February 2026 - Page 15 of 87

discounts of up to 850 euros on refrigerators, washing machines, ovens and more

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

I don’t know about you, but I think about changing an appliance and I start to tremble. It is almost always because we have to replace something that is broken, although it can also be simply because we want something better. If we start looking for an appliance, it is always much better if, by the way, we can take advantage of some powerful offer. That’s where AEG comes in. This manufacturer is finishing off its Winter Saleswhich just end next Sunday, March 1. Until then, we can take home all types of appliances such as upright vacuum cleaners, refrigerators or ovens at a very good price. The discount is already applied to all of them, but if we use the code ‘AEGXATAKA0226‘, we will get an additional discount. There is a lot to choose from, but below we are going to leave you with a selection of several offers that we find very interesting: Clean 3000 Series Bag Vacuum Cleaner by 68.67 euros (instead of 109 euros). Series 6000 Animal Cordless Vacuum Cleaner by 152.81 euros (instead of 259 euros). Series 5000 integrated dishwasher by 560.19 euros (instead of 789 euros). ProSense 6000 Series Washing Machine by 517.68 euros (instead of 719 euros). Series 5000 multifunction oven by 398.43 euros (instead of 699 euros). 5000 Series Induction Hob by 267.33 euros (instead of 469 euros). American refrigerator Series 9000 by 998.46 euros (instead of 1,849 euros). Series 5000 induction hob with four zones by 279.44 euros (instead of 499 euros). espresso machine by 105.12 euros (instead of 219 euros). Clean 3000 Series Bag Vacuum Cleaner We start with a bagged vacuum cleaner, which is ideal if you prefer something that helps you clean without relying on a battery (since it has a five-meter cable). It is powerful and its bag has a large capacity, so we can vacuum a large part of our house without having to clean it every so often. It comes with several accessories and, although its RRP is 109 euros, with the code ‘AEGXATAKA0226‘, its price remains at 68.67 euros. Clean 3000 Series 750 W 78 dB(A) Bag Vacuum Cleaner The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Series 6000 Animal Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Do you prefer a cordless vacuum cleaner? Then you have this one from the 6000 Series, ideal if you have pets at home because it includes a brush designed to be used with animal hair on both carpets and sofas. In fact, you can convert this upright vacuum cleaner into a handheld vacuum cleaner and its autonomy is 50 minutes per charge, which is not bad at all. With the code ‘AEGXATAKA0226‘, comes out 152.81 euros (instead of 259 euros). Series 6000 Animal cordless vacuum cleaner with 50 min autonomy The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Series 5000 integrated dishwasher We now turn to this integrated dishwasher from the 5000 Series, an option that has an upper basket inside that we can adjust in height (so, you can place it higher if you need to place large utensils). In addition, it has a system that, at the end of the cycle, the door opens by itself to allow everything to dry with the outside air, which saves energy and makes drying better. Costs 560.19 euros (instead of 789 euros) if you use the code ‘AEGXATAKA0226‘. 60 cm Series 5000 AirDry integrated dishwasher for 14 place settings The price could vary. We earn commission from these links ProSense 6000 Series Washing Machine AEG also has washing machines like this 6000 Series. It has 10 kg capacitywhich will give you extra if you need to wash things like duvets. Besides, Its spin speed reaches 1,400 RPMwhich is ideal if you live in a humid area or if you want to use the dryer for less time. In addition, the washing machine automatically adjusts the water, time and consumption depending on the load we put inside it. With the code ‘AEGXATAKA0226‘, costs 517.68 euros (instead of 719 euros). ProSense® Series 6000 10.0kg Freestanding Washer The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Series 5000 multifunction oven What if you need an oven? You have this AEG from the 5000 series with 71 liters of capacity and a thermal probe, which will allow you to know what temperature the core of your dishes is (and which is ideal so that they do not remain dry or raw). It has a steam function, which can be great for making bread with a crispy crust, for example. With the code ‘AEGXATAKA0226‘ stays in 398.43 euros (instead of 699 euros). Multifunction oven Series 5000 SurroundCook with SteamBake with Explore LED Display The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 5000 Series Induction Hob Now we are going with two induction hobs, quite similar but with some important differences. This first one has three cooking zones: two medium-sized and one large. It would be the one we would choose if we plan to cook with large pans or pots, something common in large families where the same dish is cooked so that it provides a lot of servings. Costs 267.33 euros (instead of 469 euros) if we use the code ‘AEGXATAKA0226‘. 60 cm Series 5000 Induction induction hob The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Series 5000 induction hob with four zones We have the alternative with this other one, which is more traditional. Here we have four different cooking areas, although it is true that we have one more fire, we do not have one as large as the previous induction hob. If you don’t need a larger area than normal, you will have an extra fire that never hurts. With the code ‘AEGXATAKA0226‘ comes out 279.44 euros (instead of 499 euros). 60 cm Series 5000 Induction induction hob The price could vary. We earn commission from these links American refrigerator Series 9000 American refrigerators are very fashionable and with this Series 9000 we … Read more

