Month: December 2025

the Christmas of the great polarization

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If it is true that Christmas is a time of peace, love and reunions, one thing is clear: this year those feelings will be less present on Spanish tables. The holidays of 2025 will be those of polarization and harsh debate. Campofrío predicted it with your christmas adverta two and a half minute piece titled precisely ‘Polarized’, and this is confirmed by the organization More in Common with a study which puts (even more if possible) the finger on the sore spot. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dinners promise to be mined territory this year. Nougat, polka dots… and anger. The year doesn’t matter. Christmas has its essentials: lottery, nougatsan avalanche of perfume ads and Abel Caballero showing off in Galician/Spanish/English of the millions of LED lights in Vigo. Another ingredient will be added to that cocktail this year: polarization. Campofrío warned about this in his Christmas advertisement, in which he seeks to turn the tension around with a message that invites us to “enjoy life.” And confirms it a study from More in Common that puts the thermometer on political tension. “Polarization has become the background noise of our public life and also an uncomfortable presence in our private lives. These days, when Christmas brings us together around a table, that tension is more noticeable,” reflect the organization in Substack before swiping a data interesting Worrying: last year one in five Spaniards (20%) already experienced a “strong argument” during the big events of these days, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. A percentage: 14%. The data comes from ‘Atlas of polarization in Spain’a document recently presented by More in Common and which has been prepared with the responses of more than 2,5000 interviewees. All Spanish and of legal age. The report should be taken for what it is: a study, with its strengths and weaknesses, but it helps to understand a phenomenon that will catch few by surprise. And not only because “everyday polarization” be easily identifiable in the press, general television or social networks. In recent years, several researchers have addressed the topic in books such as ‘Polarized’ either ‘From voters to hooligans’ and even the CIS has also captured that division in his polls. If we focus on the report From More in Common there is a specific indicator that helps to better understand the drift of Spanish society and the ghost that will rise this Christmas in many Spanish homes: in the last year 14% of those interviewed have broken family or friendship relationships for strictly ideological reasons. Not only that. 25% He claims to have felt “attacked” or “strongly criticized” for expressing his ideas. A conscious problem. The most curious thing is that we Spaniards are aware of this handicap. To the question of “To what extent do you think Spain is united or divided?” 16% respond that they see the country as more or less cohesive, 19% show doubts and 65% He admits that he appreciates a fragmentation. In fact, this last option has been gaining strength since October 2024, when DANA spread the feeling that we Spaniards faced the future more united. At that time, 39% claimed to see harmony in the country. What divides us? There is also little doubt about what lies behind this social fragmentation. When More in Common asked its interviewees what elements are dividing the country, it found a resounding result. Networks are emerging as the most polarizing factor. 37% of those surveyed They point them out as the factor that most contributes to the climate of confrontation. The media is next in terms of relevance, with 33%. If we talk about political actors, Vox, the Government, the PP and PSOE stand out (in this order), the ones most often pointed out as causing polarization. At the opposite pole are the judges, the Church, NGOs and the Royal Family, which closes the ranking. More than Germany or France. As remember More in Commons The above refers to the perception that we Spaniards have of ourselves, which still raises a doubt… Do we really have a polarization problem? The answer seems to be yes. Yes, at least if we compare ourselves with other countries. The report shows that in Spain ideological positions are more dispersed than in Germany, France or Italy. In fact, he assures that ours is “one of the most polarized countries in Western Europe.” In the background, two clearly defined ideological blocks: the voters of PSOE, Sumar or Podemos on the left and those of PP and VOX on the right. The ‘bomb’ themes. The report also clarifies which issues make the atmosphere more tense when two people from different ideological blocks meet: one from the left and the other from the right. The most curious thing is that it is not taxes, nor health, nor education or the role of the State. Not even climate change. The issues “more divisive” They are immigration and the territorial model. Another issue on which Podemos or Sumar voters and Vox voters are considerably apart is that of gender equality. A concept: “Affective polarization”. “There is a bloc of Vox and PP and another that is concentrated around PSOE and Sumar and other parties. Among voters in the same bloc, mutual feelings are relatively acceptable, but feelings towards the other bloc are becoming negative,” explains to The Country Tarek Jaziri Arjona, author of a study that delves into another relevant concept: “affective polarization.” That is, not only ideological divisions but how we feel when we meet people who think differently. It is not a minor issue if we take into account that many Spaniards live in ideological ‘echo chambers’, environments in which those who think in a similar way predominate. 48% of those surveyed In fact, they recognize that almost all (14%) or most (34%) of their friends share their ideas. Everything bad, then? No. The report also provides some positive readings. For example, it shows that it is not impossible to reduce the polarization of the … Read more

