Month: January 2026

A town in Burgos has resorted to a desperate idea to get people to stay there: paying them for food

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Cardeñajimeno is a small town from the Alfoz de Burgos region, in Castilla y León, where just under 1,200 residents live. Its city council is not willing to let that figure drop and has decided to tackle the challenge of depopulation by making it as easy as possible for its inhabitants, especially the elderly. As? Cooking for them and bringing food to their doorstep. Whatever it takes to escape from an “emptied Spain” that has been going on for decades. expanding your footprint through the peninsula, with the challenge what that entails. Objective: establish population. Spain may move in record population numbers, with 49.4 million of censuses as of October 1, 2025, but that does not mean that the entire territory is going through its best demographic moment. On the contrary. The ‘record Spain’ also hides a ‘Spain emptied’ that has spent decades spreading its footprint across the peninsula, feeding on municipalities that have been gradually depopulated. I warned him Before the pandemic, the Spanish Rural Development Network (REDR) recalled that in a matter of two decades the number of towns with less than one hundred neighbors had increased by 60%. A similar message The Galician Accounts Council was launched in 2024, remembering that a hundred towns in the region face the risk of becoming ghost towns. How to avoid it? That’s the million dollar question. In an attempt to fix the population and not swell the map of emptied Spain, over the last few years the administrations have racked their brains looking for solutions. Some offer financial aid to attract new residents. There are town councils that they are taking charge of local businesses (gas stations or grocery stores) to prevent their neighbors from being left without basic services. And not long ago we even told you about a remote town in the province of Soria that reached offer house and business in an attempt to attract new blood. Making it easy. In Cardeñajimeno (province of Burgos), they have gone one step further to make it as easy as possible for its inhabitants and prevent the elderly from packing their bags to move to larger towns. As? Taking care of your diet. The news has advanced it Burgos Connectwhich on Saturday revealed that two populations in the region “will pay for food” to their elders to stop the depopulation that is shaking part of the community. “Encourage permanence”. The towns in question are those that make up the municipality of Burgos: Cardeñajimeno and San Medel. A few days ago its Consistory launched a tender to look for professionals interested in providing a “catering service to elderly people” residing in the town. The goal? “Promote the elderly person’s permanence in their usual environment and avoid depopulation.” In other words, provide the necessary means so that no elderly person from Cardeñajimeno or San Medel is forced to move to Burgos or another larger town in search of comforts. But… Is it necessary? The case of Cardeñajimeno is interesting because it shows that rural Spain not only faces the challenge of depopulation, it also deals with aging. Although the situation of the town is far from being critical (the INE counts there 1,185 registeredbelow the 1,205 in 2022, but significantly above those recorded two decades ago), it does not escape the trend of the rest of Spain. 20% of its population is over 60 years old and dozens of octogenarians and nonagenarians reside in the town. “Nutritional well-being”. With the new service, the City Council wants to “provide nutritional and physical well-being to all those elderly who, given their special situation, require it.” To achieve this, it even contemplates that the company prepares “different diets” adapted to users with special needs. For example, diabetics or people who need crushed food. The base tender budget is 16,500 euros for one year, with a maximum price per menu of 9.6 euros, but the specifications also clarify that the final price will depend on the acceptance of the service, its users and how much food they request. On the State contracting platform the budget Estimated is 30,000. In other locations are already offered similar benefits. Image | Wikipedia In Xataka | Empty Spain is now officially one of the quietest places on the planet. There is no risk that it will cease to be

Samsung and Apple brought ultra-thin mobile phones to the market with little battery life. China’s response: hold my tank