the discovery that forces us to rewrite the history of engineering

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

The old one city of petrasculpted in the majestic reddish rocks of modern-day Jordan, has always captivated the world for its architectural monumentality. But the truth is that there was still much to discover here, and a recent team of archaeologists has focused on the bowels of its urban engineering and the ssystem they used to transport water in a desert environment. The discovery. Archaeologists have unearthed astonishing evidence pointing to a water system of unprecedented sophistication in this region, and which has transformed the understanding of how the Nabataean civilization managed to thrive, and not just survive, in a very arid desert environment. Where was it seen? This discovery has been published in the magazine Raise by the team led by archaeologist Niklas Jungmann where he has documented the findings in the ‘Ain Braq aqueduct after surveys that began in 2023. Now the researchers have been able to reveal a complex network of aquifer infrastructures that challenge previous conceptions about the hydraulic technology of antiquity in the Near East. What has been seen? The epicenter of this astonishing discovery is the identification of a secondary conduit made up of lead pipes that extends approximately 116 meters. The point is that the presence of these lead pipes It is an extraordinarily rare phenomenon, especially outside the context of complex buildings or large Roman baths. In Petra, this conduit was not a mere fortuitous pipe, but a highly precise piece of technology integrated into a system that combined open channels carved directly into the natural rock with these advanced metal conduits. Its function. The function of this hydraulic system was to exhaustively regulate the pressure and flow of water. The researchers here point out that the lead section functioned mechanically as an inverted siphon, which is a great technical feat that allowed the water to overcome the pronounced unevenness in the terrain. And with these levels it could be very easy for the pipes to collapse, but with the mechanism that they devised at the time, it made it possible to give pressure to the water and maintain the momentum wherever it passed. More complex. Although this type of inverted siphon has attracted a lot of attention, nine conduits, a large reservoir, two cisterns and seven smaller tanks must also be added to the system. All this aimed at capturing scarce water, minimizing its evaporation and supplying the desert city. Its evolution. The study goes further by pointing out that the aqueduct system experienced at least two major phases of development. The first was characterized by the use of lead, an expensive and demanding material. Here experts link this majestic work with the era of the Nabataean king Aretas IVindicating that this system would have been vital in supporting key monuments of the city, such as the Great Temple. The second phase focused on the installation of a terracotta conduit next to the original. This transition to a much cheaper and easier to replace material demonstrates the flexibility and long-term technical efficiency of Nabataean engineering. Its importance. Having found this evidence of a complex hydrological system forces historians and archaeologists to rethink the level of technological development in Petra. Beyond their famous rock-cut architecture, the Nabataeans were true masters of water. And it is no wonder, because it was necessary to have a good infrastructure capable of challenge an unforgiving desert that could condemn those cities that did not know how to evolve and adapt to the conditions where they were developing. Images | Brian Kairuz In Xataka | Archaeologists have been searching for Hannibal’s war elephants for centuries. They only had to dig in Córdoba

An economic science fiction text has sunk Visa and Mastercard in the stock market. The reason is more disturbing than the story itself

