Month: January 2026

Netflix series are becoming more and more similar to each other and Matt Damon knows who is to blame: your cell phone

by

Matt Damon has just confirmed one of the most widespread suspicions about Netflix. In one almost three hour conversation with Joe Roganwhere he appeared alongside Ben Affleck to promote ‘The Loot’, his new film, the actor revealed that the platform requires scriptwriters to constantly repeat the plot in the dialogues. The reason is that the platform assumes that the viewer is with their cell phone in hand while watching its content. Affleck went further and pointed out that streaming has built its entire business model on the assumption that no viewer pays full attention to the screen. Partial attention. Damon didn’t mince his words: if you write for Netflix, you assume from the beginning that your viewer has Instagram open in another tab or is answering WhatsApps. Affleck mentioned the concept of “partial attention,” a term that technology and behavioral studies have been dissecting for years and that now sets the rules for how to construct a dialogue. For the two actors, this has nothing to do with a conspiracy theory or union complaint: it is the real editorial policy of the platform. New era. The leap compared to traditional cinema is brutal. In a dark room there is no escape: the cell phone is silent (or it should be), the giant screen takes up the entire field of vision and the fact of being surrounded by people forces you not to get lost. Netflix plays in another league: it competes with notifications, with getting up to get something from the refrigerator, with someone commenting out loud about what just happened. And instead of standing up to this dispersion, it has chosen to adapt: ​​every five minutes someone recapitulates who is who and what the hell is going on. Netflix vs. Hollywood. This is not the first time that Hollywood has attacked streaming, although it is perhaps the most specific in technical terms. Spielberg already said in 2019 that Netflix movies should compete for Emmys instead of Oscars, and his argument was exactly this: that where you watch something determines what that something is. Scorsese went further that same yearjust as Netflix was paying him for ‘The Irishman’, and talked about the erosion of what he called the concept of “revelation”, those moments that only work if the viewer is completely immersed in the film. What Damon and Affleck bring to the table is the practical detail: we’re not talking about aesthetics or philosophy, but rather literal instructions that screenwriters receive in development meetings. In Rogan. Almost three hours of conversation where there is time for everything. Joe Rogan’s format (long conversations, no commercial breaks, no rush) allows two guys used to reciting friendly anecdotes on Jimmy Fallon’s shows to develop complex ideas. And therein lies the surprise: Affleck and Damon are not just familiar faces who sell movies, they have been inside the machinery for thirty years and know exactly how every gear works. The contrast with the usual promotional circuit is devastating: these two actors, whom many know mainly as movie stars, turn out to be sharp analysts of an industry in the midst of an existential crisis. A narrative change. What Damon and Affleck say is not an isolated case: it confirms a trend that the industry has been tracking for years. Deloitte documented in its annual report on digital trends Doing other things while watching a series is no longer the exception, it is the norm. The leap compared to the prestige television of two decades ago is evident: before the series constructed scenes without words, they left narrative gaps that the viewer had to fill in on their own, they introduced secondary characters whose importance was not clear until later seasons. David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, said who had designed the series like a visual novel: each episode required total concentration because crucial information could appear at any moment. The Netflix change. The platform works differently. Provides showrunners accurate data about the exact minute viewers leave a series or pause to do something else. Those metrics set the development notes: If the data shows that audiences lose interest in scenes without dialogue or complex subplots, subsequent seasons simplify the structure and multiply the verbal exposition. ‘Wednesday’ and the fifth season of ‘Stranger Things’ are recent examples of this process. Completion rate (how many users actually finish a series) has become the criterion that dictates creative decisions unthinkable a decade and a half ago. A paradox without a solution. What Damon says contains a contradiction: the technology that has allowed millions of people to access content previously reserved for movie theaters or physical distribution is changing what type of content is produced. Netflix reaches 260 million subscribers; HBO never went over 150 million in its best era. But this increase in audience comes at a cost: the narrative is simplified to accommodate viewers whose attention is divided. Can both models coexist? Recent series like ‘The Bear’ or ‘Succession’ have achieved million-dollar audiences without sacrificing ellipses, long silences or plots that demand attention. Damon’s comment perhaps functions more as a diagnosis than as a definitive sentence: it shows a tension that Hollywood has not resolved for years, the clash between the logic of streaming based on metrics and the persistence of narratives that demand concentration. If viewers look at their phones while watching series, Netflix simply recognizes that behavior and adjusts its production accordingly. But… do we want him to do it? In Xataka | lhe creative death of Marvel’s MCU left a huge hole. One that in my case is filling WWE on Netflix