hundreds of tons of rare earths

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During World War II, Nazi Germany built hundreds of bomb shelters as defensive frameworks of the Third Reich to protect the civilian population and critical infrastructure from Allied bombing. After the war, most were abandoned and passed for marginal uses until, decades later, one of them was converted into a high security warehouse. From war to the strategic reserve. At some undisclosed point in Frankfurt, a World War II anti-aircraft bunker, one of those concrete colossi that for decades were urban ruins or spaces converted to leisurehas acquired a new silent feature and deeply political: hosting one of the largest European warehouses of rare earths and critical metals. In the midst of a deterioration in global trade and with Europe facing a strategic dependence that I had been ignoring for years, this underground refuge has been transformed into an extreme security deposit for materials without which modern industry simply does not function. The Chinese shock and the race. The rbunker activation It is not coincidental. Since China tightened in Aprilus restrictions to the export of rare earths and strategic metals (in response to US tariffs), European inventories have remained below minimum. Tradium, one of the two large German importers of these materials, began to buy back stock to private investors and redistribute them directly to European companies in key sectors such as automotive, electronics, energy or defense. The move is reminiscent of a war economy in slow motion: it is not about speculation, but about surviving a prolonged supply disruption. An armored warehouse. The old bunker, renovated since 2011 after the first major warning from Beijing with the embargo on Japan over the Senkaku Islands, offers more than 2,400 square meters storage with different levels of security, protected by solid walls, cameras, opaque blinds and a four-ton armored door that gives access to a windowless chamber. Nikkei counted Inside, hundreds of blue and green drums loaded with neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium or terbium (all of Chinese origin) are lined up along with specialized metals such as gallium, germanium, indium, antimony, rhenium or hafnium. In total, some 300 tons that Tradium It is considered the largest known stock in Europe, although it admits that even larger and more discrete reserves may exist outside its knowledge. Skyrocketing prices. The impact of the chinese lock It is starkly reflected in the prices. Dysprosium has exceeded 900 dollars per kilomore than triple that before the restrictions, while terbium is around the 3,700 dollarsabout four times its previous value. Both are essential for improving the thermal resistance of electric motor magnets, making them critical parts for the electric vehicle industry. However, for European companies, price has taken a backseat: the real problem is the availability. After eight months of non-existent or minimal deliveries, even a half-year strategic stock begins to seem insufficient. Extreme security. The level of protection in the warehouse is such that even in the event of theft, the materials they could not be reintegrated in the industrial chain without certification, which reduces its value outside the legal circuit. In return, customers pay up to 2% annually of the stored value for logistics, which includes insurance. Meanwhile, European diplomacy is trying to buy time: the German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, has traveled to Beijing to negotiate some type of relief, although he himself has acknowledged that there are no clear signs that China will grant general export licenses in the short term. Buried geopolitics. If you also want, the Frankfurt bunker is much more than a warehouse: it is a physical symbol of the extent to which geopolitics has penetrated the bowels of the European economy. Where civilians were once protected from bombings, today they protects the industry of strategic asphyxiation. Thus, the question that floats between drums and concrete walls is not how much rare earths will cost tomorrow, but when will they circulate again normally and whether Europe will arrive in time to build real autonomy before the next supply cut leaves it exposed again. Image | Berlin Wanderlust In Xataka | Germany didn’t know what to do with a dangerous Nazi bunker in the middle of Hamburg. The solution has radically changed the city In Xataka | Germany needs China’s rare earths at any price. And that price is giving you the future of your economy

The runaway price of RAM threatens more expensive phones than ever. And that’s not even the biggest problem