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Samsung was the first, and Apple followed a few months later. The introduction of increasingly thinner mobile phones on the market did not meet any specific need, beyond reducing weight and thickness. Betting on this format, at least with the proposals of Western manufacturers, brought with it sacrifices both in camera and autonomy. In China they are clear that There is no need to sacrifice one thing or the other.. The Honor Magic8 Pro Air. Recently, Honor presented the Magic 8 Pro Air in China. The surname already tells us where the shots are going. It is a mobile phone of only 6.1mm It has the best MediaTek processor It has a 5,500mAh battery It has a triple camera system (wide angle, wide angle and telephoto). It turns out that it was possible. There are a few millimeters of difference between the Honor Magic8 Pro Air and its direct rivals, the iPhone Air and Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. But the numbers speak for themselves. Honor magic8 Pro air iphone air samsung galaxy s25 edge dimensions 150.5 x 71.9 156.2×74.7x 158.2 x 75.6 thickness 6.1mm 5.6mm 5.8mm battery 5,500mAh Si/C 3.149mah Li-Ion 3,900mAh Li-ion camera system 50MP, 1/1.3″, OIS 64 MP, /1.2″, OIS 50MP 48 MP 1/1.56″ OIS shift sensor 200 MP, 1/1.3″, OIS 12MP,1/2.55″ The Honor device is 0.3mm thicker than an S25 edge and 0.5mm thicker than the iPhone Air. To give you context, there is a guitar pick difference and a 75% higher energy density in the case of the Chinese mobile. An outrage. Furthermore, China has shown that it is not necessary to give up a single camera to opt for this format. And when we talk about flagships, this point is key. The 10K club. Beyond demonstrating that in ultra-thin mobile phones, silicon-carbon technologies allow energy densities that were impossible until a few years ago, the “10K club” is adding more and more participants. Chinese phones with normal thickness or even less than usual with 10,000mAh batteries. The last one to join the club was Realme P4 Powerthe first mobile phone in the world with a 10,001mAh battery. These are figures that double the usual standard in the rest of the ranges. The answer? There is neither nor is it expected in the short term. China has been ahead in the race to deploy silicon-carbon batteries, one that is not so easy to get into. Such high density batteries require: Greater regulations at the transport level, especially in the European Union. Much higher prices, as Xiaomi advanced. A durability risk not yet proven. Moving towards silicon entails important changes that traditional manufacturers, accustomed to a conservative and slow strategy, are not yet willing to take on. Image | Honor In Xataka | The 80/20 rule seemed like the holy grail for cell phone batteries. It’s not as infallible as it seems.

has just opened a school to train its future “explorers”

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There was a time when talking about putting the Moon back on the calendar sounded like nostalgia, like distant echoes of another era. Today, that language has returned. The United States continues to push its return to the satelliteand China, meanwhile, is building its own path with an increasingly explicit ambitionalso in the human. In that context, the news is not just a new school in Beijing, but what it suggests: that space exploration is also becoming a talent problem. What exactly has been announced. The University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) just announced the creation of its Space Exploration School, defined as the first of its kind in China. It is not a space agency or a manned flight program, but rather an academic center oriented toward training and research. According to CGTN and CAS itself, the objective is to cultivate interdisciplinary professionals in fields such as interstellar propulsion, deep space communication and navigation, and space science, with a direct fit into large national projects. In detail. The school will offer an interdisciplinary curriculum that covers 14 fields, from aeronautics to planetary science, and will expand the current catalog with 22 new core subjects on a previous base of 97 courses. The idea is not only to add subjects, but to mix science, technology and real applications to form profiles capable of moving between theory and problem solving. Global Times points out an explicit objective: that students leave with a solid foundation in mathematics and physics, but with the ability to innovate and transform that innovation into engineering. Where and how. Students will have access to three major platforms and six training systems in Huairou Science Citywith examples ranging from simulation of unmanned space patrols to a circuit for developing end-to-end satellites and experimenting with collaborative space-ground innovation. New teaching platforms oriented towards internships and project work will also be launched, in an attempt to bring students closer to the mission logic. The admission. A double admission system is contemplated: choosing students already enrolled in the first year of the master’s degree and recruiting final year students for direct doctorate. In addition, a “dual mentor” scheme will be promoted with scientists and engineering managers, designed so that the student not only understands concepts, but also learns to convert them into solutions. This mix between research and engineering development is, in fact, one of the great promises of the project. “Explorers”, but not astronauts. The term attracts attention, and it is no coincidence that it appears repeated in the coverage. Now, we are not looking at a school to train crews, but rather to form scientific and technical profiles that make this leap possible, even for interstellar missions. They are asked to not only understand engineering to design vehicles or stations, but to have scientific literacy to investigate space science problems. The “explorer”, here, is the one who constructs and understands the exploration. Images | aboodi vesakaran | CAS In Xataka | Four astronauts are going to undertake an unprecedented journey to the Moon. They have no intention of stepping on it

Windows 11 is already on 1 billion devices. It has arrived before Windows 10, and that says more than it seems