China has done everything to stop its population bleeding. The result is the lowest birth rate since 1949

by

China has encountered an even more complex challenge than the real estate crisis, the trade war with the US or the future of Taiwan: the babies. As your birth rate deflates (leaving the number of newborns below the number of deaths) the Asian giant is becoming less and less “giant”, a trend that threatens to punish the nation’s economy. Beijing knows it and that is why it takes time deploying measures that seek to boost their demographics. The problem is that, despite his many efforts, he can’t hit the nail on the head. Your latest official data birth rates show a new setback. What has happened? That despite all its efforts, China has not been able to stop its demographic hemorrhage. This is how it reveals the last balance from the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), which shows a scenario similar to that suffered by other nations (inside and outside Asia) shaken by demographic winter: fewer babies, more deaths and general population decline. In short: a country that continues to lose weight little by little and risks complying UN predictionswhich estimates that by 2100 China will have lost more than half of its population, remaining at the size it had in the late 1950s. What does the data say? That in 2025 the authorities counted 7.92 million of births, 17% less than the previous year. The data leaves two other negative readings: the first is that it suggests that the birth rate increase registered in 2024 was punctual and has not been consolidated over time. After that brief rebound (which some associate to the cultural influence of ‘Year of the Dragon’) the Chinese birth rate has resumed the negative curve that it has been drawing for years. The second negative reading is that the decrease in the number of births has in turn reduced the country’s birth rate, leaving it in 5.63 births per 1,000 people. This is a historic low. A fact that has not been seen since (at least) 1949, year of foundation of the People’s Republic of China. It is about the steepest drop birth rate for the last five years. As AP News recallsChinese authorities do not regularly publish their fertility rate, but their last estimate, from 2020, was 1.3 children per woman. Now that indicator would have dropped to 1. The data is far from the “replacement rate” (2.1), essential to keep a country’s population stable. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Are there more figures? Yes. And they are just as bad. Deaths increased, going from 10.93 million registered in 2024 to 11.31 in 2025. The result of this drop in birth rates and increase in deaths was a natural loss of population (the data does not allude to the migratory effect) that brings China even closer to the projections of the United Nations by the end of the century. The NBS balance sheet reflects the loss of some 3.39 million of Chinese, leaving the country’s total population at around 1,405 million. It is the fourth consecutive year in which the country sees its population reduced, which has caused China to no longer be the most populous nation on the planet: from 2023 that honor India boasts itwhich comfortably exceeds the 1.4 billion of people. Why is it important? Birth rate and census are more than just demographic variables. They also influence the future of the country. The size of the population is directly related, for example, to domestic consumption (key piece in the country’s economy) or the health of its workforce. The demographic winter threatens to subject China to the same social pressures as other countries in Asia and the West, only on a much larger scale. Right now the population over 60 years old represents 23%. If nothing changes, in 2035 that strip will add 400 million of people, just like the entire population of the US and Italy combined. The big question is how that will affect their pension system. At the moment the country already has increased the retirement age. How to change it? That is the other reason why the NBS data is so important and has probably fallen like a bucket of cold water on Beijing. It’s not just about fewer babies being born and population being lost, it’s that the Government has been looking for a way to avoid it for some time… without success, at least until now. As far as birth rates are concerned, it seems to have hit the same rock as other neighboring nations that face a similar challenge, like japan either South Korea. What have you tried? Of everything. And without much success. Despite the billions of dollars invested in child care programs, the facilities offered to those considering becoming parents (from subsidies to medical attention) and efforts to form new couplesthe birth rate continues without increasing. And the Chinese authorities have gone to the extreme of go door to door encouraging women to be mothers. The reason? Beyond the influence of ‘one child’ policy (abandoned a decade ago) there are those who point to cultural changes and the high cost that (despite everything) parenthood entails in China. A 2024 report from the YuWan Population Research Institute in fact concluded that China is one of the most expensive places to raise children (especially if we talk about cities), even more than in Japan or the United States in relative terms. The study addressed both direct and opportunity costs. Image | Peijia Li (Unsplash) In Xataka | China knows that its population is going to collapse but it already has a long-term plan to solve it. Of course, thanks to AI