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Neither the car nor the house, the new indicator that someone is good pasta is the RAM memory that you have available. The RAM crisis is extremea price increase planned for 2026 that will hit the entire industry. Such is the seriousness of the matterthere are already those who predict that the manufacturers of telephones are considering returning to figures of the past: the 4 GB of unified RAM for smartphones of the next year. Samsung has doubled the price of DDR5 RAM after running out of stock, a movement that completely threatens the entire smartphone industry. And no, RAM is not just an element to ensure the fluidity of the mobile phone and efficient multitasking: RAM is a pillar on which the advancement of technology itself depends. How to know the components of your PC (RAM, Graphics, CPU…) and the state they are in The rise in prices. In just six months, RAM prices have skyrocketed between 100% and 400%. Giants like Samsung and SK Hynix are allocating around 40% of its resources to supply RAM to Stargatethe OpenAI infrastructure. Consequence: the RAM market has entered a valley of scarcity. The 4 GB of RAM. There are clear pillars for not recommending a phone even to my worst enemy: That it does not have good update support. That has a processor that can’t handle basic apps. That has less than 6 GB of RAM There are already those who predict that 4 GB of RAM will return in 2026a significant leap back even for entry-level devices, where 6GB of RAM was starting to become the standard. What they didn’t tell you about RAM. Advances in RAM go far beyond basic performance in multitasking and everyday apps. RAM memory is one of the vital organs of any smartphone, and the advances in it are what have allowed us, today, to have smartphones that are much more capable than those of years ago. Local AI processing– Without sufficient RAM, it is not possible to run local AI models. He iPhone 15 is the best example. Photographic quality: functions such as processing HDRcomputational zoom, and even the processing of the photograph itself (subsequently processed RAW data) depend largely on the mobile phone’s ability to move all that data in RAM. Exactly the same applies to video recording. Multi-window and multitasking: Multitasking is not just about not having a heavy game crash while you browse in Chrome. It’s that Google Maps can run in the background without slowing down your phone, that YouTube can run in mode PiP (window), that your keyboard is capable of managing translations and corrections in real time in any heavy app, etc. Gaming experience: We usually focus on CPU and GPU when thinking about a mobile phone capable of running a heavy game, but RAM is essential to avoid microcuts, speed up loading times despite having open apps, and ensure that the game will not close in the middle of a game. The consequences. We have been complaining for the last few years that there is hardly any real progress in smartphones and that, perhaps, we are close to their peak. But there are nuances in this interpretation. We have never had humble mobile phones with AI implementation, the ability to move triple A games on budget devicesand such a positive experience in practically any product range. The RAM crisis is a major brake on the advancement of upcoming proposals, and may make it more than likely that some 2026 phones will end up performing worse than their predecessors. There is no solution in sight. DDR5 RAM, although it has been on the market since SK Hynix released it in 2020is not common in entry-level proposals. DDR4 RAM is still the standard here and, unfortunately, so is its price. has been increasing by close to 200% in recent months. More expensive RAM, more expensive mobile phones or mobile phones with less RAM. Image | Xataka In Xataka | How to know how much RAM you have and what type it is, in Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux

review with features, price and specifications

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The role of ink printers in homes and small offices has been quite reinvented in recent years. Connectivity, configuration guidance and integration with smartphones have been incorporated into even the most basic models. But the great push has been given by the use of the ink tanks. The Epson EcoTank ET-2956 It is the most interesting model for the domestic environment from the Japanese manufacturer and offers the consumer everything they can expect from a general purpose model in these times: connectivity, ease of use, speed and most importantly in a home today, ink durability and printing cost. Technical sheet of the Epson EcoTank ET-2956 Epson EcoTank ET-2956 functions Print, copy and scan print speed B&W 30 ppm / Color 20 ppm print resolution 4,800 x 1,200 dpi double sided printing Automatic Connectivity USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi Direct) input capacity Up to 100 sheets compatibility Windows, Mac, iOS, Android weight 5kg scanner 1,200 dpi x 2,400 dpi Without automatic feeder price 369 euros EcoTank ET-2956 white A4 multifunction printer with ink tank, Wi-Fi connection, scanning, copying, duplex printing and ink included for up to 3 years The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Manual mid-range multifunction Although we have just mentioned the improvements that home inkjet printers have been incorporating over the years so as not to be completely forgotten by the user, we must begin by talking about the aspect that can most disappoint anyone who approaches these printer models after a few years: the design. The Epson EcoTank ET-2956 The design that we have known for multifunction printers for years does not hardly change. It is true that it introduces updated elements that are necessary at this point, such as touch controls, but apparently we are looking at a rectangular model that aims to be compact when we are not using it, and somewhat more voluminous when we deploy the paper tray or the control and screen wing. The weight of the equipment is 5 kg, very manageable to move around the house. The Epson EcoTank ET-2956 is nothing innovative in design. It focuses on being compact when not in use and very simple and quick to start up. The simplicity of the design facilitates something that is not trivial: a very quick start-up. Simply use the app (preferable to the printer’s built-in screen) and follow the instructions. They are not complicated at all and are summarized in removing the protections and blocking of moving parts, emptying the ink bottles and initializing the system. Step-by-step setup for “dummies” The great point in favor of ink bottle technology is not only how economical it is (we will talk about them later) but that the implementation and Filling of the tanks is done safely and completely cleanly.. It’s not even easy to get dirty. The bottles have a secure closure and the filling system is very well thought out. The connectivity of the Epson EcoTank ET-2956 is the usual one at this point: the USB that cannot be missing for emergencies or local start-up and Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac). It supports Wi-Fi Direct, Apple AirPrint, and Epson cloud services. The screen is not touch screen and if we have the phone nearby we will almost never use it. To control the printer, in addition to the application, we can use the 3.7 cm diagonal color screen. It is not touch-sensitive (thank goodness because with that size it would be complicated to handle) so you have to resort to touch controls. The physical control of the printer is practically a curiosity and we will use it basically when we do not have a smartphone with the Epson application to manage it. Ink tanks are always a success at home Once the printer is up and running, it is time to take advantage of its connectivity and printing capacity. As we have mentioned, the printer Comes with 1 complete set of ink (one 127ml black bottle and three 70ml cyan, magenta and yellow bottles). That is exactly the nominal capacity of the ink tanks, whose access is direct and have direct view of remaining ink in each of them. The nominal capacity offers a theoretical yield of 6,600 pages for black ink and 5,500 pages for color prints. The spare parts are also very economical for what is usually the inkjet printer consumable: about 16 euros for the black replacement and the color ones at about 10 euros. The ink tanks, which cost us around 40 euros to refill, offer more than three years of printing at a rate of 5-6 pages per day The Epson EcoTank ET-2956 offers borderless printing with a resolution of up to 4,800 x 1,200 dpi with a minimum droplet size of 3.3 picoliters and the use of 400 black nozzles and 128 nozzles per color. Offers automatic double-sided printing and work margins for maximum A4 size and minimum photo size of 10×15 or 13×18 cm. It is always useful to have a direct view of the remaining ink by color The capacity of the output tray is 30 sheets and the input tray is 100, with grammage between 64 and 300 gr/m2perfect figures for a home environment even printing on photographic paper. The print quality meets expectations, especially in basic documents, whether in black and white or color, always speaking of the domestic environment. The maintenance cartridge for ink for head cleaning is very accessible With photography we can get by if we choose the right photographic paper but it is not a specialized printer. The strong point is decidedly the printing cost per page. It does offer good print speed data, with 30 pages per minute in monochrome mode and 20 pages per minute in color. Being a multifunction model we cannot fail to mention the scanner mode. It is not automatic and therefore we do not have a feeding tray and it is not the model to choose if your priority is scanning numerous documents. The scanner gets us out … Read more

