Da Vinci was not only one of the most brilliant thinkers and inventors in history. It was also very good

He Da Vinci painter. The sculptor The engineer. The Tuscan wise man who devised flying machines at the end of the 15th century. The one with mirror writing and the muse with a disturbing smile. That of the enigma that does not go away five centuries after his death. With a long beard, sober look and clear forehead, Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci is by far one of the most magnetic characters in history. Hundreds of myths and theories have been founded on his genius, rivers of ink have flowed and bestsellers have even been written and movies made in the most genuine Hollywood style. The last helping of conspiracies was served a few years ago, when the Salvator Mundi canvas was sold. for the astronomical amount of 450 million dollars News followed that again questioned the authorship of the painting. However, before being a consummate artist, a curious man with a voracious appetite and even a modern scientist (some maintain that he was the first, anticipating Galileo), Da Vinci was simply a Sir from Tuscany. With his quirks and flaws, overshadowed by the fascination that the character arouses. A muscular, flirtatious Vinciano with a peculiar sense of humor, who hated meat and who liked to be a fan of things. This is the least known Da Vinci. Da Vinci, Renaissance gymbro The author of The Mona Lisa He was a good-looking guy, with a handsome face and athletic body. And to prevent the passage of centuries from erasing that image, there is plenty of evidence that reminds us that the Tuscan was a true beauty. “He was by nature courteous, cultivated and generous, and his face was extraordinarily beautiful,” wrote the humanist Paolo Giovio. Perhaps to curl the curl and elevate him almost to the category of Adonis, his biographer Vasari (who never met the Tuscan) describes him as a “tall, extraordinary beauty and infinite grace” gallant. There is no doubt that he liked to dress well and take care of his appearance. He used to dress up in pink tunics that reached his knees, fur cloaks and rings. Also carefully comb your hair, curly and long. In one of his notebooks he wrote advice on how to become a real dandy. Do you want them to turn around? square at your pace? Well (recommends the Tuscan) “drink fresh rose water and moisten your hands with them.” Da Vinci, liking himself, around 1478. In any case, it was best not to criticize his appearance. Although there are many testimonies of his pacifist spirit, the chronicles tell us of a Da Vinci endowed with a force exceptional. “With his right hand he could twist a horseshoe or the iron ring of a knocker as if they were made of lead,” explained Vasari, who once again seems inclined to exaggerate a bit of Leonardo’s qualities. The Tuscan’s fixation on elegance went far beyond his appearance. Da Vinci was a clean and conscientious man who liked to surround himself with rigorous order. “If you want to know how a person’s spirit inhabits his body,” reads one of his notebooks, “look at how he treats his dwelling; if it is disordered, in the same way the spirit will maintain the body in a confusing way.” The Full Pantomime of its time Leonardo is remembered as a thoughtful, severe, taciturn and reserved man. Although those were undoubtedly fundamental aspects of his character (this is how he showed himself in his very famous self-portrait from Turinin which she presents herself with a melancholic expression), was far from the only one. Throughout his life he dedicated great efforts to making people laugh. in the book Leonardo, the flight of the mindCharles Nicholl points out the irony that his most famous painting is The Mona Lisa (the jubilant one, in Spanish). There is no doubt that the Tuscan liked jokes. The satirical and sophisticated word games, but also the crudest ones. In his notebooks we find funny notes written down relatively frequently. One of them (which invites us to think of a Leonardo holding his stomach with great laughter and tears in his eyes) says: “They asked a painter why he painted such beautiful images, even though they were of dead things, while his children were so ugly. To which he replied that he made his paintings during the day and his children at night.” “Paparl, paparl, take me to the circus.” (Self-portrait of Da Vinci himself in his younger years) His sense of humor also appeared in his artistic work. Their cartoons They are very well known. Also the decorations and gadgets that he designed for the celebrations of the Sforza family or at the court of France, which in a way made him “the king of the party.” Vasari once again collects another anecdote that, this time, gives us a glimpse of Da Vinci’s humor. On one occasion a gardener gave him a large lizard that he had hunted. Leonardo decided to stick some wings he made with scales on its back. Every time the suffering reptile walked, those membranes trembled to the terror of the public. “He made it eyes, horns and a beard and then domesticated it,” says Vasari, “he used to keep it in a box and whenever he took it out for his friends to see, they ran away scared.” Da Vinci, pop star and veggie Yes, musician. Engineer, painter, anatomist, sculptor, architect… And musician! The Tuscan’s fingers not only showed his virtuosity with the brush. There are multiple references that there was nothing wrong with the lyre of braccioan instrument with which he liked to let inspiration take him from time to time. And just like Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) has its iconic two-neck GibsonLeonardo also showed off his peculiar instrument when he performed: an elegant silver lyre in the shape of a horse’s head, built by himself. Although Leonardo’s musical side is often overlooked, there are clues that indicate he played an important role. For example, it … Read more