Fear of vibrations stops trains on the Madrid-Barcelona route

by

At 230 km/h in a 300 km/h section because the vibrations are excessive. It is the speed at which you will travel between Madrid and Calatayud (Zaragoza) if the driver decides so. The 200 kilometer stretch has been a source of controversy for some time and it was now that, after the Adamuz accident in Córdobaconcerns have increased. What has happened? The train drivers would be traveling at 230 km/h on the section between Madrid and Calatayud (Zaragoza) because the vibrations are excessive, according to The Economist. They claim in the media that the machinists would have unilaterally decided to make this decision because the intensity of the vibrations is too high. The decision would have come after Adamuz accident (Córdoba) in which an Iryo train has derailed and, according to the first investigationsa second Alvia train traveling in the opposite direction collided with it. It is also noted from The Economist that the decision would affect Renfe trains but that there are no similar communications in Ouigo and Iryo. In addition, the newspaper also specifies that there would be Renfe personnel on the train itself warning travelers that delays will reach 15 minutes for this reason. Can machinists do this? In Xataka We have contacted SEMAF (Spanish Union of Railway Machinists), the majority among this group, who assure us that they have no evidence that the machinists have decided collectively and unilaterally to reduce the speed of the track. It will be, according to SEMAF, at the discretion of each worker. The union explains that the driver has the power to reduce the speed of the train or even stop it if he considers that the conditions of the track prevent adequate driving comfort due to excessive vibrations. In fact, those speed reductions were already occurring before the breakage of Talgo’s S-106 (Avril) trains. This is what a machinist contacted by Xataka who prefers to keep his identity anonymous. He explains that it is each driver who decides how to act and that “we have not been told to do it (slow down the speed) either from the company or from the unions.” The Calatayud controversy The 200 kilometer stretch between Madrid and Calatayud has been in the spotlight for some time. At the end of July 2025, Talgo’s AVRIL trains that Renfe uses for its AVLO services suffered cracks in their structure as a result of the vibrations generated when the trains passed. So The Economist already announced the news and after a series of contradictory communications, Renfe ended up withdrawing the trains of the Madrid-Barcelona line, disregarding the AVLO service that has not been available again. Since then, Talgo and Adif are blaming themselves for what happened. The chronology. From SEMAF, however, they do not share exactly all the points that are pointed out. According to its chronology, the events have happened as follows: AVRIL trains suffer cracks due to excess vibrations and are retired SEMAF sends a letter to Adif requesting that the speed be reduced Adif does not respond SEMAF reminds train drivers that they have the power to reduce speed if they consider there is a justified reason. For SEMAF, nothing has changed. The train drivers are the ones who decide, always with justification and indicating the reason to the command post, whether or not to reduce the speed. SEMAF emphasizes that they have not given an instruction from the union to reduce speed. The vibrations. During the last few hours the controversy around the vibrations of the AVE has been increasing. From SEMAF, they may be caused by small damage to the track as a result of the passage of the trains themselves, which is why they ask that investment in maintenance is adequate to the increase in traffic in the liberalized corridors. Of course, the union emphasizes that there is no risk of derailment due to these vibrations and they make it clear that it is a comfort problem for the passenger and generate greater stress on the infrastructure and the condition of the rolling stock. This means that actions have to be launched on the road or in workshops ahead of time. Furthermore, there is no evidence that they were the cause of the Adamuz accident. “If we were clear that it was a danger to the road, we would stop traffic.” SEMAF has been so emphatic that it also emphasizes that the infrastructure is safe and that it is clear that if Adif detects a problem serious enough to cause a derailment, the line will be closed. “We want to go home”. The Renfe driver with whom Xataka has been able to contact explains that “the tracks are deteriorated, we train drivers give a lot of information, and sometimes we are taken for crazy because we give too many parts”, the words are from a Renfe train driver who prefers to keep his name anonymous. “As a result of the S-106 problems, it was proposed that the trains circulate at a slower speed. It is true that these deformities (the cracks) are due to the state of the track, to which we must add the terrible quality of the train. We also lowered them (the speeds) with other series of trains. Call it a prevention measure or care of the infrastructure,” explains the driver. “The crew members complain, the interveners complain and we write complaints, because there are areas where we are having trouble,” he summarizes. Although he makes it clear that “if we understand that there is a danger to traffic, we call the command posts and they take measures by setting limitations, although for months we have also been taking them by slowing down. We are the first interested parties, we want to return home.” Why do vibrations occur? Firstly, SEMAF points out that we are talking about the rolling stock being “steel against steel” so any imperfection will be more evident. Vibrations can be caused by an imperfection in the road or an imperfection in the … Read more