One night in 2000, Jennifer Lopez debuted a historic dress. And then Google changed the internet forever

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If you have a moment, go to Google and type something like “Jennifer Lopez 2000 Grammy dress.” Leave that new AI Mode section aside and tap on the ‘Images’ tab to find a green Versace dress with a jungle print that caused a real sensation in both the fashion media and the world of technology. In fact, that dress marked a before and after on the internet. Because before February 23, 2000, when we wanted to see what clothes the current star had worn to an event (to give an example), we had to wait for the news to appear on TV, browse through magazines or go to the Internet to Google it. And there you didn’t find the photo, but instead you had to wade through a sea of ​​blue text links to search through. There was no Google Images. We’re not even talking about videos. Before JLo’s Grammys dress, this was all field text Why it is important. Google’s decision to organize information based on images and not only on text not only changed the world of fashion as the work of a European brand went from being seen on the catwalks and little else, to reaching the entire world. It also modified our way of accessing information, laying the foundations for an Internet (and later, social networks) focused more on audiovisuals than on pure and simple text. These were the dawn of the internet of content. What started in July 2021 with an index of 250 million images, went to one billion images in 2005 and by 2010, exceeded 10 billion. Later, Google stopped offering that figure to focus on quality over quality. Paradoxically, in 2025 it is following the opposite path, massively deindexing images by considering them low quality or generated by AI. The context. In the year 2000, the Google search engine was not what it is now: the undisputed leader with almost 90% share. And the “almost” thing is something about the post-internet – ChatGPT had been overcoming that barrier for more than a decade. In fact, with just a couple of years of life, he was beginning his rise at a time when there was no hegemony as he managed to impose later, with others like Yahoo! and Altavista with greater weight. And then she arrived on the red carpet at the 42nd Grammy Awards, nominated that year for Best Dance Recording for “Waiting for Tonight.” Jennifer Lopez wore a semi-transparent green dress with a dizzying V-neckline that fell to her navel. If you already existed at that time and were old enough to watch TV, you surely saw it because because her dress was viraleven before that concept was used for matters other than biology. Seeing it once wasn’t enough, so people went online to look for it en masse. “People wanted more than text (…). At the time, it was the most popular search we had ever seen” counted Eric Schmidt for Project Syndicate. The former Google CEO explained that at the time “we didn’t have a sure way to get users exactly what they wanted: J.Lo wearing that dress.” Between the lines. That’s when started to cook Google Search Image. According to Cathy Edwards, director of engineering and product at Google Images, it wasn’t something that happened overnight, but JLo lit the fuse. There were few employees, but like Edwards explained In 2020, it was clear to everyone that they needed to build a photocentric search engine. The question was knowing what priority to give it. That same summer, Google hired a newly graduated engineer, Huican Zhu, and put him to work with Huican Zhu, who was the executive director of YouTube and who at that time was responsible for product. The two stood hand in hand and, According to Edwardsthey practically developed it alone to launch Google Search Images in July 2021. In Xataka | People are so fed up with the current Internet that they are returning to MySpace. Not out of nostalgia, but out of rebellion In Xataka | All the times that throughout the 20th century we imagined ourselves on the Internet