A teenager discovered the ‘Málaga’ virus and ended up founding VirusTotal. The enigma that remains is the same since 1992: who programmed it

Bernardo Quintero (@bquintero) was 14 years old and his first PC, an Amstrad PC-1512, had just arrived home. It was 1987, and the co-founder of VirusTotal He was excited by this machine that allowed him to exploit his computer curiosity. His hobby ended up being trying to circumvent the copy protection systems of some games, and he was there one day when something suddenly happened. A little white ball moved on your screen. By itself. Without him having done anything. He soon discovered that it was a computer virus. One that he ended up studying to know how to detect and eliminate it. He succeeded, and over the next three years he ended up improving his first antivirus, a tool that allowed him to recognize and eradicate seven different viruses he had encountered. It didn’t seem like that project was going to go much further, and Quintero began his studies in Computer Science at the Polytechnic University School of Malaga. In one of the first classes, a professor asked if anyone wanted to raise a grade with a Pascal programming project. He signed up, and when talking to the professor, he asked him if he had done any previous projects. “Well, yes,” he replied. “An accounting program, disk utilities, an antivirus…”. The teacher cut him off. “Did you say antivirus?”. When he answered affirmatively, the professor asked him to accompany him to his office. There he showed him how the entire IT department had been infected by a virus that the antivirus did not recognize. Fragment of the code in Turbo Pascal 5.5 of the antivirus that Bernardo Quintero developed to eliminate the “Málaga-2610” virus (1992). Source: Bernardo Quintero. Quintero soon detected where the problem could be and went home with an infected disk to work on an antivirus. It took him more than he thought, but after a few hours he managed to figure out how to detect it and delete it. That helped him pass the subject, but it also ended up being the definitive seed of the professional project that would end with the founding of Virus Total. He tells it all in more detail in his novel, ‘Infected‘, which he published at the beginning of the year and in which he narrates those beginnings and how that ended up leading him to create VirusTotal, the Malaga company that would later end up being bought by Google. That virus in his faculty was called “Málaga”, and Quintero spent years without paying much attention to it again. So, three years ago, this expert posted a message on Twitter (X) to try to solve the mystery of who would have created it. Already then he discovered that according to several sources the virus had been created at the Polytechnic School of Informatics. The objective, I counted thenit was not about bringing the name to light, but about chatting with that person and remembering those times. He failed to reveal the mystery, and that mystery remained unsolved again. But Bernardo Quintero never forgot that and returned to the fray with a new attempt a few days ago. After first publishing a message on X, the next day he published a summary of that story on LinkedInand asked for help in that post to try to solve the mystery once and for all. We contacted him, and he told us how while in the past he had focused on discovering how it infected and creating the disinfection tool, he never tried to find out who had created the “Malaga” virus. But he told us that “now, looking at it with new eyes, I have seen a couple of interesting details and I have discovered the motivation.” In fact, he adds that thanks to those messages on X and LinkedIn “I have received stories from several people who studied those years at the Polytechnic of Malaga and who believe they know the author.” Of those candidates, he explains, “I have ruled out 3 or 4, but there is one that fits very well with the new data I have.” The mystery seems to be close to being solved. “I just need to clear up one unknown to confirm the author.. And if it is confirmed, there is a beautiful and sad story that will be worth telling.” Everything therefore indicates that it will finally be known who was the author of that virus, and Quintero has promised to tell more details these days. We will be attentive. Image | Mika Baumeister In Xataka | The computer with the most malware in the world: this is MICE, the challenge of Bernardo Quintero and VirusTotal

Óscar Puente wants to connect Madrid and Barcelona in less than two hours. The fastest solution goes through China