that we have become accustomed to it

by

This weekend some other Spanish Internet user tried to access the website of Linux Mint to download this Linux distribution. What was found was a notice from LaLiga indicating that “access to this IP address has been blocked.” That site is totally legitimate and has still been part of LaLiga’s massive IP blocks, but the bad thing, in fact, is no longer just that. An everyday tragedy. It was not the first time that the Linux Mint website ended up inaccessible due to indiscriminate blockages ordered by LaLiga. Users of this distribution They already commented on it in their forum in October 2025, and a similar debate appeared on Reddit and also in Forocoches during the month of December. The fatigue was evident, and it was clear that it was not the first time that this website was blocked… and it will not be the last either. An absolute tragedy. Spain has been involved in this situation for months now. Since February 2025 blockades will beginthe situation has not only been resolved, but has worsened. Every weekend – and often, a good part of the week if there is football in international competitions – the blockades and protests are repeated. situations that hijack the internet. First of all, to the users, who cannot normally access thousands of pages. Secondly, to the creators of these pages, individual users or companies, most of them legitimatewho cannot offer their content, products and services as they should and therefore they end up with economic and reputational losses. LaLiga has managed to get us used to this nonsense. LaLiga’s obsession has caused these measures to be repeated indiscriminately except in the summer, when there is no official competition. Such is the insistence that these blockades have become something routine and everyday: they seem normal to us, and that is terrible and tragic. Constant nightmare. Despite this, social networks continue to serve as the most visible means of reporting this activity. In X, for example, messages with the hashtag #laligagate are frequent every weekend. They usually show new blocked websites that are completely legitimate and that again and again end up being inaccessible for hours. What those affected can do. The website LaLigaGatewhich arose as a result of this problem, is reporting some new developments in the fight against these blockages. But it is RootedCON that continues to try the most to put legal mechanisms in place to combat this situation. They have recently collaborated with LaLigaGate to make available to those affected a template to report these blocks. Infiltrated in Forocoches. As they point out in VozPopuliLaLiga’s crusade against unauthorized broadcasts of football matches is causing disturbing actions. One of the latest, the “infiltration” of LaLiga in Forocoches to try to detect the links to those broadcasts that are shared in this forum and then knock them down with IP blocking orders. The next goal: VPNs. The massive blocking of IPs only affects Internet users with a Spanish IP, and that means there is a relatively simple solution to get around them: use VPN services to simulate that our IP belongs to another country and can therefore access the blocked IPs. The president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, attended a breakfast with media and there he explained that “we will soon announce an important resolution on the VPN issue that we have achieved.” In Xataka | Cloudflare is planted in Italy due to blockades. In Spain, the conflict with LaLiga points to the same underlying problem

give 600 euros to its owners

by

Talking about Barcelona is talking about a city full of motorcycles. In fact, it leads the ranking with more than half a million registered motorcycleswell above Madrid. There is a type of motorcycle that is especially noisy and polluting, one that those of us who started out in the world of motorcycles started out with when we were minors: the motorcycle moped. 49cc. Barcelona has set out to put an end to him. 32,000 mopeds registered. The moped has several key differences from the traditional motorcycle. Teenagers from 15 years old can drive it. Your AM license is approved with a closed-circuit skill test It is not allowed to carry a passenger until they are 18 years old. Vehicles larger than 50cc cannot be driven or exceed 45km/h. By having such restrictive conditions regarding the engine, and minimizing the access barrier, mopeds are the most economical type of motorcycle that can be purchased. Of the 32,000 registered in Barcelona, ​​24,000 are combustion. The subsidy. The Government Commission has approved the bases for a new aid program aimed at replacing combustion mopeds with electric ones, with an initial budget of 15 million euros and with the aim of extending it until 2030. Concretizing. The aid will consist of a single amount of 600 euros, an amount that, according to the Ministry of Transport and Mobility, represents between 16% and 40% of the current cost of equivalent electric mopeds. The condition. To access this aid, it will be mandatory to scrap a combustion moped. With the aim of facilitating the process, the City Council has enabled the Serveis Municipals Barcelona depots, where scrapping can be carried out free of charge and the certificate necessary to apply for the subsidy can be obtained at the same time. And where do I load it?. The golden question when buying any electric vehicle is on the loadin a country of flats and rooms shared. An investment of three million euros is secured to create a battery exchange network, a program that will begin operating this year. The ultimate goal. The Barcelona City Council aims to incorporate up to 20,000 electric vehicles into its city, carrying out a practically complete replacement of each and every one of the gasoline mopeds that travel its streets. Image | Unsplash (Logan Armstrong) In Xataka | The first commercially ready solid-state battery is here. And an electric motorcycle is going to take it