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

Citrini Research, a hedge fund American published this week a text written as if it were a macroeconomic memorandum from June 2028. It is not a prediction, its authors warn. It is a speculative exercise. A feasible scenario. It has achieved 24 million impressions, and counting. It is not an anecdotal tweet. The markets they have responded by sinking. Visa has fallen 4.4%. Mastercard, 6.3%. American Express, almost 8%. And Capital One, 8%. This deserves an explanation. And it’s not what it seems. Between the lines. The market reaction is not explained by the specific content of the Citrini Research report, which includes arguments as debatable as that AI agents will abandon cards to pay with stablecoins in Solana. Antonio Ortiz, technology analysts, has pointed it out precisely: part of the argument “it is from the first of Twitter AI-hype“. The idea that an agent will compare twenty food delivery apps vibecodeadas to find the cheapest one smells like a caricature of the future. But the panic is not irrational. It is precisely the panic of not knowing where the limit is. Why is it importantand. What has moved the market has not been so much the thesis about payments but the thesis about the destruction of value. And that is solid: many billions of dollars of market capitalization have been built on a single foundation: that humans are slow, impatient, forgetful and loyal out of inertia. That we do not compare prices. That we renew subscriptions that we do not use. And that we pay commissions that we do not negotiate. An AI agent has none of those weaknesses. And that changes everything. The backdrop. Citrini’s report comes at a time when the so-called “saaspocalypse“is no longer a metaphor. WSJ states that investors are terrified by the possibility that AI ends up doing the work that large software companies bill for today. ServiceNow, Salesforce, business management platforms… all built on the premise that companies need software for their employees to do their jobs. But… what happens when employees disappear? What if the software itself can be replicated in weeks with agentic coding tools? Citrini’s fiction begins exactly there, in early 2026, when a competent developer can reproduce the core functionality of a mid-market SaaS in a few weeks, and constructs a scenario of systemic collapse. The big question. The report’s most disturbing argument is that in every previous technological cycle, job destruction created new jobs that only humans could do. This time, AI is already occupying those new positions as well. If that’s true—if AI improves faster than workers can reorient themselves—the self-correcting mechanism that has always kept creative destruction from turning into outright destruction wouldn’t work. That is the scenario that the markets have discounted this week, even if only partially and speculatively thanks to a creepypasta financial. Yes, but. The scenario requires assuming a speed of adoption that is not guaranteed, a completely absent political response and a total absence of new economic sectors. None of the three conditions are set in stone. Furthermore, as Antonio points out, there is some collective hysteria in the reaction: each announcement or “scary story catches attention and moves investors.” Markets are trading in panic over the unknown. But there’s an important difference between saying “this scenario won’t happen” and saying “this scenario is impossible.” And that difference is exactly what has the market nervous. The alarm signal. The most striking thing this week is that a speculative text, written in economic science fiction format, has been enough to move billions in market capitalization. That says a lot about the state of certainty in the markets regarding AI: it is practically non-existent. Nobody really knows how much a company whose moat It is human friction in a world where that friction is disappearing. The canary is still alive. But investors have stopped trusting the canary. In Xataka | AI promised to revolutionize all sectors. It has only revolutionized programming while the rest is still waiting Featured image | Avery Evans

The Winter Olympics leave Italy with a debt of 7.8 million dollars. Not to organize them, to win them

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

Italy can be satisfied with the Winter Olympic Games, held in its own home. It has gone well. Very good, in fact. Thirty medals in total: 10 gold, six silver and 14 bronze. If we talk about metals in general only there are three nations with a better balance, the powerful Norway (41) and the United States (33). The most curious thing is that this balance is so damn good that now Italy will have to assume a debt of almost eight million of dollars. Success also pays. What has happened? That Italy will have to face a debt of 7.8 million dollars for the Winter Olympics that it just hosted. So far nothing extraordinary if we take into account the large investment carried out by the country to host the Olympics and that a large part of these funds were financed by the Executive itself. The curious thing is that those almost eight million have nothing to do with its status as host or the infrastructure necessary for the tests. The debt has another reason: the sporting successes achieved by Italy. Country Golds Silver Bronze Total Norway 18 12 11 41 USA 12 12 9 33 Italy 10 6 14 30 Germany 8 10 8 26 Japan 5 7 12 24 Debts to earn? Yes. The news (and the calculations that support it) has revealed them Forbeswhich on Sunday echoed the peculiar scenario that Italy faces. In his day the Italian National Olympic Committee He decided to encourage his athletes by promising them huge bonuses if they made it onto the podium. To be more precise, he offered 213,000 dollars in exchange for gold, 106,000 for silver and 71,000 for bronze. What has happened? That incentive seems to have worked and has now generated a million-dollar commitment. Its status as host nation opened the doors to automatic qualification for Italy, but its sports teams have demonstrated a more than notable performance: they achieved 30 medals (10 gold, six silver and 14 bronze), ten more than those achieved in 1994which had been his best winter Olympics until now. In fact, in the global ranking it is only surpassed by Norway, with 41 medals, and the USA, with 33. It is also one of the best positioned in gold medals. It occupies third place in the ranking, shared with the Netherlands. Does it only happen to Italy? No. Although it is true that your case is peculiar. For your report Forbes He contacted 37 delegations who confirm having offered incentives to those athletes who reached the podium. Among those groups, Italy was one of the most generous. Only Singapore, Hong Kong, Poland and Kazakhstan surpassed it, which motivated their sports teams with bigger prizes. For reference, Singapore ‘tempted’ its athletes with $787,000 in exchange for gold in individual sports. Hong Kong paid it at $768,000. What happened in Italy? That the claim worked as well for none of those delegations as it did for Italy. According to the calculations of Forbesthe host country is the one that will have to pay the most now: 7.8 million dollars, well above the second on the list, the United States, with just over three million. Third on the list is Switzerland (1.5 million) and fourth is Poland, whose incentives total 1.24 million. In general, the incentive system varies greatly from one country to another. Not only for its rewards. There may also be differences in how these bonuses are financed (with public funds or with sponsors), in the maximum number of bonuses or if the prizes extend beyond the podium, also rewarding athletes who return home with Olympic diplomas. Italy has also decided to offer bonuses to its para-athletes, so the amount it owes to its most successful athletes could increase not much. In this case, the bonus amounts to $118,000 for those who win the gold, 65,000 for those who win the silver and 41,000 for the bronze. Is it the only relevant figure? At all. The bonus debt is curious, but it is by no means the only relevant figure associated with the Winter Olympic Games that Italy has just organized, with distributed headquarters through Milan, Cortina d´Ampezzo, Verona, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme. Another key data is the investment mobilized by the competition. S&P estimates that the total cost of the Winter Games comfortably exceeded 5,000 million euros. A good part of this spending (about 63%) was public and was dedicated mainly to investments in infrastructure. The other fundamental data is the economic return for the country: some estimates speak of the generation of some 5.3 billion eurosa good part of them thanks to tourism boost. Images | Eric Salard (Flickr) and Simone Ferraro/CONI Via | Forbes In Xataka | The Winter Olympics are facing the most unexpected technological doping: penis punctures

