficient volume to sustain throws. There is no doubt, that at least partially reverses the usual logic, because the risk for the United States is no longer just what it can launch, but what Iran can still continue launching day after day in a second part of the war where the dictates the missiles can change name. Image | National Museum of the US Navy, Naval Surface WarriorsUnited States Missile Defense Agency In Xataka | Europe has gotten down to work on one of its biggest geopolitical challenges: opening Hormuz without help from the US In Xataka | Iran has 300 internal reports where it models the war against the US. They are all based on the same thing: Ukraine

why the USSR was obsessed with a planet that literally ate its machines

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There was a time when it was thought that Venus would be a good planet to explore or even terraform. After all, it is close to Earth. Carl Sagan himself made a theoretical proposal to adapt this planet for human life. Therefore, it is not surprising that it became one of the biggest objectives of the Soviet Union (USSR) during the beginning of its space race. With the Venera missions, dozens of probes were sent to explore the neighboring planet. A few were enough to prove that it was a more inhospitable place than one thought. However, that did not make those scientists give up their efforts. Only 16 named probes. Between 1961 and 1984, The USSR sent 28 probes to Venus. Only 16 of them, those that partially completed their mission, were baptized as Venera. Of those 16, only 13 crossed the atmosphere of the neighboring planet and 10 managed to land. Some even survived a few minutes to transmit important information to Earth. The violent destruction of each probe provided new data that was used to improve the next one. Even knowing that the next one would also succumb, the program continued forward and laid the pillars of the space exploration technologies that came later. An inhospitable planet. Venus It is an extremely inhospitable planet for many reasons. To begin with, its temperatures are very high. Temperatures can reach 465ºC, which is why many Venera probes literally melted when they reached their destination. The pressure is also very high. It is equivalent to about 90 atmospheres and could quickly crush a submarine. Many of these probes were also crushed. On the other hand, more than 96% of its atmosphere is carbon dioxide, making it highly toxic, although that is not as problematic as the corrosive clouds of sulfuric acid that accompany it. The Venera probes also had to deal with this corrosion. step by step. The first Venera probes lost communication with Earth before even reaching Venus. Others, however, managed to transmit information from the surroundings of the neighboring planet or even on its surface. The first to send data before being crushed by the pressure were Venera 5 and Venera 6. Previously, Venera 4 had been the first probe to manage to pass through the atmosphere of a planet other than Earth. Venera 7 even managed to land and stay 23 minutes on the surface of Venus before being torn apart by the heat and pressure. Later, Venera 9 sent the first black and white images. Images of the surface of Venus taken by the Venera probes Special mention to Venera 13. Possibly the greatest advances came with Venera 13. Although it was planned to last 32 minutes, the probe stayed on Venus for 127 minutes before disappearing like all the others. There he managed to take photographs much more advanced than those of Venera 9. He also measured the composition of the atmosphere and used a lightning detector to measure the electrical activity of Venus. It was even able to analyze the winds thanks to its built-in anemometer. Along with Venera 14, it was possibly the probe that provided the greatest discoveries before disappearing like all the others. 40 years later. With the Venera missions, the USSR verified that, in reality, Venus was a planet too inhospitable for exploration. But knowing our neighbors can help us know ourselves. For this reason, despite knowing that it was all suicide, 28 probes were sent, with landing, chemical analysis or image taking technologies that have continued to be used over time. Today, more than 40 years after the launch of the last probe, we can access the data obtained by many other missions that have also headed to Venus. Other missions. First it was NASA, in 1970, with its Mariner 10 probe. Although its main objective was Mercury, it also had time to explore the surroundings of Venus. Later in 1989 The Magellan mission made the first global map of the Venusian surface. Today the American agency is preparing for the launch of VERITAS and DAVINCI+, which should leave for the neighboring planet in the coming years. For its part, Europe launched the Venus Express probe in 2005 and Japan launched the Akatsuki probe in 2010. In the next decade, Europe is prepared to launch Envision, which will be in charge of studying the core of the planet. All of these missions were clearly inspired by the Venera probes. Of course, even if we can never live there, being able to send probes to a planet that melts and crushes ships is a great achievement of space technology. Images | Reimund Bertrams (Wikimedia Commons) | USSR In Xataka | A day on Venus: the (hellish) conditions on the surface of the neighboring planet