why interior design occupies the place of fashion today

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There was a time when status was measured by the cut of a lapel or the logo on a handbag. Today, the true statement of intent is not in the closet, but on the living room shelf. The scene is typical: a dinner at home does not begin until the table, perfectly “staged”, has been captured by the lens of a smartphone. Decoration is the new language of identity; a space where we project who we are with the same urgency with which we previously chose a outfit to go out into the street. The exposed shelter. The border between private and public has jumped into the air. If before the home was the place where “we took off our shoes”, now it is the stage where we “put on the filter.” An example of this phenomenon It’s the rise of the breakfast nook. What started as a functional gesture to organize cups and coffee makers has ended up being a “symbol of the aspirational home” that floods our morning stories on social media. This phenomenon is not coincidental. As detailed in the S Moda supplementthe house operates today with the codes of the street style: millimeter poses, studied corners and carefully filtered light. We no longer decorate to live, but so that our life “is sustained before the eyes of the eyes.” voyeurs of the networks”. The landing of the brands. The market has read the change with surgical precision. According to a report by Business of Fashionhome design is a $643 billion global market that has reached a higher cruising speed than fashion after the pandemic. Large luxury brands no longer see furniture as an accessory, but as a central piece of their ecosystem: Luxury as an architect of lives: Brands such as Hermès, Bottega Veneta or Loewe use fairs such as the Mobile Show from Milan to demonstrate that its aesthetics can encompass everything, from a bag to an armchair worth thousands of euros. The Democratization of Style: Real change comes from affordable fashion. As Modaes points outMango Home is emulating Zara Home’s strategy, positioning its home line in the segment premium with openings in strategic locations to elevate the brand. You no longer buy a quilt, you buy the “universe” of the firm. Even home care has become a beauty routine. Actress Courteney Cox, through her brand Homecourthas turned detergent and linen sprays into objects of desire. As explained in Forbestheir intention is to make mundane tasks like doing laundry feel like “a self-care ritual” and for the jars to be so pretty that they don’t have to be hidden. How did we get here? To understand why we are obsessed with making our living room “instagrammable”, we have to look back. We could place the starting point in the birth of Pinterest in 2010, a platform that created the first global archive of domestic aspirations. However, the real turning point was 2020. Seeing ourselves locked up, our homes became our offices, gyms and leisure centers. How do they explain from the Somos Nido studio For the supplement, space stopped being something external and became part of our mental health. At the same time, the real estate crisis has played a psychological role. According to psychologist Noelia Sanchointerviewed in El Mueble, faced with the impossibility of buying a house, we invest in objects to generate an emotional bond and reaffirm our identity in an unstable world. The rebellion against the “dictatorship of the neutral.” In recent years, a search for simplicity and homogenization has prevailed; an aesthetic of beige spaces designed for the algorithm. But the trends of 2026 already propose a rebellion against that coldness. Pantone’s recent selection of the color ‘Cloud Dancer’ (an ethereal white) as Color of the Year 2026 has sparked debate. According to Architecture and Designinterior designer Virginia Sánchez admits “not being a big fan” because she considers it a somewhat cold tone. To prevent homes from looking like empty clinics, experts recommend accompany this white with rustic materials and warm woods. In this context, furniture with character regains its throne. Pieces such as mango or walnut wood sideboards and grooved fronts — like those proposed by the firm sweeek— they come back strong to provide that personality and “exoticism” that extreme minimalism had stolen from our living rooms. Living is the new dressing. The rise of interior design tells us that we are no longer satisfied with being spectators of beauty; we want to live inside it. Whether through tablescape —the art of decorating the table in an almost theatrical way— or choosing a designer lamp, we are trying to regain control of our immediate environment. Fashion has moved from the catwalk to the sofa because, in an increasingly digital and ephemeral world, the home continues to be the only place where we can build a refuge that, in addition to being beautiful on a screen, makes us feel good when the camera turns off. In the end, the question is no longer what we wear to be seen, but what atmosphere we have created to be ourselves. Image | Unsplash Xataka | The bidet is dead. The square meter killed it and Scandinavian design buried it

There are restaurants charging their customers 15 euros when they do not appear in a reservation. And it is a trend that is going more