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If we had to bet on which of the two operating systems users want more, Windows 10 I would still have many numbers. Not only because it was a solid launch, but also because it came at the right time: in July 2015, with the mission of erasing the bad memory they had left Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. For years, Windows 10 was the comfortable place, but Microsoft has been playing another game for some time. Windows 11 is going well, very good. Not only is it growing, but it is doing so at a pace that no longer allows for too many doubts.According to data shared by Satya Nadella During the presentation of Microsoft’s financial results (fiscal second quarter), Windows 11 has reached the symbolic milestone of 1 billion users, with a year-on-year growth of 45%. It is a huge fact due to the number, but even more so because of what it suggests: that migration is finally accelerating. A strategy that has worked. The reading fits with something we have been seeing for a long time: Microsoft has stepped on the accelerator to push the jump to Windows 11. And it has not always been easy. In fact, until not so long ago the consensus was different. Unofficial figures for November 2024, crossed with historical data, described disappointing and slower than expected adoption. Windows 11 seemed to move forward with difficulty, as if the public could not find enough reasons to abandon Windows 10. But the pace has changed, and not exactly a little. Arriving before Windows 10. The comparison leaves a particularly striking detail: Windows 11 has reached 1 billion users before Windows 10. In numbers, Windows 11 needed 1,576 days (almost four years and five months) to reach that barrier, while Windows 10 took 1,706 days (four years, eight months and two days). Even so, it is worth putting it in perspective: Microsoft set an even more aggressive goal with Windows 10, aiming for it to be installed on 1 billion devices in just three years. A goal that changed. That plan was ambitious, yes, but it also had small print. In its roadmap, Microsoft planned to add part of the mobile ecosystem as “installations”: Windows Phone and Windows 10 Mobile. The problem is that that future never came. The collapse of Windows Phone and the subsequent cancellation of the project They left that approach meaningless, and Microsoft ended up adjusting expectations. In fact, in April 2015 Terry Myersonthen head of Windows, was already talking about “1 billion devices” in “two or three years” after the launch. A more elastic formulation, less rotund, and much easier to land when the board changes. A milestone amidst challenges. Because the jump from Windows 10 to Windows 11 is not—nor has it been—a smooth transition for everyone. The first wall is technical: hardware requirements. Many computers are left out of the official update because they do not have TPM 2.0 or a compatible processor. In other words, there are users who are pushed to renew equipment even when theirs continues to function reliably. The second obstacle is more intangible, but just as important: experience. Windows 11 arrived with visible changes compared to Windows 10 (design, interface, organization) and also a different philosophy, with more presence of functions powered by artificial intelligence, new features that may arrive at any time and a model of constant evolution that does not always work in its favor. Added to this is the usual noise: a chain of incidents after some recent updates that have made people talk. Windows 11 is a solid system, but also one in constant transformation, and that has a cost. Despite everything, Windows 11 is advancing. Perhaps it is due to pure inertia, perhaps because of end of Windows 10 supportor maybe because the PC market is moving again. What is relevant is that Windows 11 is gaining ground at a pace that Microsoft can read as a victory. Although, deep down, the industry has already changed enough for Windows to stop being king within Microsoft itself. Today it represents less than 10% of income from the Redmond giant. The real jewel in the crown, and the big strategic bet, is elsewhere: Azure. Images | Microsoft | Andrey Matveev In Xataka | We have been waiting for the new Siri for a year and a half. Now it’s just around the corner with an unexpected twist: Google

Airlines justify price increases with additional premium services. All except one: Ryanair