review with features, price and specifications

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

I usually take walks with my wife. We solve the world (or at least, a little of our world) and we do it without a soundtrack. That was until a few days ago, because I was able to try the Xiaomi Mijia Smart Audio Glasses and I have realized that glasses can be something more than that. Let’s start telling truths like fists. Smart glasses are anything but smart. At least, for now. They are more like connected glasses, and that is not bad news at all. In fact, this is exactly what these glasses demonstrate, that they are a little deceptive with that “Smart” but they are honest with that other “Audio” that accompanies the name. Presented in Januaryhere we are facing a wearable that distances itself, for example, from the much more ambitious Meta Ray-Ban Display and that focuses on a single function: that your glasses are also your headphones. And for certain scenarios—very useful—it succeeds. Technical sheet of the Xiaomi Mijia Smart Audio Glasses Xiaomi Mijia Smart Audio glasses Models Pilot / Browline / Titanium Weight (with crystals) Pilot: 40.4 g Browline: 39.1g Titanium: 34.4g Battery 114mAh x 2 Charging time: 1 hour Autonomy: 13 hours continuous playback Connectivity Bluetooth 5.4 IP Rating IP54 Compatibility Android 10.0 / iOS 14 and above Price From 179.99 euros Xiaomi Mijia Smart Audio Glasses The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A design that deceives (for the better) More ambitious glasses like the Meta Ray-Ban 2 They still have that clearly more “techie” look. They are thicker, a little more bulky, and above all they include cameras that, even if they are somewhat camouflaged, still reveal whoever is wearing them. Not only do they give you away: they can even raise some concern due to that implicit message of “Well yes, I wear smart glasses with which I can take photos and videos of you without you realizing (much).” In the contents of the box there is a unique surprise: a printed manual that is quite dense because it includes brief instructions in a varied set of languages. Unlike that type of glasses, these Mijia Smart Audio Glasses achieve something striking: They go through traditional glassesboth in “seeing glasses” and sunglasses formats. In this last week I have been able to try the “Pilot” variant (there are two others, “Browline” and “Titanium”, which differ a little in the shape and width of the lens) in its sunglasses lens format, and the feeling is that at least for its nose bridge we are looking at completely normal glasses. They do not weigh 40 grams, and most of the weight is distributed on the temples, which makes them especially comfortable to use. The design is very similar to conventional glasses: almost nothing here (if you don’t look at the temples) tells you that these glasses are anything more than that. Image: Xataka. In fact, that weight and design make you forget that you are carrying a battery, speakers and four microphones above your ears. It wasn’t the case because I don’t wear glasses, but the fact that you can adjust the crystals It is what ends up closing the circle. This is not a gadget that you put on for a while—if you don’t want to—but a product that can live with you. Sound without isolation The sound experience of these glasses is, as I said at the beginning, that of having a personal soundtrack that only you hear. It’s a strange but satisfying feeling, because these glasses They do not isolate you from the outside world, but rather accompany it and they play music—or podcasts, or audiobooks, or calls—. One of the speakers of the Xiaomi Mijia Smart Audio Glasses. Image: Xataka. They do this through a speaker system integrated into the temples, in addition to four microphones that are crucial to be able to make hands-free calls directly from the glasses, or also to record calls or voice notes. The experience that these glasses offer us is similar to that offered by open headphones. The speakers sound surprisingly good despite being very well camouflaged in the temples, although logically the quality and “punch” of the audio is not that of headphones. The speakers perform very well in terms of audio clarity, but they lack some emotion and the music sounds a bit flat. The volume achieved is not particularly notable either, which means that in noisy environments it may be a bit limited. But the truth is that the combination works surprisingly well if we understand who the product is aimed at. Headphones isolate you from the outside and the “transparency” systems of some models allow you to also hear the outside. This is just the opposite: the outside sound is always present, so one can even carry on a conversation while listening to music in the background. This is what I did for a couple of test days when I took a walk with my wife and continued talking to her while listening to a song. She couldn’t hear the song unless she walked up to me and turned the volume all the way up, even though that was outside. The touch gestures are functional and simple and the sensor is generous. Image: Xataka. When I left the glasses with her so she could listen to music and our conversation at the same time, she was impressed because of the possibilities that a product opened up. In fact, that “wow effect” caught my attention, which was not so present for me, but was notable for her. That said, the design of the speakers can mean that in closed environments the sound may be heard by other people if the volume is somewhat higher, and that is why Xiaomi has implemented a privacy mode that tries to reduce the sound from leaking, for example in voice calls. Its real validity is debatable: if you don’t want anyone to find out what they are telling you through … Read more