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“There are people who accept it and people who don’t. Let them make an effort so that we can make it to the end of the month,” comments Danitza Gabriela, Executive Chef of the Manifiesto 13 restaurant, with a laugh, in a video on the channel ‘The Xef in Kitchen‘. It refers to the charging of a fee if someone does not attend a reservation at your restaurant, But although it may seem drastic, it is not a problem that should be laughed at. It is a whole phenomenon baptized as ‘no show‘, and there are already restaurants that are taking measures. For example, charge 15 euros if you don’t show up. He no-show. Also known as ‘ghost reserve’, it is one of the nightmares of the restoration. The name is quite revealing: it is a reservation for a table that, without warning, does not show up at the agreed time. There the restaurant fills its gap, but there are times when it is not possible, leaving holes of hundreds of euros depending on the case. There are situations in which it is inevitable not to show up, even others of greater cause in which the last thing we think about is calling to say that we will not be able to go, but unfortunately it is becoming common in certain cities. Spread booking. Another Anglicism that is easy to understand. In large cities, there are diners who adopt the strategy of making reservations in several restaurants at the same time. This may seem like nonsense, but it makes “sense”: they secure all the options they like and then decide on the fly which one they prefer, not canceling, or not canceling early enough, on the discarded options. Freak. How often this occurs depends on the city. TheFork platform carried out a study on phantom reservations and, according to their analysis, between January and July of this year, there was not a single month in which no-shows accounted for more than 3.4% of the total. Then, it depends on the regions and, as we say, the city. Others studies They point out that, in large cities in the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand, the absence rate is around 15%. In the United States and Canada, 20%. 15 euros. According to that same study by The Fork, of the total number of diners who do not attend the reservation, only 38% do so due to last-minute unforeseen events that have prevented them from calling the restaurant. 7% say that they do not notify because they are embarrassed to call and 55% say that they get lost or forget that they had made the reservation. That is precisely what is leading restaurants to take action. We mentioned the words of Danitza, from the Manifiesto 13 restaurant, at the beginning of the article, and the amount they charge for not appearing is 15 euros. He explains it at minute 8:10 of this video: “Every day we call to reconfirm the reservation. We are applying a cancellation policy, only on weekends, because those are the days when we have the most occupancy. It is 15 euros, just so that people have that bit of respect.” Danitza continues by pointing out that “it’s very hard when you’re starting out. If you don’t have a lot of fuss and the table doesn’t come to you, you’ve already prepared… and it’s complicated. There are people who accept it and people who don’t.” At Gordon Ramsay’s, if you don’t cancel at least 48 hours in advance, it’s 150 pounds. Impact. Manifesto 13 is not the only restaurant that applies this. A couple of years ago, Amelia, a restaurant in San Sebastián with two Michelin stars, charged 510 euros for a service not provided to three diners who did not show up. It was a case that came to court after a complaint from one of the customers, and the result was the ruling in favor of the restaurant. Studies indicate that losses due to no-shows can suppose between 5% and 20%, depending on the type of business, and this is what has motivated locals to move tab. For example, with card number like warranty and deposits, as are done in other forms of entertainment and consumption. It has even come to pose the expulsion from the reservation system of clients who accumulate several. Images | Hitesh Dewasi In Xataka | The restaurant with the longest waiting list in the world is not a Michelin star: it is in Bristol and costs €40