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The increase in operating costs It is making it increasingly difficult for airlines to offer low-priced flights. The low-cost They are becoming less and less, and with each passing year the prices of their tickets increase. Airlines have found a simple way to justify that increase: offer more comfort with wide seats and extra services that sound like luxury. Ryanair, however, does the opposite. Although the Irish company is forced to raise the price of its tickets, the company is reluctant to include any “luxury” options to justify the price increase. The boom in “premium” seats. As and how he published The New York Timestraditional airlines are dedicating more and more space on airplanes to seats for “premium” tourist class, with larger seats and improved services. This allows them to charge much more for those seats, while maintaining the number of passengers. The data they point because tickets for these “premium” tourist zones cost up to five times more than a normal one and represent close to 15% of revenue per passenger. According to data of Financial Timesuntil 2028, the number of seats of this type will grow by 11% each year, while the basic economy class stagnates in terms of sales. With this new “premium” tourist model, airlines earn more for each person who travels, without having to squeeze passengers into increasingly tight seats. The low-cost ones join the cart. Such is the success of this model, that even low-cost airlines have begun to offer packages with more services and, of course, with a higher price. Companies like EasyJet or Frontier Airlines They sell “premium” options with priority boarding, seat selection or even complete vacation packages. This adds extra costs to the way you work. The problem is that these added services make the ticket more expensive, so now they depend more on charging for the large baggage check-in or reservation changes. This makes them lose their price advantage and brings them closer to traditional airlines. Their response has been to stop competing for passenger volume at a low price, and now they seek to offer prices equivalent to a single ticket on a conventional airline, but with extra amenities. Ryanair does not take the bait. Ryanair has already announced that the price of your tickets will increase up to 9% in 2026. The company has achieved keep your costs very controlled placing its expenses per passenger and kilometer at only 4.5 euro cents, compared to more than 7 cents for rivals such as EasyJet or Eurowings, or 9 cents for British Airways. Keeping operating expenses low is what allows Ryanair to continue with its low pricing policy without having to offer “premium” features. Something in which its CEO seems not to give in one bit, judging by the clash in X between Elon Musk and Michael O’Leary for connectivity WiFi on airplanes. Musk claimed that more and more airlines were offering WiFi connection packages on their flights as a “premium” option, and criticized Ryanair for not including it. The response from the controversial CEO of Ryanair was immediate, ensuring that he was not going to offer anything that would increase the operating costs of his planes, and the installation of a Starlink antenna increased fuel consumption. That ignited the spark of a small brawl in which Musk threatened to buy the airline but O’Leary knew how to take to his field. Costs are the key. As demonstrated by the latest financial balance of the Irish airline, savings and containment of operating costs are the secret of Ryanair’s success which, with its refusal to pay the increase in Aena rates and at the price of fuel, it recorded profits of 2,540 million euros in the last half of 2025. While the rest of the airlines must resort to “premium” services to justify their price increases. Ryanair seems to be comfortable with its role as stingy in services to its passengers, and prefers to continue betting on a strategy of low prices and moving a highest percentage of passengers. For now, that model works for them. In Xataka | The CEO of Ryanair would govern a country like his airline: a “low cost” state with millionaire politicians and cuts in services Image | Ryanair

There is a perfect time of year to ask for a raise: January to March

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The first quarter of the year is strategic for companies since in those months the annual salary reviews are closed, taking advantage of the fact that the real results of the previous year are known and decisions are made. concrete adjustments in budgets for that year. For this reason, this first quarter offers a window of opportunity for negotiate salary increases because companies know exactly what budget they can allocate to these salary increases. Doing so during this period makes it more likely get a raise than in July or October, when that budget is already allocated. Increase season: January to March. The natural cycle of many organizations places January as the start of salary reviews, just after closing last year’s accounts, and those for the new year are being planned. As and as you remember Andrea Ramos, the expert in Human Resources and recruitment, in one of her latest videos, during that first quarter, those responsible for human resources and management have a fresh and precise vision of the margin available for increases, which means that your request arrives at a time when adjustments are already being distributed based on real data. A meeting at 11 in the morning. Attempting a negotiation outside this time range, such as in spring or autumn, is usually counterproductive because it does not fit into the company’s internal agenda and may be perceived as out of date. In fact, studies analyzed by the Oberta University of Catalonia not only recommend that the salary review be done in January, but they even refine by proposing a time to request it: 11 in the morning. According to María Naqui, collaborating professor of the Psychology and Educational Sciences Studies at the UOC, “11 in the morning is a good option because having high cortisol levels drives us to make decisions. Even so, asking for a salary increase is something personal and not all of us function in the same way.” That is, not only would you be in the appropriate window of opportunity to obtain the salary increase, but the person responsible for giving it to you will have a greater predisposition to do so. Everything adds up to put things in your favor when you have already decided overcome fear to ask for a salary increase. You have to prepare the meeting. In his video, Ramos highlights that before any talk about salaries it is necessary to add a context that reinforces that request. “Write down a list of measurable achievements from the last year,” the expert recommends. This step provides a base of objective evidence to not depend only on subjective perceptions, but on facts that anyone can verify in internal reports. Next, compare your official job description with the tasks what you really do in your daily life and value that difference between the tasks and their initial assignment and the impact on the company of what you are really doing. However, the most important point is investigate the salary band market for your exact position. That is to say, How much are other companies paying? in positions similar to yours. This will allow you to establish a new realistic range and enter the conversation with verifiable data in hand of your target salary and the minimum you would accept. Open petition. Something that Ramos especially highlights in his video is that, after present with objective data arguments that justify the salary increase, the approach to the issue should not be done with a formula that leaves the door open to a yes or no, but rather forces the personnel manager to offer a reasoning. “What would have to happen for that salary to be reviewed in the coming months,” suggested the hiring expert. With this open formula, the promotion is not considered as an immediate decision, but as the result of a process, forcing the person in charge to establish an assessment of your current position, conditioning it on goals and objectives. Not just to make a closed election. If you don’t get the raise immediately, you have already gotten the necessary steps on the table to get it later. In Xataka | Technology salaries in Spain do not depend on the skills of the employee. They depend on the type of company Image | Unsplash (Vitaly Gariev)