Mercadona has gotten rid of its search engine and replaced it with its own. They did it in a month with Claude Code and saved 90%

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Mercadona’s online store processes 4.4 million searches a week. Until recently, that volume was managed Algoliaa well-established search service used by companies like Sephora or LVMH. They had been with him for eight years. Now They have replaced it with their own search enginebuilt largely by José Ramón Pérez Agüera, CTO of Mercadona Tech. He has done it largely by himself, from his home, over a long weekend. This is how he told it in a successful LinkedIn post which now extends us in a video call with Xataka. “I’m going to be very honest and I know that this is going to look tacky, but it’s the truth,” says Pérez Agüera. “70% of the work (implementing the search engine, improving search quality and laying the foundation) took three days. One weekend plus an extended Monday.” The result: an 85% improvement in the quality of the ranking, the complete elimination of searches without results (previously 4% of the total) and a reduction in the monthly cost of between 9,000 and 15,000 dollars with Algolia to less than 900. That is, a saving of between 90% and 94% depending on the month. A decision that had been on hold for years The idea of ​​abandoning Algolia is not new at Mercadona Tech, it had been ruminating for a long time. The reasons are not surprising either: the search engine directly moves between 30 and 35% of the products that end up in the cart, which makes it a critical piece of business. And Algolia, like most SaaS services, has a pricing model that scales with use: as the company grows, the cost grows, with no way to stabilize it. “In the end you end up in a vendor lock-in of very critical software that is then difficult to get rid of,” explains Pérez Agüera. But Every time the team considered building something of their own, the work estimate was pushed back.. “The most optimistic vision we had, and with a much more basic version than the one we are going to release now, was five months. And it already seemed fast to me.” Then came the era of AI agents in software development. Pérez Agüera used Claude Code as the main tool and began to experiment on his own, without a formal project or assigned team. More out of curiosity than anything else. For playing. What AI did and what it didn’t The technical process combines hybrid search (by keywords and semantics) with a machine learning system that optimizes the ranking of results. AI made it possible to iterate on dozens of experiments in hours, analyze 479 MB of catalog and analytics data in days, and explore different ranking configurations by chatting with the agent instead of manually implementing them one by one. “I easily did 40 or 50 experiments in a weekend. That would have traditionally taken me weeks,” he explains. But the speed has a precise limit: the 29 technical decisions that AI did not make. Documentation generated during the experimentation process with Claude Code: the 14 parameters that Mercadona’s search engine evaluates to order results (from the popularity of a product to how well it fits semantically with what the user is looking for), its relative weight in the final ranking (popularity and semantic similarity account for two thirds of the decision) and the configuration of the machine learning model used to train it, based on click and purchase data from the last four weeks. Each of those parameters was discussed and validated with the AI ​​agent, but the final selection was made by the human team. Image provided by Mercadona Tech. The most representative was the choice of the indexing engine. Most systems, and probably any AI agent consulted, would have recommended Elasticsearch, the most widespread solution. Pérez Agüera chose Tantivy, a much smaller library written in Rust that integrates as an embedded component, without the need for a separate Java virtual machine. An impossible decision without knowledge of the Mercadona ecosystem. “The AI ​​always recommends the most generic option,” he says. “I made that decision because I have the context and the knowledge to make it.” The transfer to the team When the core of the search engine was ready, the project passed to the engineering team. What they found was not bad code, but it was ccode that did not follow Mercadona Tech’s internal standards. The architecture was hexagonal, as is the company’s style, but it used a different approach than usual. The tests existed (Pérez Agüera applied TDD during development) but some did not make sense or were missing cases. The agent had written thousands of lines of code in a few hours and reviewing them all was unfeasible. “The team’s Tech Lead took two or three days to adapt the project to our good practices,” he summarizes. “Not because the code was wrong, but because it didn’t meet our standards as a company.” In total, adding the initial phase and the launch into production, which includes load testing, infrastructure adjustment and integration into the Mercadona Online architecture; The project has taken approximately a month of work. And “two and a half people” have been in charge of it: Pérez Agüera, the Tech Lead of the Shop team and a part-time Staff Engineer for infrastructure. The original five-month estimate required five or six people. “FWe have easily done a x5 to the speed of the projectand what we have now is much more advanced than what we would have had in five months,” he says. What changes for the teams For Pérez Agüera, the search engine is one more experiment within a larger transformation that Mercadona Tech continues to process internally. The question on the table is not whether to use AI in development, but how to redesign the entire development process based on it. His diagnosis of the profiles is forceful: “AI is going to mean that fewer developers are needed and more engineers are needed. Coding loses value per se; the … Read more