Five technology bargains that we found on Amazon today, January 20

by

January is a good time to renew many of our technological devices since many stores have sales. Amazon is one of the online stores par excellence and today, we want to show you the best bargains in technology that we have found. Notebook computer Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-42P by 639 euros: 15.6 inches and with Windows 11 Home. smartphone Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro by 339.99 euros: 6.83 inches and 512 GB. Pack of two surveillance cameras Tapo C210 by 42.49 euros: with 1.5K resolution and motion detection. Cordless vacuum cleaner Rowenta XPert 6.60 by 99.99 euros: with 100 W motor and autonomy of up to 45 minutes. Wireless headphones Huawei FreeBuds SE 4 by 40.50 euros: with autonomy of up to 50 hours and noise cancellation. Acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-42P Laptop If to start the year you want to change notebook computerthis Amazon offer is for you. Now, you can get a good model, as is the case with the discounted Acer Aspire Go 15. Has almost 10% discount and you can buy it for 639 euros. This is a laptop with a 15.6-inch LCD screen with Full HD resolution. Your brain is the processor AMD Ryzen 7 5825U and comes with 32GB RAM and 512GB SSD internal storage. The operating system under which it works is Windows 11 Home and its design is in silver. acer Aspire Go 15 AG15-42P, Laptop 15.6″ Full HD The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro Smartphone Just a few days ago, Xiaomi launched one of its new mid-range terminals that aspires to become the company’s flagship: the Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro. It can now be purchased at a discount, going from 429.90 euros to 389.99 euros on Amazon. Although when processing the purchase it remains 339.99 euros. This new model within the Redmi Note 15 phones It stands out for having an excellent 6.83-inch AMOLED screen with 1.5K resolution. Its processor is the MediaTek Dimensity 7400-Ultra, with 8 GB of RAM and 512GB storage. Another of its assets is its huge 6,580 mAH battery and its 200 MP main camera. Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G (512GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Pack of two Tapo C210 surveillance cameras If you are concerned about the security of your home when you are away, a surveillance camera is the device you need, without a doubt. Now, on Amazon, you can get this pack of two Tapo C210 cameras with almost 40% discount: by 42.49 euros. This surveillance camera allows you to capture every detail with 2K high definition. It offers a 360º horizontal viewing angle and 114º vertical viewing angle. It also features advanced night vision and baby cry detection, plus smart tracking, motion detection and alarm. Tapo C210(2-Pack) – 360° WiFi IP Camera The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Rowenta XPert 6.60 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Although the Dyson vacuum cleaners They are usually the most successful, they are expensive. So if you are looking for a cordless vacuum cleaner model that is just as effective, but cheaper, this one Rowenta XPert 6.60 It’s a real bargain now that it’s on sale on Amazon. It has a 9% discount applied and you can buy it for 99.99 euros. This cordless vacuum cleaner from Rowenta is equipped with a powerful 100 W motor. Its removable battery offers up to 45 minutes of autonomy. It has a high-performance head with LED lighting and its design is very light (it only weighs 1.4 kg). In addition, it comes with a 0.55 liter tank with easy emptying and various accessories. Rowenta XPert 6.60 – Versatile cordless stick vacuum cleaner The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Huawei FreeBuds SE 4 wireless headphones The latest of Amazon’s bargains is ideal if you are looking for some wireless headphones to listen to your favorite music without disturbing anyone. Now, you can buy these from Huawei with a 31% discount. They have gone from costing 59 euros to 40.50 euros in this online store. These Huawei FreeBuds SE 4 are available in white or black and their battery offers a autonomy of up to 50 hours. They are very light and their three directional microphones allow you to enjoy clear calls. Furthermore, they have noise cancellation and are compatible with iOS and Android devices. 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 | Freepik, Huawei, Xiaomi, Rowenta, Tapo and Acer In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 99 euros