Last month we learned that the Ministry of Transport tendered for 2.3 million euros two studies that analyzed the possibility of increasing the speed in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor to 350 km/h. Minister Óscar Puente’s promise was to reduce the travel time between both cities to less than two hours. However, to achieve this it is not enough to improve the infrastructure. Rolling stock capable of running at those speeds is needed, and that is where the capacity of China’s trains comes into play. The problem is in the deadlines and prices. In Spain and Europe we have a large railway industry, although delivery times are reducing the local choice compared to other alternatives such as China. Deliveries are around 60 months and the prices offered by European manufacturers are higher. “Chinese manufacturers deliver trains at half the price within six months to two years,” counted Bridge to the SER Chain. Renfe urgently needs to renew its fleet, especially after the Avlo disaster in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor, and China seems the only viable alternative according to the searched criteria. China dominates global high speed. With 48,000 kilometers of high-speed roads compared to 4,000 in Spain, the Asian country leads the sector by far. Its star manufacturer, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, produces the Fuxing platform and has developed the CR450 prototype, capable of reaching 400 km/h. These trains already circulate in China at 450 km/h, although they would need adaptations to operate on the Spanish network. The minister and the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia, recently made a visit to the facilities of the Chinese giant to learn first-hand about its production capabilities. Europe looks askance the entry of china. The European Commission investigate CRRC for alleged state subsidies that would allow it to compete with artificially low prices, a case similar to that of Chinese electric vehicles. Bulgaria already tried to buy 20 trains from the Asian company for more than 600 million euros, but the investigation by the European organization forced the manufacturer to withdraw from the contest. Spain, however, is pressing to facilitate the entry of these trains or, failing that, to create an “Airbus model” that improves the competitiveness of the European railway industry. European alternatives are on the table. In addition to CRRC, Renfe is considering options such as Siemens’ Velaro Novo trains, which can reach 400 km/h but have yet to demonstrate mass production. There is also Hitachiwhose ETR-1000 is used by Iryo in Spain, although underused because the network does not allow speeds to exceed 300 km/h. Alstom, CAF and Talgo complete the list of candidates for the tenders that the public operator will launch at the beginning of 2026. It is estimated that each unit will cost around 27 million euros and that Spain will go to the European Investment Bank to finance the purchase. The infrastructure also needs changes. The studies They include new variants of access to Madrid and Barcelona, ​​a high-speed station in Parla with connection to Cercanías, another in El Prat de Llobregat linked to Rodalies, and a direct Lleida-Barcelona section that avoids passing through Camp de Tarragona. The current route is already designed to withstand 350 km/h, according to the Ministry, and Spanish Aerotraviesa technology will be used to allow these speeds without increasing maintenance costs. The renewal of the line will begin when the Madrid-Seville line ends. It remains to be seen whether Europe will allow it. Puente’s institutional trip to China has served to strengthen commercial ties and explore cooperation with the manufacturer. The Ministry of Transport defend that the country is “at a time of enormous expansion” of its railway network and needs quick solutions. And right now China is possibly the only country that can offer the material in the desired times. Cover image | Miguel In Xataka | In the race for autonomous driving, China is ready to literally take the next leap: L3

The Academy has discovered that being relevant matters

The Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has signed an agreement that, beyond the specific broadcast of its awards gala, marks a turning point in the entertainment industry: from 2029YouTube will broadcast the oscars exclusively and free for everyone. The story underlying this movement is not so much the demise of cable television (a phenomenon that in Spain we perceive from a certain distance) but the confirmation of a fundamental change: if the content is not available in a simple and instantaneous way, it does not exist for the majority. The deal. YouTube will obtain exclusive worldwide broadcasting rights from the 101st edition of the awards, scheduled for 2029. The deal extends until 2033 and the transmission will be free worldwide, including the main ceremony, the red carpet and exclusive material from the backstage and the Governors Ball. Until now, Disney paid $100 million each year for broadcast rights on ABC, a very tight economic dealsince this year, for example, it only earned 127 million from advertising during the broadcast. Little thing compared to YouTubewhich recorded advertising revenue of $36 billion in 2024. Worse and worse audiences. The break between ABC and the Academy comes from progressive worsening of audience data. The 2019 ceremony brought together 29.6 million viewers; In 2020, the figure dropped to 23.6. But the real collapse came with the 2021 edition in the middle of the pandemic, which sank to 10.4 million viewers. In 2025 there were signs of recovery with 19.69 million viewers, the highest audience in five years, thanks to simultaneous streaming on Hulu and the return of Conan O’Brien as host. Possible solutions. To improve the numbers (and the friction between ABC and the Academy) the network proposed changes inspired by the Grammys: moving technical categories out of the main broadcast, prioritizing musical performances and reducing the total duration. The Academy resisted, but in 2018 announced the creation of a category of Outstanding Achievement in Popular Filman idea so bad that it was canceled just 29 days later. Instead of actually cutting the Academy added two new categories (casting in 2025 and stunt coordination in 2028). It was seen coming. In fact, the jump to YouTube is the inevitable step that certifies the agony of cable. In fact, this is demonstrated by the Academy’s own decision to incorporate streaming simultaneous on Hulu this very 2025, despite a good number of technological difficulties. YouTube is the inevitable next stop: instant distribution, unrestricted global reach, and free (or, at most, dependent on a single subscription to the platform’s premium option). Taking into account the traditional difficulties in watching the ceremony, YouTube’s proposal has a certain radicality: from anywhere you can watch the ceremony without downloading applications or bypassing blocks. The lace There is one more detail that certifies that the grudges come from afar. In May 2024, YouTube hired Justin Connolly, a veteran who had spent a quarter of a century at Disney, to oversee the platform’s media and sports operations. The signing triggered a legal battle: Disney filed a lawsuit trying to block Connolly’s incorporation, in a dispute that was resolved through an out-of-court settlement. A former Disney executive, speaking to The Wrap, stressed: “Do not underestimate the importance of the hatred and resentment between Justin Connolly and Bob Iger. The dispute continues.” And we just saw the last blow. In Xataka | The “ghost” category of the Oscars: it exists but it is so demanding that there have never been films that compete for it