buy a new Tesla

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In April 2019 Tesla launched its platform “Hardware 3” (HW3) with an apparently blunt message: all cars leaving the factory would have, thanks to this platform, the necessary hardware for complete autonomous driving. There were many customers who trusted that promise and They spent between 8,000 and 15,000 dollars to enjoy itbut they have just found themselves in a huge bucket of cold water: HW3 is not powerful enough for unattended FSD, Elon Musk has assured. The technical reason. The HW3 bottleneck that Musk alluded to is memory bandwidth: this platform has only one eighth of the memory bandwidth that HW4 has. The FSD system is based on so-called autoregressive transformers and to be able to work with them a specific bandwidth is necessary that cars with HW3 cannot reach. There is no easy way to fix it. You cannot optimize the software or the AI ​​model: it is the chip itself that is physically limited and no OTA update can fix the problem. Elon Musk made it clear in the investor conference after the presentation of quarterly results: “I wish it were different,” he explained, “but Hardware 3 simply does not have the capacity to achieve FSD without supervision.” Millions of vehicles affected. There are an estimated four million Tesla vehicles active and on the road that are based on HW3. Of those, around 285,000 bought the FSD package. Investor Ross Gerber indicated in X that Tesla’s financial liability could amount to several billion dollars. Better buy a new Tesla. The firm has not announced refunds or compensation to those affected. What it does offer are two alternatives. The first, a trade-in (deliver your car and buy a Tesla with HW4) without giving specific financial details. The second, a free update they have called “V14-lite”, which will reach owners of cars with HW3 in June. Theoretically, this version will offer the FSD v14 options adapted to that older hardware. It is an improvement, yes, but not what was promised for users who have been stuck on FSD v12.6 for a long time. Complex modification. Musk too speak They will offer the ability to upgrade the car to replace the HW3, but the cameras will also need to be replaced. “To do this efficiently, we will have to create microfactories in big cities to do it efficiently. Everything is done in the technical service. It is extremely slow and inefficient to do it. I think over time what makes sense for us is to convert all the HW3 cars to HW4, because that is what will allow them to enter the robotaxis fleet and have unsupervised FSD.” Versions for some, versions for others. While these models were progressively left behind in the support of FSD versions, the new models equipped with HW4 have been able to enjoy FSD v13 and FSD v14, the most recent and powerful versions of this driving assistance software. In fact, we were able to test FSD (Supervised) a few days ago, an FSD v14 version of this system. In Europe there are also affected. In Europe there were also users who purchased Tesla’s FSD package even without being able to use it legally on European roads. One of those users, Mischa Sigtermans, is a Dutchman who bought his model 3 in 2019 waiting for FSD’s promise to be fulfilled and paid 6,400 euros for it. Seven years later he finds that the FSD (Supervised) mode has finally been approved in his country, but he cannot use it because his car is HW3. has created a website for Europeans affected by the problem and has received 3,000 registrations, which represents six million euros in FSD purchases. In Xataka | Elon Musk knows that TSMC is overwhelmed: Terafab is his idea to completely change the global chip industry