Marc Murtra has been at the helm of Telefónica for a year and has done something that his predecessor did not achieve in a decade: slimming down the company

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

Marc Murtra wears just over a year at the head of Telefónica and the 2025 numbers begin to validate its thesis: concentrate on four markets (Spain, Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom) and avoid the rest. Group income have grown by 1.5%, up to 35,120 million eurosand the adjusted profit reaches 2,122 million. On paper, it works. Why is it important. Telefónica has done in two years what it was not able to do in a decade: get rid of Latin American ballasts (Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador…) and redraw its perimeter. The result is a smaller, but more predictable company. And in Spain, where it has not grown since 2008, it has once again shown signs of life: +1.7% in revenue, up to 13,012 million. The backdrop. The Álvarez-Pallete stage cut the debt of the Alierta stage by halfbut it was still a brutal debt and the company had a geographical dispersion that consumed a lot of management energy without a return that was far from proportional. Murtra has opted for surgery: sell assets, continue reducing debt (337 million less in 2025, it is already at 26,824 million) and bet on markets where Telefónica has real muscle. The logic is clear. And the execution, reasonably clean. Between the lines. Brazil is now the financial heart of the group, and that has implications that go beyond quarterly results. Vivo, Telefónica’s local brand in the country, has earned more than 1,000 million euros net in 2025, 11.2% morewith an Ebitda of 41.7% that would make any European telecom company blush. Its 5G network already covers two-thirds of the Brazilian population and leads the market by number of customers. Brazil should no longer be considered an emerging market with potential: right now it is the most mature and profitable asset that Telefónica has. There is also a background reading that the results do not make explicit but that the context does suggest: the demand for data in Latin America is accelerating precisely now due to the pull of AI: more consumption in the cloud, more traffic, more need for infrastructure. Telefónica has sold its Latin American subsidiaries just when that market may be entering a new phase of growth. It is the big question that presumably no one at Telefónica wants to answer openly. Main winner? Brazil, without a doubt, but also Spain. The domestic business has broken a curse of almost two decades and is beginning to generate cash in a stable manner. That debt goes down, albeit slowly, while income goes up, is the combination that the market has been waiting for for years. Main loser? The United Kingdom. Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), the joint venture in which Telefónica has 50%, has registered net losses of 1,852 million euros in 2025 (up from £19m the previous year) following a goodwill impairment charge of more than £1bn. Its income has fallen 5.3%. And by 2026, the company itself expects service revenue to drop between 3% and 5% more, dragged down by integration with Daisy Group in May 2025. The British telecommunications market is in a price war that has no easy winners, and VMO2 has been sailing against the tide for some time. The big question. Murtra has shown the ability to clean up the balance and simplify the map. What has not yet been demonstrated is that Telefónica can grow organically and sustainably in its four key markets. Spain and Brazil are making progress, but Germany continues to be a story of pending consolidation and the United Kingdom is getting complicated. The plan is well designed. Now it’s time to execute it. In Xataka | We need more and more data centers. And Telefónica is building them in its old telephone exchanges Featured image | Telephone