There is only something more intimidating, dangerous and outside of road regulations than a Cybertruck: a Russian Cybertruck

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A Russian startup has recently presented what Tesla has not dared to create: an electric van with the same angular design and stainless steel body that characterizes the Cybertruck. It’s called Russo-Balt F200.was recently sighted in the country and already has a production date for January 2027. A particular project. From the middle CarScoops they count that it is not a simple prototype or a digital render. And the F200 already circulates through the streets snowfall in Russia, and specifically it was sighted in the city of Perm. The company has revived the name of Russo-Balt, a historic Russian automobile and railroad car manufacturer that operated between 1869 and 1918, to give life to this project that mixes a bit of industrial heritage with futuristic aesthetics. In detail. The F200 measures 5,950 mm long, 2,000 mm wide and 2,550 mm high. It has a monocoque structure, unusual in vans of this size that usually use ladder chassis, and supports a payload of up to 1,000 kg. The startup counted The stainless steel panels are hand-welded and, although the body comes unpainted, buyers will be able to customize it with polyurethane wraps in various colors and graphics. under the hood. A 200 HP electric motor drives the front wheels, powered by a 115 kWh battery that promises 400 kilometers of autonomy. According to account In the middle, the van supports direct current fast charging through a port located on the front fender. Standard equipment includes ABS, ESP, climate control, rear air suspension and a 360-degree camera system. The startup insists that practically all surfaces are heated: seats, steering wheel, mirrors and even the windshield wipers, especially thinking about the harsh Russian winters. A possible Chinese brother. Initially it was debated that the vehicle could be a modified version of the V90a van from the Chinese company Weiqiao New Energy. However, Russo-Balt insists that the F200 is his own design. The company highlights that its team has previous experience in the manufacture of stainless steel water dispensers, knowledge that they now apply to the production of the vehicle, which they confirm will be made to order. Between the lines. Following the massive withdrawal of Western manufacturers from the country following the invasion of Ukraine, Chinese brands They have quickly occupied that space and now represent the majority of new car sales in Russia. The F200 perhaps represents an attempt to once again develop local production capacity with a product that is, of course, very striking. How to get one. The price is set at 6.5 million rubles, approximately 72,400 euros at the exchange rate. The company asks for a refundable deposit of about 10,000 rubles, about 111 euros. Russo-Balt also offers a curious 100-year warranty for stainless steel panels. It’s a fairly ambitious figure, but also difficult to verify even considering that the car hasn’t even gone into production yet. And now what. Russo-Balt is already working on a second modelthe F400, which will incorporate a gasoline engine as a range extender and all-wheel drive through two electric motors, adding 400 HP of combined power. It will also add front air suspension to the rear that already includes the F200. Although no pricing details have been revealed, this model targets a more premium segment. It remains to be seen if the startup delivers on its promises and if demand follows. In Xataka | You can now bid on the most exclusive Ford GT prototype in history. The only handicap is that you won’t be able to drive it.