the “cannibalization” of energy

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Spain has held an indisputable title for years: it is the European leader in the signing of green light ‘mega contracts’ for large companies. However, this gold medal hides a dark side, a true paradox of “dying of success.” While the continent suffers the blow of the very high costs of fossil fuels due to the conflict in the Middle East, the avalanche of solar panels in our country is bursting the market from within. According to the data provided The Newspaperthe prices of these long-term agreements (known as PPAs) have fallen by 13.5% at the start of 2026 alone. The megawatt hour (MWh) stands at around 32 euros, marking historical lows and being cheaper even than in the worst moments of the economic stoppage due to the pandemic. The ghost that walks through the sector. The word that resonates in the offices of the energy sector is “cannibalization.” The immense solar capacity installed in the country generates a traffic jam: in the central hours of the day, when the sun shines at its maximum splendor, all producers pour their energy at the same time. This brutal excess of supply compared to demand causes prices to sink. The chaos is evident if we look at the figures. Five Days points out that in the first quarter of the year Almost 130 hours have been recorded with negative prices. This is destroying the value of PV projects on paper. According to the same newspaper, the price of a photovoltaic megawatt “ready to build” has plummeted from the 150,000 euros it cost four years ago to less than 30,000 euros. For large corporations, contracts are being signed at “knockdown” prices of between 15 and 20 euros. From promoter bankruptcy to national shield. The business is no longer a bed of roses. As explained in Five Daysthe drama for the promoters is that there are almost 53 gigawatts of solar energy with connection permits granted that “are not producing.” That is, there is more power paralyzed or waiting than what is currently installed and operating (52 GW). Faced with this panorama, and with interest rates skyrocketed by geopolitical instability, banks have turned off the financing tap. Those who entered the renewable “boom” late and without financial muscle are now facing bankruptcy. But here comes the paradox. The promoter’s drama is the country’s lifeline. While the European energy bill has increased by 24 billion euros due to the crisis in the Middle East, Spain’s strong renewable generation sank the wholesale price by 20% in March. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, took advantage of this “green pragmatism” against the “dogmatism of fossil fuels”, ensuring that the ultimate goal is for Spain to offer its industry “the cheapest electricity in the world.” So what’s going to happen now? The sector is forced to mutate. The analysts consulted by Five Days They are blunt: photovoltaics alone are no longer of interest. The future lies in hybridizing plants with wind energy or, as he also points out The Newspaperinstall large batteries (BESS systems) to store that cheap midday energy and sell it at night. Meanwhile, in a troubled river, fishermen gain. With small and medium-sized developers drowned, large Asian investors and long-term funds are taking out their checkbook to buy projects at bargain prices. For their part, buyers and sellers are introducing new clauses in contracts to protect themselves against unforeseen fluctuations in the market. The European contrast: Brussels asks to accelerate. While Spain deals with its own solar crisis, Europe is desperate to accelerate its transition to escape foreign dependence. The European Commission has just presented your plan AccelerateEUwhich aims to provide immediate relief to consumers and accelerate clean deployment. Brussels’ emergency recipes include tax cuts on electricity, reducing the price of public transport and prohibiting supply cuts to the most vulnerable families. In addition, the EU requires maximizing existing renewable infrastructure and improving the network. On a national level, Sánchez has committed to the sector that connection to the network “will not be the obstacle” to developments. Tame the turbines. Spain has won the solar installation race by far, but now faces a painful maturity crisis. The great technical and economic problem is no longer how to generate clean energy, but what to do with it so as not to destroy the very market that supports it. In the current and turbulent global geopolitical scenario, the dilemma posed by the Executive is unappealable: either we choose “turbines, or turbulence”. Spain’s immediate challenge is no longer just to plant more panels, but to tame those turbines so that they stop devouring each other. Image | Photo by Derek Sutton on Unsplash Xataka | Germany is building Europe’s largest system of artificial lakes thanks to something: abandoned coal mines

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