opinions, first contact and photos

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

It’s never easy to be different. Not even when people who are different are praised. Because being different forces you to go against the current, to defend what seems indefensible due to fashion but more than evident if you point to reason. And although in those cases one gets the applause, there is always that internal resentment of what would happen if one bowed to the currents that move the world. Mazda knows that feeling well. This small Hiroshima company is more than used to to do things in a different way. And, above all, to receive applause for it. But when you don’t just have reputation in your hands. When what is at stake is money, things are different. Mazda CX-5 technical data sheet Mazda CX-5 Body type five-seater SUV MEASURES 4,690 mm long, 1,860 mm wide, 1,695 mm high. 2,815 mm wheelbase Trunk 583 liters Maximum power 141 hp WLTP CONSUMPTION 7.0 l/100 km in front-wheel drive 7.4-7.5 l/100 km in all-wheel drive Environmental distinctive ECHO. Driving aids Mandatory by the European Union. Adaptive cruise control with lane keeping and lane change assist. Automatic parking. Others 12.9-inch screen for the instrument panel and 12.9 or 15.6-inch screen for the central unit. Apple CarPlay compatibility and Google integration as standard, including Google Store and Gemini as an AI assistant. maximum speed 187 km/h in front-wheel drive 185 km/h in all-wheel drive electric hybrid Yes, in a 24-volt microhybrid version with its 2.5 e-Skyactive G engine (141 HP) Plug-in hybrid No. Electric No. price and availability Now available to reserve from 35,200 euros. Price with campaigns and discounts from 29,995 euros. Now available. First deliveries March 2026. less different And life is full of small capitulations. Most don’t matter. Most are more important the more you have advocated walking in the opposite direction. And Mazda has done it repeatedly with all kinds of topics. One of them has been the ergonomicsthe tooth and nail defense of interiors full of buttons. Quality buttons, well thought out, well distributed and exquisite to the touch. Roulettes with a small rough frame and precise clicks. They said that giant screens were a mistake. And that the error had a reason: driving safety. Something has changed within the company that now bends to fashion that storm the market. The enormous panel that fills the Mazda 6e and that will fill the future Mazda CX-6e It seemed like a lesser evil within a greater capitulation. Without the muscle of other large companies, Mazda has taken advantage of its partnership with Changan to bring these two electric cars to Europe. Minimal investment, small risk and great loot to be won. In that case, the all-screen seemed more than justified. But the Mazda CX-5 arrives with another giant screen. 12.9 inches as standard and 15.6 inches in its most complete equipment. It is confirmation that something has changed within the company, which was decisively betting on touch and muscle memory. Now, it does it with a panel that looks great, with good organization of its menus and fluid operation. But where there were buttons For air conditioning there is now a glass surface. Only the buttons to defog the front and rear windows remain at hand, and physically, like a memory, a vestige of the past. Mazda, however, maintains buttons on the steering wheel to control the multimedia system and a screen in the instrument panel that reaches 12.9 inches, easy to read but not very configurable. To manage the air conditioning on, and its heated and ventilated seats, there is no choice but to go through the panel or, if necessary, ask Google. Distribution of the new menu on the huge screen of the CX-5 (the car will arrive in Spanish, it is displayed in English because the car has not yet been updated for our market) The company has tried to reduce friction by building its operating system on Android Automotive. You can see their hand because the menus are easy to navigate, they are well structured and the learning curve seems small. It will have Google Assistant and other services like Gemini (coming in a future update) that should make voice control easier. We can’t talk about its performance yet. The present, for sure, is more uncomfortable. It is the great discordant note in a inside that continues to perform at a good level. I get the feeling that Mazda has saved money here with some padding, such as on the doors or implementing a single surface for different functions on the steering wheel, rather than being completely individualized. Of course, they click well and precisely. The gear shift is supported by a matte piece that gives less glare but will surely collect fewer fingerprints and less dust than the previous piano black. If these details are very well hidden, the perception of quality is still higher than that of most rivals for the prices at which the new Mazda CX-5 operates. The seats offer a very good feeling in both the front and rear seats. The truth is that Mazda had us accustomed to a very high level in its interiors, both in terms of quality and adjustments. But also in the performance of its chassis. Here, the Mazda CX-5 continues to perform exquisitely, above other SUVs over 4.50 meters. The set-up, with a suspension that contains the body even when you are looking for the tickles on a secondary road, is very good. You feel very safe when you push the limits, especially in the all-wheel drive version, which is the one we tested. The car is pushed by a 141 HP 2.5 naturally aspirated engine. It is accompanied by an electric vehicle with just 7 HP, so its momentum is almost testimonial, enough to collect the ECO label, yes. Regeneration is carried out automatically and responds to approaching vehicles that precede us. If we approach a roundabout where there is a car in front, the regenerative braking is felt and the … Read more