Renfe is obliged to compensate for delays of more than 15 minutes starting January 1. The Government wants to prevent it

Renfe will have to compensate users whose trains are delayed more than 15 minutes. It has to do so by order of the Congress of Deputies that approved the amendment that included this detail within the Sustainable Mobility Law. Now the Government wants to torpedo it and is looking for solutions to avoid it. He claims to have reasons for this. The facts. A little over a month ago, The Congress of Deputies approved the Sustainable Mobility Law. in it were collected guidelines to guarantee support for aid for public transport or the first step for a new bus concessional system. But among the amendments that were made to the law, one was also carried out so that Renfe will compensate again to users whose trains were delayed by more than 15 minutes. It was a decision that reversed the decision which the company had taken a year earlier, when it expanded the criteria for returning part or all of the tickets. What had happened? In 2024, Renfe confirmed that it was rectifying its criteria for returning money for tickets. Until that year, the company was committed to returning part or all of the money spent under the following conditions: Delays of more than 15 minutes: payment of 50% of the ticket Delays of more than 30 minutes: 100% payment of the ticket With the changes applied in 2024, Renfe is operating as follows: Delays of more than 60 minutes: payment of 50% of the ticket Delays of more than 90 minutes: 100% payment of the ticket That is, in the first 59 minutes, the user currently does not receive a single euro of the price of their ticket. Previously, if delayed between 30 and 59 minutes, the customer received a full refund of the ticket. Now, by mandate of the Congress of Deputies, Renfe has to return to the previous compensations. That is, it will start returning money after 15 minutes. If nothing changes. And the Ministry of Transportation is looking for legal formulas to prevent this from happening, according to reports from Five Days. When the measure was announced, Óscar Puente, head of the Transportation portfolio, He already announced that they would look for solutions so that the current system does not go backwards. They point out from the media that Transportation lawyers are working against the clock to find judicial support that allows them to maintain the current situation. If not, as of January 1, 2026, passengers and consumer associations will have free rein to claim their money. What about Iryo and Ouigo? To understand why Renfe expanded its punctuality commitments, we must look at the return conditions of its competitors. Ouigo compensates in the following cases: Delay of more than 30 minutes and less than 60 minutes: 50% refund of the ticket in a non-refundable purchase voucher. Delay of more than 60 minutes and less than 90 minutes: 50% refund of the ticket in a refundable purchase voucher. Delay of more than 90 minutes: 100% refund of the ticket in a refundable purchase voucher. Iryo partially or totally refunds the money in the following situations: Delay of more than 30 minutes and less than 60 minutes: refund of 50% of the ticket in purchase voucher or cash. Delay of more than 90 minutes: 100% refund of the ticket in purchase voucher or cash. Inferiority. Since the amendment was approved, what the Ministry maintains is that with this new scheme the company competes under inferior conditions compared to Iryo and Ouigo. Renfe feels that it is being discriminated against in the market because it is the only company that is required to make these compensations while the Italian and French companies have room to play with them. The Government already pointed out this when the measure was approved, pointing out that the amendment (promoted by the Popular Party and approved with its support and that of Vox, Junts, ERC, Podemos and BNG) It was a political maneuver to focus on an alleged chaos in Renfe that, in his opinion, is not such. Furthermore, they point to another argument. The previous punctuality commitments were designed for a structure where only Renfe acted. Now, The trains on Spanish tracks have multiplied and the paradox may arise that a small delay caused by one of its competitors forces Renfe to return the money to its consumers and not to the company originating the problem. a hole. If the change ends up being effective, Renfe needs to make a piggy bank for possible refunds. And if we take into account the antecedents, the returns can amount to tens of millions of euros. In fact, four out of every 10 AVE trains In the summer they were delayed and up to two million travelers who previously obtained some type of refund were left without it. According to the calculations of The WorldIf the situation experienced this summer were to be repeated, the company will have to pay 79 million euros to its travelers. Money that was saved this summer in just three months. The problem has also been increasing because in Five Days They point out that the volume of these compensations remained at 42 million euros in 2023. However, since then Renfe services and traffic on the roads have increased, which increases the risk of delay. Photo | Xataka In Xataka | “There are no places for 10 days”: taking a train to go to work in Barcelona or Girona has become an impossible mission

