usatoday24

its recipe mixes Android, Gemini and premium design

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The laptop market had long been divided into quite recognizable territories: Chromebook as a simple and economical option, the most affordable Windows laptops, where concessions often have to be accepted, and premium equipment playing in another price league. That photograph has begun to change with the MacBook Neoa proposal that has helpedto boost Mac sales. Google seems to have read that move well. Googlebook It seems to want to move right there: into the gap of those looking for something more ambitious than a traditional Chromebook without necessarily entering the logic of the most exclusive laptop. Google itself knows well where this story comes from. In his statement he recalls which introduced Chromebooks more than 15 years ago as laptops designed for a cloud-first world, a formula that found its place and continues to have a journey. The point is that that approach was born for a very specific stage of personal computing: fewer local applications, more browsers and more online services. Googlebook wants to fill the gap that Chromebooks never finished conquering Now, Google has decided to show Googlebook before there are specific products in stores. For now, what we have is a first window into the experience, not a list of specific models. The company does make it clear that the first devices will arrive in the fall, when Google promises to share more details with its partners. Regarding the latter, we find names already known from the Windows world, such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP or Lenovo. The nuance is in the operating system. Google does present the Googlebook as a proposal that mixes the best of Android and ChromeOS, but it has not yet said clearly what software will power these laptops. There appears an interesting doubt: it could be Android, but also the rumored Aluminum OS, which would have been leaked in an image just before the presentation. At this point, it’s time to wait. Google insists that Googlebook has been designed from the beginning so that Gemini Help appears where it makes sense, not as a separate app that the user must open each time. The best example is Magic Pointera feature created with Google DeepMind that turns the cursor into a gateway to contextual suggestions. If we point out a date in an email, it can suggest creating a meeting; If we select two images, such as a living room and a new sofa, it can help us visualize them together. The promise is easy to understand, although now it remains to be seen how far it goes in real use. That same logic appears in Create your Widget, another of the functions that Google has advanced for Googlebook. The idea is that we can create custom widgets with a simple request, without having to search for a specific application or assemble the desktop by hand. Google gives a fairly clear example: a family reunion in Berlin in which Gemini brings together flights, hotels, restaurant reservations and even a countdown in a single panel. The iFull Android integration that idea of ​​continuity between devices. It’s not just about syncing notifications or sharing files, but about being able to use phone apps directly from your laptop when it makes sense. Google cites simple cases, such as ordering food or completing a Duolingo lesson without leaving what we are doing on the computer. Quick Access adds an equally practical layer: access your mobile files from the Googlebook file explorer, search for them and insert them without intermediate steps. Google also wants the Googlebook to be recognized before opening any applications. The company talks about “premium materials and finishes”, a formulation that points to a more careful construction, although without yet going into details. He does anticipate that there will be different formats and sizes, something logical if the proposal is in the hands of several manufacturers. The common element will be the Glowbar, a light bar that Google describes as “functional and beautiful,” and that seems designed to give these laptops their own visual identity. Everything indicates that Googlebook was born to dispute a conversation that until now has eluded Google and, to a certain extent, also Windows. The proposal seems to go towards a careful experienceconnected to mobile phones and prepared for AI in a time zone where price, design and ecosystem are becoming increasingly important. Now we have to wait to see if that promise becomes something real. More details on materials, pricing, and other features are on the way. Images | Google In Xataka | Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, review: Samsung has finally built the Windows laptop that Apple never created