AMD wants to be the great alternative to NVIDIA in AI chips, and Meta has a plan that involves both

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

Meta has signed one of the largest contracts in history with AMD regarding chips for artificial intelligence. The agreement It represents a boost for AMD in its attempt to stand up to NVIDIA. It also shows how Lisa Su’s company intends to continue putting its foot even further into that little corner of circular financing that big technology companies have created in relation to AI. There are some nuances worth commenting on, so let’s get down to it. The agreement. Meta will purchase enough chips from AMD to power data centers with up to six gigawatts of computing power over the next five years. Just like esteem According to the Wall Street Journal, the total value of the contract would exceed $100 billion, since each gigawatt represents tens of billions in revenue for AMD, according to the company itself. First deliveries will begin in the second half of 2026, with a first gigawatt of AMD’s new MI450 chips. There is more. The agreement is not only about buying chips. As part of the pactAMD will offer Meta purchase guarantees (warrants) to acquire up to 160 million AMD shares at a symbolic price of one cent per share, which could make Meta the owner of up to 10% of the company. Of course, there are conditions, since the titles will be released in tranches as certain technical and commercial milestones are met. The last tranche will only be unlocked if AMD stock reaches $600, according to share the WSJ. On Monday it closed at $196.60, and after hearing the news, AMD shares have risen more than 10% in pre-opening. AMD seeks its place alongside NVIDIA. The company led by Lisa Su has been trying to gain ground in a market that NVIDIA dominates with more than 90% share. This agreement with Meta, together the one who signed with OpenAI in October in very similar terms, is its most ambitious bet to achieve it. “Meta has a lot of options. I want to make sure we always have a clear place at the table when they think about what they need,” counted His at the press conference prior to the announcement. Meta doesn’t put all her eggs in one basket. Zuckerberg’s company is not betting exclusively on AMD. Last week too closed an agreement with NVIDIA to acquire millions of its chips for tens of billions of dollars, and also is in talks with Google for the use of its AI processors. “At the scale at which we operate, there is room for all three,” counted Santosh Janardhan, head of infrastructure at Meta. The company’s strategy involves diversifying suppliers and ensuring sufficient supply for its major expansion. Meta spent 72 billion dollars last year in data centers and plans to disburse up to 135,000 million this year. And back to circular financing. Meta pays AMD for chips, and AMD returns some of that money in the form of shares. A similar scheme that we already saw in the agreement with AMD and OpenAI, but also identical to that of the rest of the big technology companies around AI. The problem of demand is also worth noting. And Reuters stood out the words of Matt Britzman, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, who said that although Meta is securing supply and diversifying, “having to give up 10% of its capital suggests that AMD could have difficulty generating organic demand.” What’s coming now. The AI race is not only fought in laboratories, but also in the field of finance. For AMD, the challenge now is to demonstrate that its chips live up to the demands. For Meta, the goal is to build with them “tens of gigawatts this decade and hundreds of gigawatts or more over time,” in words from Zuckerberg himself. All this while we are witnessing unprecedented spending on infrastructure and energy and of which we apparently do not see the bottom line. Cover image | AMD and Meta In Xataka | IBM has been living for decades that no one could kill COBOL. Anthropic has other plans

The F-35 cannot be hacked like an iPhone. The explanation is the same why Spain and Europe cannot go to war without the US.