TCL will make Sony’s next TVs in a deal to confront a common enemy: Samsung and LG

by

If you have felt an earthquake and you don’t know where it is coming from, the easiest thing is for it to come from Japan. Specifically, from the headquarters of a Sony that has been associated with excellence in image quality for decades and that ends of ceding control of its Bravia brand to the Chinese company TCL. Since the time of Trinitron technology (so currently sought after to play on retro consoles) until Wega and the current Bravia, the Japanese giant had earned a deserved space in the premium range. They did not manufacture their panels (they bought them from Samsung and LG), but they did fine-tune them to offer very purist cinematic experiences. On the other side of the pond, in China, TCL has grown in recent years until it became one of the largest panel manufacturing companies. Now, China and Japan are joining their paths thanks to a joint venture that will take advantage of “the high-quality audio and image technology that Sony has cultivated over the years.” And the accounts are favorable for TCL: while the Chinese will control 51% of the joint-venture, the Japanese will keep 49%. It makes… quite a bit of sense. Movement that sounds more like a win-win than a retreat Although Sony televisions have extremely high-quality panels and modes that are very suitable for both movies and, above all, for video games in conjunction with a PlayStation 5the market has become increasingly complicated. Sony’s brand value and its name make its televisions more expensive than those of the competition, and that competition (led by Samsung or LG), is tighter than ever thanks to its OLED and QD-OLED technology. TCL is not far behind. After a huge investment in plants within China, the company has specialized in manufacturing Gen 10.5 panels. This implies that they have an enormous production capacity, which in practice translates into an ability like few others to flood the market with large-inch televisions at rock-bottom prices. That’s where this joint venture makes perfect sense. In its statement, Sony has confirmed that the company will operate globally and carry out the entire process: development, design, manufacturing, logistics, sales and customer service for both televisions and home audio equipment. We believe this strategic partnership with Sony represents a unique opportunity to combine the strengths of Sony and TCL – Du Juan, President of TCL Electronics That name of ‘Sony’ and ‘Bravia’ is a perfect opportunity for a TCL that will see how it can operate a brand of international prestige. For its part, Sony gains muscle that it did not have until now thanks to the most powerful companies when it comes to producing large-scale panels. Of course, apart from that 51% over Sony’s 49%, and the possibility of using its name, TCL gains something else: penetration in Japan, a protectionist market that prioritizes Japanese brands, especially against arrivals from China. The Japanese company has commented that it will be at the end of 2026 when the binding agreements between the two will be closed in order to begin operations in April 2027. And although this is an interesting operation as a whole, TCL is the clear winner: it gains premium credibility without having to build it from scratch, while Sony dilutes precisely what made its brand valuable. Images | TCL, Xataka In Xataka | The next big chip crisis is beginning. And this time copper and water are responsible.