Ukraine’s biggest problem is not Russia. There are three European countries trapped in a perverse mechanism: type C accounts

Europe faces a decision that goes far beyond an accounting discussion and that defines its strategic credibility: what to do with the more than 210,000 million of euros of Russian assets frozen since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. The problem is twofold, because it is not just about figures, but about what comes after activating the operation. The European crossroads. Yes, because the question is not only whether that money should be used to support kyiv at a critical moment, but whether the European Union is capable to take the risks political, legal and economic implications of doing so. As Washington presses for a quick exit to the conflict and reduces its financial support, Brussels finds itself caught between the urgency of avoiding a Ukrainian defeat and the fear of unleashing a russian retaliation that directly hits several of its Member States. Putin clearly. Statements this week by Vladimir Putinloaded with contempt for European elites and confidence in a protracted war, are not simple rhetoric. Moscow makes it clear that it is not contemplating real concessions and that it considers the use of its frozen assets as theft that demands a response. That response would not be symbolic, but surgical: selective seizures, accelerated nationalizations, endless litigation and the use of the Russian financial system as a weapon. The message, a priori, is unequivocal: if Europe crosses the line, Russia will not only punish Ukraine on the battlefield, but also European countries that still have exposed economic interests within their territory. The real blockage. I remembered this morning the financial times he crux of the whole situation. Although the debate is presented as a struggle between hawks and cautions, the real blockage comes from a handful of countries specific, with Belgium, Italy and Austria at the head. It is not a question of ideology, but of direct vulnerability. Belgium hosts Euroclear, the warehouse that guards most of the frozen Russian assets, and fears becoming the first target of retaliation judicial and economic. Italy and Austria, for their part, maintain banks and companies with billions trapped in Russia, benefits included, which they cannot repatriate. For these countries, authorizing the use of Russian money is not an abstract foreign policy decision, but rather an immediate risk to their financial and corporate systems. Type C accounts: the ace of Moscow. At the center of this fear are the calls type C accountsthe mechanism created by Moscow to withhold dividends, interest and assets from Western companies. That money, formally owned by European and American companies, is under Russian control and can be frozen, redistributed or directly transferred to the state budget with a simple decree. For the Kremlin, these accounts are a retaliation tool fast and effective, far superior in agility to slow Western judicial processes. For Europe, they are an invisible chain that binds entire governments when making strategic decisions, because any false step can translate into lost billions and internal political crises. Germany pushes, Europe hesitates. Germany has become the main political engine of the plan to use Russian assets, convinced that without that money there is no realistic way to support Ukraine for another two years without skyrocketing the European debt or depending on impossible unanimity. Berlin insists that the risk must be shared among everyone and that failure to act would send a devastating sign: Europe is not capable of defending its own security. However, this logic collides with the reality of countries that feel that the risk is not distributed, but rather concentrated in their national balance sheetsits banks and its courts. A (bad) peace as a threat. This financial blockade occurs in an even more disturbing context: European fear to an imposed peace on terms favorable to Russia. For many capitals, an agreement that consolidates Moscow’s territorial gains would not only leave Ukraine defenseless, but would force Europe to prepare for a scenario direct confrontation in the medium term, with longer borders, a strengthened Russian army and a weakened European deterrent. In this framework, the frozen Russian money stops being a tactical lever and becomes a strategic investment: either it is used now to support Ukraine, or it is paid for later in the form of massive rearmament and risk of war. The final dilemma. In short, the European Union has frozen Russian assets to prevent them from returning to Moscow without reparations, but now it must decide whether it dares to give the next step. Without that money, Ukraine could run out of liquidity in a matter of months, losing all negotiating power and forcing a deal from weakness. With him, Europe is exposed to reprisals, litigation and immediate economic losses, concentrated in a few countries that are currently holding back the decision. The crossroads are clear: assume the political and financial cost now, or accept that the fear of type C accounts determine European security policy. Not only the future of Ukraine is at stake in that election, but also Europe’s ability to act as a coherent geopolitical actor when your own interests are at risk. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | A missile has been bombarding Ukraine’s defenses for weeks. What no one could imagine is that he is not Russian: he is from the West In Xataka | A day later the satellites leave no doubt: Russia fortified a bridge, and a Ukrainian drone made science fiction a reality