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

There was a moment, probably towards the end of the Cold War, when the concept of Western military superiority stopped being measured solely in tons of steel or number of divisions and began to depend more and more on lines of code, networks and invisible architectures. As the decades passed, that technological transformation redefined not only how war is fought, but who really has control of the tools with which war is waged. Europe is realizing that that train has missed it. The jailbreak myth. Last year we already have that the possibility of an “off” button on the American F-35 it wasn’t exactly like that. Now, the comparison launched last week by the Dutch minister when suggesting that the fighter could “break free” like an iPhone It simplifies to the absurdity what is, in reality, a combat system defined by software and armored by cryptographic architecture. The F-35 is not designed for the operator to modify its code, but only to run software authenticated by keyscontrolled supply chains and closed validation environments, which means that physically accessing the aircraft is not the same as controlling its system. It is therefore not a consumer device on which alternative applications are installed like those on a mobile phone, but rather a platform whose integrity depends on digital signaturestrusted hardware modules and a support infrastructure that validates each update before the aircraft executes it. ODIN and structural dependency. They remembered in the middle The Aviationist that the real core of the problem is not in “hacking” the plane, but in keeping it outside the American ecosystem that keeps it operational. The F-35 depends on ODINthe logistics and data network that manages maintenance, mission planning, software updates and threat files, all under the control of infrastructure and processes largely managed from the United States. Disconnecting it does not turn it off immediately, but it initiates a progressive loss of capabilities that transforms it from a fully integrated fifth-generation platform to a combat fighter that is increasingly less relevant in the face of modern threats. So yes, exactly the same as a phone that stops receiving critical patches and updates. The same European dependence. Curiously, or perhaps not so much, this logic does not end with the plane, but runs through the entire European military architecture. The Financial Times recalled this morning in a piece that tried to answer the big European questions, that the continent’s armies depend on American software, clouds and systems for secure communications, data analysis, command and control, intelligence and platform maintenance. We are talking about platforms with contracts that involve giants like Google, Microsoft or Palantir and fundamental systems such asl Lockheed Martin Aegis integrated into, for example, European ships. The European military commanders themselves they recognized in the report that an abrupt break would generate operational gaps, fragmentation and loss of effectiveness, because a good part of the digital “back-end” on which its capabilities rest is not under European sovereign control. Digital sovereignty vs reality. Now that Washington is going through a phase where the word “ally” does not fit to the profile, the political speeches that advocate accelerate technological sovereignty in defense they collide with a structural reality: replicating the entire ecosystem that supports platforms, networks, encryption, AI and cloud services is not as simple as moving servers to European soil or changing providers overnight. And it is not because data localization does not equate to real sovereignty when that same software, updates, cryptographic keys and interoperability depend on American supply chains and regulatory frameworks, and where European generals themselves warn that a hasty decoupling would put daily operations at risk. Same explanation. In the end, the F-35 can’t be hacked like an iPhone has the same explanation why Spain and Europe cannot aspire to full digital sovereignty or resort to a high-intensity war without the United States: the structural dependence of the North American technological ecosystem. In the air, that translates into a fighter whose effectiveness rests on updates, threat data and logistical support controlled from Washington. On the ground, in militaries that operate on digital infrastructures, critical software and command architectures deeply intertwined with American suppliers and standards. If you also want, it is not so much a question of political will, but rather of technical architecture: whoever controls the software, controls the capacity. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | “It’s not what we need”: Germany has just put the finishing touches on Spain’s great military dream, the European anti-F-35 is disappearing In Xataka | The Netherlands has just activated panic in Spain and the US allies: the F-35 can be “released” like an iPhone

We have been hearing talk for days about the “storm of the century”, this is what AEMET says about it (and about the trend of fattening meteorological headlines)

February 24, 2026 by usatoday24

It’s curious. A “storm of the century” concept has been around for days and, in the last hoursa date has even been set: February 25 would be the moment in which the storm would reach the country’s coasts. And I say that all this is curious because, in short, it is inaccurate, a ‘journalistic hook’: a lie after all. This 25th changes time, yes. But what the models describe is more like an Atlantic front (with rain in Galicia and some instability in the Canary Islands), than a truly exceptional episode. But let’s take a look because there are more things to take into account. What do the models say? That is the big question: AEMET and the rest of the specialized media draw a very different scenario. Galicia stands out with relevant accumulations (we are talking about 20–40 l/m² in the area from A Coruña to Pontevedra), but little else: in the rest of the areas where it rains, the quantities are much more discreet. In most places, almost testimonials. On the other hand, it is also possible that it will rain in the Canary Islands, but (unlike the peninsula) it will be a DANA in Morocco. And then? So, nothing. We won’t have big announcements; neither by winds, nor by rain, nor by coastal problems. AEMET is worriedYeah; but due to the persistent rainfall that may accumulate in the northwest. For the rest, if there is any news on the table, it is that a phenomenon that has been somewhat missing is going to return: the haze. There will be no “storm of the century” and that, of course, is excellent news. After all, we come from a winter that has been nothing more than a huge chain of storms. This has led to a whole process of social desensitization that is forcing popular meteorological information to raise the threshold until it borders on (or settles into) sensationalism. And it’s not the best time to do it: as AEMET itself points outit is possible that we are approaching a new era of precipitation in Spain. Climate change is increasing precipitation extremes globally. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to play ‘Peter and the Wolf’ just when things are starting to change. Image | Torsten Dederichs In Xataka | We already know exactly how much climate change was to blame for DANA in Valencia (and the figures are devastating)

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