It is manufactured in Extremadura combining hydrogen and CO2

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Green hydrogen is no longer a distant promise for the future in Spain. The European Commission has selected the Extremadura T2X project within the third auction of the European Hydrogen Bank, awarding community support to this strategic initiative. In short. This proposal is the first in Europe that manages to pour green gas directly into the distribution network. This historic achievement places Extremadura as an undisputed benchmark in the European energy transition race. The project is promoted by the German promoter Turn2X, which had already inaugurated its first global plant in the Cáceres municipality of Miajadas in 2024. In depth. To achieve this milestone, the Miajadas plant uses a disruptive technology known as Power to Gas (P2G). As detailed pv magazinethe process consists of combining 100% renewable hydrogen with biogenic carbon dioxide, which in this specific case comes from a nearby bioethanol plant. Through the well-known Sabatier reaction, high purity synthetic methane gas is obtained. This renewable natural gas (RNG) is transported to industrial customers via existing pipeline infrastructure. The gas has already been tested successfully injecting fluidly into the Gas Extremadura distribution network. The industrial objective of this advance is clear: decarbonize sectors where electrification is very complex, such as steel plants, the ceramics industry or the maritime sector. Technical level. The T2X project —managed by TURN2X Asset Co II EXTREMADURA SL— will deploy an electrolysis capacity of 9 megawatts. According to local mediathe forecast is to produce around 6,390 tons of renewable hydrogen throughout its first ten years of activity. Once the subsidy agreements are signed, something that is expected to occur in the last quarter of 2026, the initiative will receive a fixed European premium of 0.62 euros for each kilogram of certified hydrogen produced for a decade. From that moment on, companies have a maximum period of five years to put the facility into commercial operation. Additionally, to ensure source power is truly clean, Turn2X has sealed an innovative agreement power purchase agreement (PPA) with Axpo Iberia, the entity that will supply renewable electricity generated by Aquila Clean Energy. The weight of Extremadura. The choice of the Extremaduran community is not the result of chance, but rather responds directly to the numerous hours of sunshine that the territory offers. Added to this, according to the statements of the regional Executive collected by theEconomistthe strategic location of the region right on the route of the future European hydroduct, which will cross it from north to south. Due to this initial success, the Turn2X project, which is already in the production phase, has proposed an industrial expansion that is currently in the public information phase. The German company has even initiated environmental procedures before the Board to build a second facility in the town of Miajadas. This ecosystem is rapidly being strengthened with the talent of pioneering local companies; Recently, the Minister of Economy visited Eficae, a firm in the region with ten years of experience and 22 professionals, which has already managed to mobilize more than 2,000 million euros in energy investment. Finally, there is good news at the national level: those projects that have passed the technical requirements but remain in the reserve of the European fund will be eligible for aid, since Spain will contribute an additional 440 million euros under the ‘Auctions as a service’ mechanism. A real starting point for Europe. The agreement signed by Turn2X demonstrates with tangible facts that green hydrogen It is no longer a simple promise to become an industrial reality with proven economic viability. This emerging industrial fabric is a fundamental magnet to attract investments that generate wealth and high-quality employment in the region. Today, Spain and, in a very particular way, Extremadura, are no longer just a promising testing laboratory; have been consolidated as the real starting point for Europe to move firmly towards true and sustainable energy independence. Image | Turn2X Xataka | In Extremadura they have managed to produce 100% renewable natural gas: they only needed sun and plant waste

The disastrous return of Amaia Montero with Van Gogh’s Ear is a good x-ray of the dangers of paying for nostalgia

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Thirty thousand people have filled the BEC in Barakaldo for two nights to witness one of the most anticipated returns of Spanish pop. Amaia Montero returned to Van Gogh’s Ear almost twenty years later of his departure, on a tour called ‘So many things to tell’ and that promised to close a cycle (or open a new one). But these first concerts (especially the first one) have ended up being talked about for very different reasons than expected. The Ear, the return. When La Oreja de Van Gogh officially announced on October 15, 2025 that Amaia Montero was returning to the band, the tickets were sold out. in a matter of hours in numerous cities, and new dates were added due to demand. The tour consists of 16 stops that extend until November 2026 and include the Movistar Arena in Madrid (three nights), the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona and the Illunbe Donostia Arena. It is, right now, one of the most relevant pop phenomena of the year in Spain. How it started. The trigger It was an appearance that no one expected. in July 2024, by Amaia Montero at the Santiago Bernabéu during one of Karol G’s concerts to perform ‘Rosas’, the anthem from Van Gogh’s La Oreja. The reaction was enormous and shortly afterLa Oreja de Van Gogh announced the departure of Leire Martínez, the group’s vocalist for 17 years, from the band, alleging “different ways of living the group.” In October 2025, Amaia’s return was officially announced. 2026 is the year of the 30th anniversary of La Oreja and the 25th of ‘El viaje de Copperpot’, one of their most remembered albums. What happened in Barakaldo. On May 9, 2026, the tour started at the BEC and 18,000 people attended the first concert. Amaia appeared center stage on a raised platform, wearing a bright pink jumpsuit. He said: “I went down to hell itself, but with my scars, after fighting a lot, here I am.” However, despite good intentions, the chronicles they agreed in which Amaia was “out of tune and too tight to reach the high notes.” It especially went viral their performance of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’the Prince classic popularized by Sinéad O’Connor and with which the band originally discovered her, but deeply out of tune. Amaia herself acknowledged on stage: “I do it terribly”. The amazing thing is that, as has also been saidAmaia “has had more than a year to prepare vocally” and despite this she showed “many technical deficiencies.” The group could have adapted the tonalities to their current voice, but they have not done so so that the songs are identical to how fans remember, and that is the problem. Second round. On May 10, in the second concert at the same venue, the setlist went from 25 songs to 22. ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, ‘We’re all dancing to the same song’ and ‘The girl who cries at your parties’, the three songs that had generated the most problems the night before, disappeared. The presence of songs from Leire Martínez’s era was also reduced. Amaia was more confident and the elevated platform was reserved for ‘Mariposa’. The reactions of the fans. The acrimony with which Amaia’s return has been received has to do with the fact that the audience of La Oreja de Van Cogh is divided into two communities. The fans who came with Amaia, thirty-somethings who grew up with ‘Rosas’, ‘La playa’ or ’20 de Enero’, experienced the concert as the return of a diva and the disagreements were excusable. The fans who joined with Leire, on the other hand, listened to someone sing with obvious effort songs that his protégé performed for almost two decades with great technical solvency. A good part of the band’s fans (or ex-fans, at this point) think that there is a voice that has now been displaced, without a satisfactory public explanation and with an exit that It was tense: Amaia did not agree to share the 30th anniversary concerts with Leire, and the group chose to do without her. This has irremediably fractured the public, who in the case of the fans of the expelled vocalist, spread Amaia’s failures on social networks with particular viciousness. The comeback syndrome. Not all nostalgic reunions are a triumph. There are those that burst resoundingly because they try to revive an energy that responded to unrepeatable circumstances, but what they achieve is to make very clear just the opposite: that that energy no longer exists. The Sex Pistols on their 1996 tour is one of the most memorable cases for its self-awareness, but the drama dates back before: The Animals, Simon & Garfunkel or The Byrds in previous decades also failed when trying to win back their audience. The list of bands that recently crashed a reunion (not necessarily commercially, mind you) is endless: Jane’s Addiction, Guns’n Roses… The reason is always that the search for money is evident above the relationships between its members, sometimes very deteriorated. In this case, despite the fact that the economies of the band members They are very healthyfrom the videos we sense a certain suspicion and discomfort between the musicians and vocalist. Because that’s another: whether they succeed lyrically and commercially or not, what they won’t be able to escape is the evil tongues. As Leire fans know very well. In Xataka | The internal drama that Andy and Lucas lived through for years: story of a breakup that we are seeing live