These tips can help you take advantage of it and really learn

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing many things, and one of them is how we study and learn. But it is one thing to talk about AI in the abstract and another, very different, to use it seriously to advance a subject. That’s where the real doubts begin: which tool is worth it, where to start or, above all, how to prevent the chatbot from becoming a a summary machine and you don’t have anything left. In a new video from Xataka’s YouTube channel We wanted to go right to that point, with a practical approach and a real user experience that will probably be familiar to you if you are a student. Francisco Franconi shares his experience with us today. He is a university student and along this path he has discovered real gems to squeeze out. Gemini (yes, on this occasion we momentarily put aside ChatGPT to try a different and, on paper, very promising alternative). Even so, the interesting thing about his proposal is not so much in the specific tool as in the method: our colleague insists that his advice can be applied to any chatbot, because what makes the difference is not the model, but how you use it. The key is not in the chatbot, but in the method In fact, his first advice is very direct: “The first advice I am going to give you is that, If you are going to use AI passively, you are not going to learn anything“And it’s hard to argue. Franconi delves into one of the most common traps: asking AI to summarize a topic, copying it into a document and assuming that this is equivalent to studying. As he explains, this approach only creates an illusion of productivity. The alternative is to use it as real support, as a learning companion, not as a substitute that saves you mental work, and in the video he drops concrete advice to start doing it well from minute one. The second piece of advice points to one of the most powerful advantages of AI in the educational context: its ability to adapt to different levels of difficulty. The key here is to turn the chatbot into a kind of on-demand private teacher, capable of explaining the same thing to you with progressive approaches until you really understand it. “What I do is ask the AI ​​to explain the topics to me in the simplest way, let’s say, as I would explain it to a child. From there you increase the difficulty,” Franconi tells us. And nuance is important: it’s not just about simplification, but about building understanding in layers. “What I do is ask the AI ​​to explain the topics to me in the simplest way” More equally valuable tips appear throughout the video. One of the most interesting has to do with context, something that many overlook when using a chatbot to study: content matters, but how it is taught also matters. “When we take a subject, not only the syllabus matters, but also how the teacher gives the content. The important thing here is that the AI ​​has all the notestexts or slides necessary so that it can use them as a basis to teach you.” That is, if you want the AI ​​to really help you, it is not enough to ask it a generic question: you have to feed it with the real material that you are using in class so that its answer makes sense within the framework of your subject. And, of course, Franconi also enters the field where the casual user is separated from the one who really knows what he is doing: that of prompts. In the video he shares very worked examples, like this one: “You are a studio companion who is an expert in Contemporary Art. Your objective is to show me the contents of the documents that I have uploaded, following a strict and slow order. Your way of working is as follows:”, and from there he displays detailed instructions to guide the model. What is powerful is not just the text, but the logic behind it: defining a role, setting objectives, imposing a rhythm and establishing rules. And the best thing is that this scheme can be easily adapted to any subject. As we say, there is much more in the video. It’s already published in it Xataka YouTube channelso if you want to see all the tips in context, we invite you to see it and leave us your comments both there and in this article. Images | Xataka In Xataka | The change of Google’s search engine with AI was a mystery about its monetization. Finally it will be another subscription

Valve has been charging a 30% commission on Steam for twenty years. Now it’s your turn to explain why before a judge.