replace 50,000 workers with an army of Terminators

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For decades, movies like terminatorby James Cameron, we were accustomed to thinking about armies of robots since a dystopian perspectiveif you will, as an exaggeration typical of science fiction, a narrative resource to talk about fear of the future. The problem is that, little by littlethat future has stopped seeming so distant, and some of the ideas that previously only fit in the cinema are beginning to appear in the real world with a disturbing naturalness. From the worker robot to the soldier. Most of the humanoid robot startups that have emerged in recent years sell a reassuring promise– Machines designed to work in factories, warehouses, hospitals or even homes, alleviating labor shortages and increasing productivity. Foundationa young Silicon Valley company, shares that ambition, but takes it to much more uncomfortable terrain: his Phantom robot It is not only designed for industrial work, but also for armed combat, with the United States Army as an explicit client. Its founder, Sankaet Pathak, does not hide the intention nor the schedule: manufacture 50,000 humanoids before the end of 2027 and turn them into an operational tool for both the civilian economy and the battlefield. Impossible calendar. They counted in Forbes that Foundation boasts an unusual development speed even by industry standards. In just 18 months since its founding, Phantom was already making real production tasks in facilities of undisclosed industrial partners, a pace comparable to that of the most advanced players in the market. This acceleration is explained by two key acquisitions in artificial intelligence and new generation actuators, but also by a recruited team directly from companies like Tesla, Boston Dynamics, SpaceX or 1X. The scaling plan is as ambitious as it is risky: 40 robots this year, 10,000 next year and 40,000 in 2027. Pathak admits which is an extreme goal, but insists that there is a “non-zero probability” of achieving it, relying on a philosophy inherited from Tesla: do not try to automate everything too quickly. Foundation The economic model. The commercial bet by Foundation It is not about selling robots, but for renting them. The company isn’t looking for dozens of small customers, but rather a few gigantic contracts capable of generating hundreds of millions in recurring revenue. If the plan is fulfilled, 50,000 rented robots between 2026 and 2027 could translate into about 5 billion dollars annuallywith an approximate price of $100,000 per robot per year. At first glance it seems expensive compared to an average human salary, but the argument is purely industrial: A humanoid can work almost 24/7 and replace between three and five people. Even discounting maintenance, human supervision and downtime, the potential savings per unit could be around $90,000 annually. All of this, of course, under a crucial condition that no one has yet demonstrated: that the robot is really as fast, reliable and versatile as a human worker. Technology that does not exist. Phantom boasts of advanced “muscles”, efficient and reversible actuators that allow it to operate for several shifts without overheating and coexist with people with a reasonable level of safety. Still, there is an uncomfortable reality in the sector: no manufacturer has yet achieved a humanoid that is fully equivalent to human performance in complex environments. Therefore, the money intelligent It discounts delays, reduces expectations, and assumes that it will take additional years for hardware and software to reach true maturity. The recent history of robotics is full of promises ahead of their time. An armed robot. It is in the military sphere where Foundation definitively breaks with the comfortable narrative. Pathak defend that an armed humanoid can be “the first body in” in high-risk situations, because a docile robot does not force the enemy to reveal itself. PhantomAccording to his vision, it must be lethal. The range of uses it’s wide: carry ammunition, perform dangerous tasks, explore buildings, cross ridges or enter caves where no officer would want to send a soldier. In fact, it is not pure science fiction: terrestrial robots have already been seen with similar functions in the Ukrainian war, although not humanoid in shape. More precise (or easier) warfare. Foundation argues that these robots could make war more precise, not more brutal. Instead of bombing or heavy weapons, a terrestrial humanoid could evaluate situations directly. The operating model would resemble that of current drones: the robot would move and navigate autonomously, but the lethal decision would remain in human hands, remote and safe. If that scheme works, armed humanoids could alter the logic of deterrence, substituting human deployments for robotic force demonstrations scalable. Pathak even arrives to affirm that an army with tens of thousands of visible robots could prevent wars before they start. The ethical dilemma. There is no doubt, the other side of the argument is just as disturbing. If sending robots reduces the political and human cost of war, it can also make it more likely. History shows that when the threshold for sacrifice is lowered, resort to force becomes more tempting. The ethics of armed humanoid robots become like this more complex than everespecially in a world where China, Russia and the United States are already developing lethal autonomous systems, even if they do not take human form. In reality, automated warfare is not new: Nazi V-2 missiles They already incorporated a primitive form of autonomy during the Second World War. What changes now is the degree of sophisticationthe distributed decision-making capacity and the physical proximity of the robot to the human combatant. Image | Foundation In Xataka | We had seen everything in Ukraine, but this is new: drones are disguising themselves as Russian soldiers, and it is working In Xataka | When we thought we had seen all kinds of rehearsals for an invasion, China makes science fiction: robots taking over an island

Since I know that combustion cars will survive 2035, there is one that I dream about. And it’s not a Porsche or a Ferrari

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If you are one of those who like the world of automobiles, it is almost impossible that you have not heard about it. The European Commission has proposed maintaining cars with combustion engines. Indeed, we have not been wrong. Europe has not approved anything yet, the European Commission has made its proposal and now it has to be approved by the European Parliament and the Member States (the Council of the EU). Seeing how positions within the European Union have evolved in the last three years, everything indicates that if this proposal is not approved we will see something very similar to what has already been published. This proposal, as we tell in this article, anticipates a future where, indeed, we will have combustion cars. But they will be restricted to a few exceptions. With the obligation to maintain the average emissions below 11.6 gr/km of CO2 in its fleet To avoid possible fines, brands will have to continue selling enormous volumes of electric cars. The measure has been called by some analysts such as Mathias Schmidtt of “Porsche amendment”. And it is these types of vehicles that will continue to have combustion engines at exorbitant prices. Luckily, if everything goes the same, we can continue to see a Porsche 911 with a combustion engine or a Ferrari with its good V12. But it seems almost impossible for us to see affordable cars with this type of technology. Does that mean that every sports car will be electric? Most probably will be. But if this new regulation is approved, at least the door will be open to seeing a type of vehicle that we have little studied in Europe. One with which Mazda wants to keep alive a sports option in its range. The new wording opens the door for our dream of seeing the Mazda Iconic SP becoming a reality to be closer. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? Let’s dream about him It was November 2023 when Mazda dropped a bomb at the Tokyo Motor Show. It was at that time when he presented the Mazda Iconic SP, a beautiful prototype with retractable headlights and proportions halfway between the Mazda MX-5 and the Mazda RX-7two of his legendary cars. Very few details were given about the car but enough to understand that its return may be viable even with the expected emissions reduction. It was said that it was an extended range electric car. That is, a kind of plug-in hybrid where a rotary engine supports the vehicle to generate electricity and send it to the battery. The electric motors are what drive the wheels by taking electricity from the battery. A battery just enough for daily trips in electric mode but supported by a rotary motor allowed the car to have 370 HP but, above all, a weight of 1,430 kg. A low figure for an electric car, in line with Mazda’s philosophy of always trying to keep weight at bay. And the company has made it very clear on repeated occasions that they do not believe in electric cars with long ranges, among other things because of the excess weight it causes in their cars. He Mazda MX-30 electric and its 1,720 kg weight is a good example of how batteries affect this aspect. But its extended range version is also a good example of how they are already using this technology. The passage of time, however, seemed to be making things complicated for the company. In a recent interview with Coachhis Masahi Nakayama, head of the sports car’s design, said that it was the car of his dreams and that “technically it is viable” but the problem was in the costs. It has logic. For a brand as small as Mazda, putting a vehicle that will presumably be niche on the road is a huge risk. The eccentricities, the different cars, are reserved for huge companies like Toyota or vehicles that can remain on the market. If the company could not emit CO2 emissions in Europe in 2035 it would be another market that would be closed. The European market is, in fact, the most interesting market for this car. In China, customers They have looked at another type of vehicle more technological inside. In the United States the electric car is not taking off and There doesn’t seem to be any intention for it.. Only Europe and Japan seem to be areas where sales can be made, but the first market still has a ban on selling cars with combustion engines approved, which prevents a commercial life long enough to guarantee its viability. However, approving the European Commission’s proposal leaves the door open to seeing this sports car on the street. First because it would be complying with the regulations and second because, given that it is a niche car with few sales expected, it would be easy to offset the emissions with other vehicles from the firm or with the purchase of emissions credits. It remains to be seen, however, the future of Mazda in Europe. The restrictions are so tough over the next 10 years that they threaten to thin the firm’s product portfolio. Right now, its only competitive electric comes from China and the second model It will also be a purely Chinese car. The rest of its range is made up of cars with large combustion engines with emissions that go well above the 93.6 gr/km of CO2 with which they have to comply in 2027. What is certain is that a change of this type in the regulations paves the way for a different car. One of those cars that are worth dreaming about to break the monotony of an increasingly standardized market. Photo | Mazda In Xataka | Mazda wants to reinvent the electric car with an electric car that is not entirely electric. In China they have improved the idea