It’s called Sirius-82 and it has turned rivers into modern minefields

by

On a front where everything seems decided by trenches, artillery and drones In heaven, there’s another war going on moving in silenceclose to the water and away from the spotlights. The Dnieper River, turned into a natural border and lifeline, has been filled with small battles for islands and passes that can change the balance of an entire region. And in that fight, Russia has just introduced a novelty explosive. A river as a front. The war between Russia and Ukraine remains bogged down in a wear balancewith Ukrainian defenses slowing advances and much of the attention focused on Donetsk, but beneath that noise there is another battle less visible and very strategic: control of several islands in the Dnieper River. Ukraine dominates these islands and the western shore, while Russia controls the eastern shore and tries to seize them to facilitate assaults across the river and, in perspective, sustain operations that once again put places like Kherson at risk. On that river board, where each crossing is a potential suicide, technology appears again as the shortcut to gain margin without paying the human price. Sirius-82. The broadcast videos by the Russian Army show a new unmanned surface vehicle, Sirius-82which begins to operate in the Dnieper with a much more pragmatic than sophisticated approach. From what can be seen, it is compact, about two meters long, and is oriented towards short duration missionsprobably with electric and battery propulsion, which fits the river environment and quick round-trip tasks. It does not look like an advanced autonomous system, but rather an instrument of “useful warfare” built to work now, here and now, even if it is crude and limited. A YaRM Modular charging and FPV control. The design suggests modularity, with the ability to carry cargo on the deck and also within the hull, making it an adaptable platform to different missions without redesigning the vehicle from scratch. In one of the recordings you can clearly see how he has two YaRM anchored river minesweighing about 13 kilos each, placed on the deck and released by mechanical actuators that release them into the water. Control, furthermore, cannot be more “old school”: an operator directs it with a joystick like those of FPV drones and monitors the camera on a laptop, a simple recipe that reduces costs and speeds up deployment, but that in real combat may be enough. River mining: the trap. The first function shown is the placement of YaRM mines in shallow watera Soviet resource intended for rivers and canals, usually anchored just below the surface to threaten light vessels. Russia would use them to attack Ukrainian resupply boats moving towards the islands, which is precisely the weak point of any forward control on a river: maintaining supplies and rotations under fire. Ukraine, in turn, uses similar mines to stop or destroy Russian attempts at rapprochement, and the result is an environment in which the Dnieper ceases to be a natural barrier and becomes a dynamic minefield, where the risk is not on the horizon, but under water. Demining and sacrifices. The other side of Sirius-82 is that it can serve to clear mineswhich is just as important in a river war where each step requires opening a safe corridor. A video shows it as a sacrificial platform, advancing until it detonates a Ukrainian mine to clear a passage before a manned boat enters, a brutally logical concept if lives are put before material. Furthermore, it is mentioned a common Russian technique demining by explosive charges with delayed fuses launched at intervals to detonate nearby mines, and the Sirius-82 could do that job without exposing a crew in the middle of a river with no coverage. A type of solution that only requires repetition and the absence of remorse when losing the vehicle. Kamikaze attacks and assault support. Beyond mining, the system could be used like kamikaze drone against Ukrainian vessels, ramming them and detonating a charge on board to destroy both, taking advantage of their low profile and the discretion of electric propulsion. It is also suggested a more “logistical” use in support of assaults on the islands, carrying supplies or even evacuating wounded if it is adapted for larger loads, something that would fit with a positional combat where the islands function as small bridgeheads. All in all, the Sirius-82 does not seem like a superweapon, but rather a tool to win the daily battles on the front, where each box of ammunition and each water crossing decides more than a major offensive. The pattern of war. What the appearance of Sirius-82 reveals is a trend of which we have talked before: Russia and Ukraine are pushed by personnel shortages, casualties and a very long front to replace humans with machines in tasks where the risk is disproportionate. And the interesting thing is that this replacement does not necessarily come with advanced autonomy and latest generation sensors, but with “primitive” systems but perfectly functional, built quickly and with a clear objective. The underlying message is that modern warfare does not always reward the most sophisticated, but rather what can be mass produced and deployed, what is sacrificed without hesitation and what solves a specific problem this week. A river that is no longer geography. If you like, Sirius-82 is a symptom of how the Dnieper is transforming in a space of access denial on a tactical scale, where mines, drones and remote control They replace the classic patrols. It is small, cheap and expendable, but that is precisely why it is dangerous: it allows the river to be planted and cleaned with less human risk, and it maintains constant pressure on the islands that Ukraine controls. And the more these platforms become normalized, the more likely it is that river combat will evolve into a “micro-robot” war who decide the terrain meter by meter, until crossing the nation’s largest river is less a military maneuver and more a technological lottery. Image | Telegram In Xataka | Ukraine … Read more

$7,500 a month, but also marathon days

by

Jeff Bezos paid about 500 million dollars for his yacht koru 125 meters long, and Mark Zuckerberg almost 300 million of dollars for your launchpad of 118 meters. It is estimated that, on average, the annual maintenance cost of these superyachts is from 10% annual of its price initial, so the bill to keep these luxury vessels afloat ranges between 20 and 50 million dollars a year. Within that budget Something essential for its operation must also be taken into account: a crew. In a recent video that yacht stewardess Florencia Mainet, better known as @florstewardesstold what her salary was as a head hostess and the high salaries charged in the sector. $7,500 a month. According to Mainet in one of his videosfor her work as chief steward on board a luxury yacht, she received a remuneration of about $7,500 a month, with a schedule from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon. As indicated in an interview for Infobaehis role as head of the hostesses was to organize the meals, drinks, activities and cleaning tasks that his team had to carry out. “It requires attention to detail, discretion, organization and a great service orientation,” commented Mainet. Life on board. However, Mainet acknowledges that “as a crew member, a day on board can vary greatly. It depends on whether there are guests or not,” and that is the key: whether the yacht owner makes intensive use of it or not. Mallorcan Esmée Yntema is also a yacht stewardess and, through your TikTok account his life on board luxury superyachts and the day-to-day work on board. As shown in his videos, the work on board the yacht is constant, but when the owner announces his arrival all the alarms go off because everything must be prepared to receive him. While the owner is on board, breaks are sporadic and the days extend beyond the 12 or 13 hours a day in which the crew’s rhythms of life are, basically, those marked by the owner. “The days are long. We practically start shortly before the clients arrive until they go to sleep,” said Yntema. The harshness of the high season. Something that Mainet, Yntema and someone else agree on. another testimony on networksis that during the high sailing season, the days are exhausting and the feeling of isolation and lack of communication on board puts the mental health of the workers to the test. In fact, Yntema put her career on hold for a few months “for the good of my mental health,” according to an interview published by last minute. “People think that on board a luxury yacht everything is glamorous but in reality, for the staff, it is very different,” said the stewardess. Mainet assures that salaries in the sector start at $4,500 for inexperienced yacht hostesses, but he also recognizes that life on board requires many sacrifices and one gives up being present at many family events due to having to be sailing. All-inclusive salary. As Mainet indicates, the monthly salary is full because it includes accommodation on the yacht itself. As shown in one of his videos Yntema, the accommodation consists of sharing a small cabin with a companion and a bathroom of just two square meters that also serves as a shower. However, one of the positive things that both hostesses highlight is that, in the food section, the meals are provided by professional chefs who prepare luxury dishes for both the owners and the crew. Sporadic luxury. Another advantage of working aboard a luxury yacht that both professionals highlight is that, in the few moments of rest they have during their day during the high season, but especially during the low season or when the owner is not on board, they can enjoy living aboard a luxury yacht and visit the best tourist destinations around the world during your day off. Feeling millionaires, even if it is in experiences. In Xataka | Under the infinity pools of luxury cruise ships there is no rest: 80-hour days seven days a week Image | Unsplash (Michael Worden)