2026 will be a blow in your pocket if you have fiber and mobile. Unless you use DIGI

New year, price rise. Or that’s what traditional operators have been doing practically since we can remember. But in Spain there is an operator that swims against the current: Digi. The company closed 2024 without raising pricesand in 2025 the promise has been repeated again. On the rival side, fiber and mobile from Vodafone, Movistar and Orange will be more expensive in 2026with the three large companies preparing an upward update in their rates for the month of January. The Digi paradox contrasts with this year-end: he makes less and less money with each clientand that’s just what you want to do. Not a euro goes up. There will be no price increase in DIGI by 2026announcing it officially and distancing itself from the rest of its rivals. Marius Varzaru, CEO of the company, similarly reaffirmed that in 2025 both the price of its ilimiTODO rate and the speed of SMART Fiber rates have been improved without compromising the price. A strategy completely against the flow of the rest, with a Yoigo raising fiber and mobile prices, an o2 that also entered 2025 with increasesand the three large operators on the verge of their annual rate updates. The plan. Digi wants to be, at a minimum, the third operator in Spain. Despite being a direct rival, has the agreement with Telefónicathrough which you benefit from both national roaming services and RAN Sharing (radio access network sharing). For user purposes, coverage relatively similar to that of Telefónica for much less money. Is it a profitable plan? Yes, but. During 2025, Digi has been the operator that has managed to snatch the most customers from its rivals, close to one million. Despite this, its profitability is increasingly lowergoing from 8.7 euros per client to 7.8. This would be a significant problem for an operator with low customer volume, but this is not the case with DIGI. The operator’s priority is volume over margin, something that has allowed it to catapult to fourth place in the ranking of Spanish operators. And, if it continues like this, it will not take long for it to eat Vodafone. It’s not something new. Already in 2022, DIGI managed to take over 60% of the total portability in Spain and, since then, it closes each year with close to one million new lines. DIGI is not an MVNO, it is the fourth major Spanish operatorand has the potential to continue climbing positions. For now, Telefónica seems not to be considering the purchase of DIGIgiven that Murtra’s aggressive plan does not include new acquisitions. Despite this, the only possible way to stop DIGI seems, precisely, to go hand in hand. Image | Digi In Xataka | Movistar Plus+ was making a comeback after four years of losing customers. Telefónica has decided to cut its workforce

The five best Christmas offers on Kindle depending on the price and use we are going to give it to read