Rome turned North Africa into its great oil fountain. And we have found the mega-oil mills of the Empire

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He Roman empire He founded the foundations of Western civilization both socially and in the most functional part: the infrastructure. Its roads are famousbut wherever they passed, They also founded industry. And an international group of archaeologists has found one of the most significant discoveries related to the roman industry. The second largest oil pressing complex in the entire Empire. Mega-oil mill. In the Tunisian region of Kasserine is the archaeological site identified as ‘Henchir el Begar’. Specifically, there are two settlements found to the north and west of Kasserine (the ancient Roman Cillium), and archaeologists are clear that they are part of the same industry dedicated to oil. They estimate that both were operational between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, demonstrating that they were incredibly valuable to the Empire, and the data reflects the productive ambition of the area: The settlement has 33 hectares with two main sectors: Hr Begar 1 and Hr Begar 2. Hr Begar 1 has twelve beam presses, being the largest mill in Tunisia and the second largest in the entire Roman world. We are talking about beams and counterweights capable of exerting tons of pressure. It has cisterns and a water collection basin. HR Begar 2 has another eight presses of the same type, as well as another water collection basin and cisterns. Context. In addition to the two “oil mills”, georadar has identified a network of settling tanks for oil, warehouses, a dense fabric of housing for workers and the site’s population, and road tracks for the ‘trucks’ of the erato, trains that transported the amphoraethey will reach the coast and places of distribution. Apart from making it clear that the site was an oil megafactory, they have also found stone mills. They estimate that production was mixed: oil and also cereals, which points to the strategic importance of this region around Kasserine. Strategic good. In it releasearchaeologists highlight that the territory is characterized by high steppes and a continental climate with modest rainfall that would have been collected in wells, all of this favoring ideal conditions for the cultivation of olive trees. This border area of ​​Africa would have been a point of exchange between cultures, but a discovery of these dimensions shows that this Proconsular province of Africa would have been the great supplier of oil to the Roman Empire both for consumption (the highest quality oil) and for fuel and other consumables (oil for lighting, bases for medical ointments and cosmetics). Perspectives. That powerful Henchir el Begar oil industry is not the only thing the team has found. They have also found pieces such as a bracelet decorated in copper or brass, a stone projectile and some architectural elements that had later been reused in a Byzantine wall. The mission in Kasserine began in 2023 as a project co-led by the Ca’Foscari University of Venice, the University of La Manouba in Tunisia and the Complutense University of Madrid and, according to Professor Luigi Sperti, one of the project coordinators, it allows “an unprecedented perspective on the agrarian and socioeconomic organization of the border regions of Roman Africa.” We will see what they find in future prospecting, but the investigations of this third campaign have borne fruit in understanding the importance of the region in issues such as the production, marketing and transportation of oil on a scale not seen until now in that area. Images | UCM, Unive In Xataka | Modern tunnel boring machines are real monsters compared to those of 1950. The paradox is that they are just as slow

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