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Valve will have to defend its business model before the British courts after the Competition Appeal Court of London authorized on January 26 a class action lawsuit that could cost £656 million, about $900 million. The accusation: the American company abuses its dominant position in the PC games market with commercial practices that keep prices artificially high and limit competition between digital distributors. The demand. Vicki Shotbolt, activist specializing in digital rights and CEO of Parent Zonefiled the legal action in June 2024. It represents approximately 14 million British users who have purchased video games or additional content through Steam since 2018. The case is based on three arguments: first, it questions the 30% commission that Valve charges on each transaction on Steam. The prosecution considers this fee excessive and maintains that it has a direct impact on the final price. The second argument attacks “price parity obligations”: contractual restrictions that would prevent studios and distributors from offering their titles at more competitive prices on other platforms. Valve would have intervened in specific cases when detecting more aggressive discounts outside of Steam. The third point points out a retention mechanism: whoever purchases a base game on Steam must purchase all subsequent downloadable content exclusively on that platform. Other cases. The British case is not an isolated episode. In the United States, independent studios Wolfire Games and Dark Catt Studios filed antitrust lawsuits against Valve in 2021. They were initially dismissed, but the plaintiffs reformulated their arguments and resubmitted them in 2022. A court ordered the two cases to be merged. Since then, any developer, publisher or individual who has paid commissions to Valve on sales since January 28, 2017 can join. David Rosen, founder of Wolfire Games, explained which took legal action after Valve’s direct intervention when it tried to offer lower prices on other platforms. In August 2024, four players from California, Florida, and Missouri filed a separate lawsuit accusing Steam of “strangling competition with blatantly anti-competitive pricing restrictions.” Antitrust. The lawsuits against Valve are part of a broader pattern of antitrust litigation. The most relevant precedent is the confrontation between Epic Games and Apple: the developer of ‘Fortnite’ implemented an alternative payment system that avoided the 30% commission of the App Store. Apple won most points in the litigation, but had problems in certain states such as California. The case against Google had a more forceful outcome: Epic demonstrated that the company had illegally monopolized the Android ecosystem, which will force Google to allow competing app stores on its devices until November 2027. Antitrust. The lawsuits against Valve fit into a broader pattern of antitrust litigation. The most relevant precedent is the confrontation between Epic Games and Apple: The developer of ‘Fortnite’ implemented an alternative payment system that avoided the 30% commission from the App Store. In May 2025Fortnite returned to the Apple store. The case against Google had a stronger outcome: Epic managed to prove that the company had illegally monopolized the Android ecosystem, which will force Google to allow competing app stores on its devices until November 2027. The magnitude of Valve. Steam hosted more than 19,000 video games during 2025, generating total revenues of $11.7 billion. The income that Valve obtains exclusively from its commissions on sales increased from 1.1 billion dollars in 2015 to an estimated 3.2 billion in 2024, tripling in less than a decade. Additionally, Valve produces approximately $50 million in revenue per employee, an exceptional figure even in the technology sector. The London court has not yet set a date for the trial, which will determine whether these practices constitute abuse of a dominant position. If the lawsuit is successful, the affected British users could receive compensation for the extra costs that, according to the accusation, they have been paying for years. In Xataka | Amazon wanted to surpass Steam and spent 15 years spending 250 times more. It has only served them to enter into crisis

We thought that the 72 billion that Meta spent on AI in 2025 were outrageous. It was just the appetizer

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The big tech companies They are spending a lot of money on AI infrastructure and, far from slackening, the figure is only increasing (and not a little). In the case of Meta, the company planned to spend $66 billion in 2025, but in October they had to correct the figure to $72 billion. 2026 has just begun and the figure they have just given is directly insane. Doubling down, literally. Between 115,000 and 135,000 million dollarsthese are the figures that Meta handles for the year 2026. It is almost double what they spent in 2025, a figure that, as we said, they had to correct towards the end of the year, so let’s not rule out that it ends up being more. The spending will mainly be intended to “support the efforts of Meta Superintelligence Labs”, that is, to build more data centers. Which by the way, more than 6 million dollars have been spent on advertising campaigns to convince us that data centers are cool. Record results. The fourth quarter of 2025 has been very good for Meta. Revenue grew 24% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 59,000 million dollars and a net profit of 22,800 million dollars, figures that exceed forecasts. According to its CEO, the good results are thanks to the implementation of AI in its advertising services. Recovering confidence. In the previous quarter, the huge spending on AI generated many doubts among investors and, although the results were also good, shares fell up to 8%. This time it has been different and, although spending will skyrocket even more, shares are up 10%. It seems that they trust Zuckerberg’s direction again. Where is the ceiling? It is difficult to know, but what we do know is that since 2023 it has been increasing exaggeratedly. And not a little. According to Meta datain 2023 they spent 28 billion dollars, in 2024 they rose to 39 billion and in 2025 to 72 billion. The jump has been getting higher and higher with each year, I wonder when they will let off the accelerator. All for AI, but without AI. All the big technology companies are spending a lot on AI, but what is striking about the case of Meta is that has not yet launched its new models. To put it in context, Meta’s expected spending is higher than Google’s in 2025, but Google has Gemini while Meta has promises. After the fiasco of Call 4Zuckerberg set himself as a target Completely remodel your AI department. It was spent a fortune in hiring new talentscreated a secret laboratory next to his officeha cut the Metaverse department (also with layoffs) to move resources to AI. The ambition is huge: creating superintelligence. At the moment, what we know is that they are preparing a language model called Avocado and another for image generation that they call Mango. They better measure up, otherwise They will always have the public. Image | Unsplash, Meta In Xataka | Three years after the metaverse fiasco, Zuckerberg has another burning nail for Meta: digital glasses

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