Amazon has launched many Christmas offers and, of course, the Kindles have fully entered them. But… which one to buy? In this article we are going to discuss which is the most interesting depending on what we want to spend and the use we are going to give it. Kindle by 107.99 eurosa basic model that stands out above all for its price. Kindle Colorsoft by 194.99 eurosAmazon’s eReader with a color screen. Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition by 224.99 eurosa model similar to the previous one with added functions and better features. Kindle Scribe (2022) by 264.99 eurosa slightly older eReader but just as interesting as the rest of this list. Kindle Scribe (2024) by 349.99 eurosthe latest generation of its range. Other Kindles that are not on sale. Kindle If you want a Kindle to read occasionally and are only looking for a basic experience at a not very high price, the best purchase option is the same Kindle. It incorporates a six-inch glare-free screen and its size is small to take on a trip. Its theoretical autonomy is up to six weeks and it comes with 16 GB of storage. Bad is that with this model we lose the adjustable warm light, the automatic front light adjustment (it can be done manually) and the water resistance. The good is that it costs 107.99 euros. Kindle (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kindle Colorsoft Maybe the Kindle Colorsoft It is not the most suitable eReader for reading comics given its seven-inch size, but it is interesting to take advantage of the color screen to underline text in various colors and differentiate dialogues between various characters. Or to see the covers and color illustrations. With all this, it is focused on those people who prefer to add a touch of color in these situations and who can spend a little more money on a reader. Bad: It does not have wireless charging or automatic front light adjustment. The good: its price 194.99 euros It is quite tight, it is waterproof, its theoretical autonomy reaches 12 weeks of use and the frames are tighter than on the basic Kindle. In this sense, it is smaller in height, but wider and a little thinner. Kindle Colorsoft (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition On the other hand, Amazon has a more complete model of its eReader with a color screen called Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition. It has exactly the same dimensions and the same specifications, with a couple of additions: it incorporates automatic front light adjustment and comes with wireless charging. Bad: its price 224.99 euros is higher than that of the basic model. If we are not going to use its two additions, it is advisable to opt for the other eReader. The good: It is a more complete eReader and the price difference right now is not excessively large. Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kindle Scribe (2022) He Kindle Scribe Launched in 2022, it will not be the most recent eReader in its range, but Amazon continues to sell it at a fairly competitive price. The most notable thing is the format, since we are talking about a reader with 10.2 inch screen. It is aimed at readers of digital books, but also for those people who like to take notes of certain dialogues or just to take notes. It includes a pencil and its theoretical autonomy is up to 12 weeks of use. Its price is 264.99 euros. Bad: It weighs quite a bit (433 grams), so it is not the most suitable for traveling. Furthermore, it is not waterproof either. The good: It is quite practical if what we are looking for is a screen that covers more text with a larger size. It is also if we want to take notes. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kindle Scribe (2024) He Kindle Scribe Launched in 2024, it does have some interesting additions, but as we will mention later, it does without others. It maintains the same format as its previous generation by having a 10.2-inch screen and also includes a stylus. As in the previous model, it is oriented for use at home and for taking notes. Its price on Amazon is 349.99 euros and in MediaMarkt of 329.99 euros. Bad: Its weight is 433 grams and it is not waterproof nor does it come with wireless charging. The good: It is available in various storage configurations, its theoretical autonomy is up to 12 weeks of use and incorporates artificial intelligence functions to summarize text or notes. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Other Kindles The Kindle Paperwhite is one of the most popular eReaders in each generation due to its quality-price ratio, but neither of them are on sale. Its use is aimed at people looking for a better reading experience and that they tend to read quite frequently. It is also ideal to take on a trip even if its size is larger than that of the Kindle. He Kindle Paperwhite costs 169 euros and it has a seven-inch screen. In addition, it incorporates adjustable warm light, water resistance, incorporates 16 GB of internal storage and its autonomy is up to 12 weeks of use. He Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition costs 199 euros and, in addition to what its basic model already includes, it comes with automatic front light adjustment, wireless charging and 32 GB of internal storage. Kindle Paperwhite (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (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 In Xataka | Which Kindle to … Read more

and has already achieved what only ASML had, according to Reuters

Let’s continue with historical analogies. Ptolemy Vking of Egypt from 204 to 181 BC. C. —not to be confused with the astronomer, Claudius Ptolemy—, he was very delighted with the great Library of Alexandria. The legendary site brought together human knowledge of the time in hundreds of thousands of papyrus rolls. However, the king was restless: the Pergamon Library (in modern-day Türkiye) did not stop growing. They wanted to get on his back, so he took drastic measures. He prohibited the export of papyrus. The story sounds familiar to you, right? As if he were a modern Trump who wanted to stop innovation by vetoing the export of new technologies, Ptolemy V promised them very happily. “Let’s see how they manage now in Pergamon,” he surely thought. And then Pergamum did what China has also ended up doing: he looked for the chestnuts. Given the scarcity of papyrus, in Pergamon they were forced to perfect a technique that already existed in a rudimentary form: using animal skins to treat, stretch and polish them with the aim of writing on them. They called that new support charta pergamena (Pergamon paper), but its popular name is another much better known one: Parchment. The story, told in the fabulous essay ‘Infinity in a reed‘, by Irene Vallejo, is more than 2,000 years old, but as we see it is a faithful reflection of what is happening now in the United States trade war with China. Specifically, with photolithographic technology, which the US has tried by all means to prevent from reaching China. So China is inventing its own scroll. Been at it for quite some timebut until now it seemed to be totally stuck. At most, rumors tell us, he had managed to create a photolithographic machine with deep ultraviolet (UVP) technology, less advanced than UVE. And not even for those. China’s Manhattan Project The Dutch company ASML has managed to maintain the exclusive of this technology so far. If you wanted to make advanced chips, you needed to buy one of their very complex machines. China had a difficult time facing the US veto, but as has happened in other areas, the Asian giant has not stood by and has tried to find alternatives. And in this case, it seems to have a profile. This is what they indicate in Reuterswhere they indicate that a group of former ASML engineers have managed to decipher the secrets of the company’s EUV machines through reverse engineering. The prototype created by these engineers is already capable of generating light in the extreme ultraviolet range, but has not yet produced functional chipssay the sources cited in said medium. It is expected, however, that this machine will be used to build advanced chips starting in 2028, although some analysts are more conservative and believe that chips will not be manufactured in it until 2030. According to this report, to build said prototype, use was made of parts that were available from ASML machines in alternative markets. Sources consulted by Reuters described this development as the Chinese version of “the Manhattan Project” which led the United States to build the atomic bomb in World War II. The achievement challenges claims made by ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet in April. He then assured that China would need “many, many years” to develop such technology. However, the discovery of this prototype suggests that this period will be significantly reduced. There are of course important obstacles to overcome. One of them is access to high-precision optical systems, and here is another Western company with control of these elements: Zeiss. This project is so crucial to China’s interests that it is being carried out with great secrecy. A Chinese engineer with many years of experience at ASML was signed with a generous bonus, and when he started working He did it with an identification card with a false name. He soon realized that the team members, other former ASML engineers of Chinese nationality, also had fake names. At least two current ASML employees in the Netherlands with Chinese nationality have been contacted by Huawei recruiters since 2020. European laws limit ASML’s ability to know where its former employees have gone to work, but the company has already had disagreements over this issue. In fact, in 2019 they won a case in which a Chinese engineer was sentenced to pay 845 million dollars for stealing trade secrets. The defendant declared bankruptcy but continues operating in Beijing with the support of the Chinese government, according to court documents cited in Reuters. It is now appropriate to return to the lesson taught by the history of Ptolemy V. This king’s boycott had an effect opposite to what he desired. It did not stop Pergamum, it created a superior material – parchment was much more resistant – and it saved literature: many classic works managed to reach us thanks to having been written on parchment and not on papyrus, which would have fallen apart. Now, of course, it remains to be seen if China is indeed the Pergamon of this story. He has the strengths to achieve it, of course. In Xataka | Global tension cannot withstand ASML. He is going to build a huge campus equivalent to 50 football fields