The supermarket sector has been highly contested in Spain for years. Now it is reflected in networks with the super hooligans

by

That the supermarket sector is disputed highly disputed In Spain it is nothing new. Especially since Mercadona undertook a unstoppable conquest which has allowed it (thanks to its white brands and prepared dishes) to monopolize almost 30% of the marketat least in terms of value. What is new is that this rivalry between chains is encouraging a phenomenon as curious as chanante in networks: a pulse between ‘hoolingans supermarket’. Same as the ultras who have been going to football stadiums for decades, only in this case the phenomenon is cooked up on networks (X, Instagram or TikTok), through memes and focused on the main store chains. The protagonists here are not Real Madrid, Barça or Atlético, but Mercadona, Lidl, Aldi or Dia. Goodbye Barça, hello Bonpreu Click on the image to go to the tweet. Before getting into the matter, I propose a game. Enter TikTok, type the hashtag #hooligans and take a look at the search results. You will see that there are videos of ‘conventional’ ultras (what anyone would expect to find in a search like this) and others less orthodox that show images of people with balaclavas, scarves, flags and banners that do not read the names of football clubs, but of that store where you buy yogurt and bread. That is, nothing from Real Madrid, Barça, Atlético, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain or any other sports club. What they wave are flags that read Mercadona, Eroski, Aldi or Hipercor. In fact, it is their corporate colors that predominate in the scarves and flares. The phenomenon is so curious that a few days ago the @MariaMayrit account dedicated it an interesting thread in X, where he baptized it as “supermarket ultras.” Click on the image to go to the tweet. Click on the image to go to the tweet. What differentiates them from traditional hooligans? To begin with, the focus of attention It goes from sports to supermarket chains, but that is just one of its peculiarities. Another (fundamental) is that the ‘super ultras’ are a phenomenon that is concentrated on social networks and memesphere. There is no known group of fans of Mercadona, Alcampo, Hipercor or Covirán (to name four chains) that remain in the parking lots of shopping centers to confront each other. Your territory It is another: that of the meme, virality, montages and images generated with artificial intelligence. That does not mean that the phenomenon of ‘super hooligans’ is a curiosity limited to networks, a passing fad fueled by AI. In addition to videos and montages, there are also accounts focused on that content. In the end it is linked to something much more important: the weight that the large chains in the sector retail are acquiring in our daily lives as we homes change. The best example probably Mercadona leaves itwhich no longer aspires only to be the place where we buy food to fill the refrigerator, but rather our reference in general food, the place where they cook for you and you even sit down to eat. The ultras memes confirm something else: the roots that some brands, such as Mercadona, FGadis, HiperDino, Alimerka or Bonpreu, have achieved in certain communities. In fact, the sector itself manages studies that show that the super regionals are supporting the push of the giants of the industry. The reason: their commitment to certain products, but also the value of closeness to identity, precisely what is exploited (with a certain dose of humor) by the memes that circulate these days on the networks about ‘supermarket ultras’. Images | x In Xataka | Mercadona has grown so much in Spain that for the US it is no longer just a supermarket chain: it is a “cultural phenomenon”

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.