AEMET confirms a collapse and snow at 1,000 meters to start Christmas

If you thought you had too much of a coat this week, now you’re going to have to think twice. After a few marked days due to unusually mild temperatures for mid-Decemberthe weather is going to change radically with the arrival of the peak days of Christmas. A thermal collapse. So far, the month of December has seen some really warm days where you could easily be out in the sun without a jacket. This is something that has been seen especially in parts of the Mediterranean, Almería and even in the Cantabrian Sea with thermometers that have reached to touch 20 degrees. However, it already has an expiration date. Starting on December 21, coinciding with the official start of astronomical winter, a notable thermal drop is expected. According to AEMET itself This change will not be gradual, but will feel like a drastic collapse in thermometers by this polar jet that arrives from the north that will leave minimum temperatures in the negative and that in general will cause a thermal drop of 3-5ºC. Precipitation map for Sunday, December 21 | Source: AEMET Rain and snow. Before the great drop in temperatures, we will see abundant rains in our territory due to the entry of a new front from the Atlantic. This will mean that this weekend we will see abundant rain in a good part of the peninsula, with special emphasis on northern Spain where significant storms are expected for next Sunday. The Galician coasts are where we will have to keep a close eye, as these precipitations will be accompanied by very strong gusts of wind, which will lead to the appearance of waves that can exceed seven meters in height. Appearance of snow. With the drop in temperature, rain can end up turning into snow in part of the peninsula. In this case, the snow level is expected to drop to 1,000-1,200 meters in the northern third. The most affected areas They will be the communities of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, Castilla y León, the Community of Madrid and Castilla – La Mancha. This is bad news, except for lovers of a Christmas under a layer of white. And just this weekend a new operation begins, coinciding with the start of the Christmas holidays. This is something that can cause significant traffic delays in the northern third of the country. Christmas week. We already have Christmas Eve almost here, and there are many eyes on to the weather forecast. For now, the progress that the AEMET has given us after the front on the 21st is that we will have a cold environment with significant night frosts across the peninsula and widespread, although not extreme, rainfall, which will be present especially in the south of the peninsula. But this is something that will not affect the Canary Islands, which will maintain stable weather and normal conditions for the time in which we find ourselves. An extreme change. There is a climate prediction coming from Europe that sees a much more extreme and unusual scenario that may or may not occur. Specifically, the ECMWF points out that there may be heavy snowfall in the province of Seville, Huelva and the south of Badajos on Christmas Eve. This would be something historic, since snow is a strange event to see in Seville, where there has not been a solid snowfall since 1954. That is why this European prediction is really crazy, which logically can change as the days go by, leaving the chances of snow in Seville a disappointment, despite the fact that the low temperatures are going to continue. Images | Osman Ran In Xataka | Lightning seems like a normal thing: in reality we have been trying to understand it for years and we have achieved it in a laboratory

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