Today you have one of the most interesting and ignored movies of the year on Prime Video

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Nine Oscar nominations, more than $179 million at the global box office, and one of the most extravagant marketing campaigns Hollywood has given in years (an orange blimp flying over entire cities, Timothée Chalamet perched on the Las Vegas sphere). Still,’Marty Supreme‘She left the last Oscars, where she started as one of the favorites, empty-handed. And (also) still, it is in Prime Videostanding out as one of the most interesting films of the moment. There are films that reach streaming with that aura of a second chance, of being able to achieve on platforms what was not achieved with its premiere (despite the notorious box office for a production of these characteristics, the greatest success in the United States in the history of its production company, the venerated A24). It was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Timothée Chalamet, and went home with nothing, following the path of other illustrious recent nods such as ‘The Banshee of Inisherin’ or ‘The Moon Killers’. ‘Marty Supreme’ is directed by Josh Safdie and written with Ronald Bronstein, a creative duo who already collaborated on titles such as ‘Diamonds in the Rough’ and ‘Good Time’. The film moves away from the traditional biopic to become an action-adventure comedy in the spirit of ‘Catch Me If You Can’ or ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. The central character, Marty Mauser, is a fictionalized version of the real player Marty Reisman, a young man who discovers his passion for table tennis in the city’s clandestine clubsand whose very personal style of play leads him to become a famous champion who accumulates 22 major titles and represents the United States in world competitions. But the important thing here is not the zero Oscars, but the values ​​of the film: it is a delight how Safdie manipulates genres to mix them, how he builds the rhythm of his sequences, and above all, Chalamet’s performance is impressive in what may be the best work of his career. So it’s not about confirming whether the Oscars were right or wrong, but rather about recovering a film that deserves all the attention we can give it. In Xataka | Today the latest from a master of horror arrives on Disney+, a survival show that was about to end up in a drawer

steal materials from the asteroid belt (with a stop at a gas station)

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We haven’t built yet bases on the Moonbut already there are those who think in that future in which settlements can be built on Mars. If our satellite is a challenge, the red planet is already the pinnacle of complexity. Therefore, although there is still a lot of time for it to be viable, it doesn’t hurt to think about strategies. A good example is the proposal just made by a team of scientists led by aerospace engineer Serena Suriano. His proposal is based on one of the main problems that the space masons: the lack of materials. In the absence of suitable metals for construction there on Mars, they would have to be sought in the vicinity of the red planet. To do this, they propose “looting” the asteroid belt. It’s not that easy. In the asteroid belt There are metallic asteroids that could be mined for necessary metals such as molybdenum. But there is a problem. Traveling to these asteroids to take construction materials to Mars is not like taking the car on a Saturday to go to Ikea. In that case, the biggest handicap is the families that overcrowd the spaces. In the case of asteroids, the main problem is the orbital dance necessary to leave Mars, reach the asteroid and return. Luckily, these scientists consider that the problem could be solved with a couple of pit stops. An (almost) imaginary ship. When making calculations, it is normal to start from the parameters of a ship that actually exists. For this reason, these scientists have made simulations with an imaginary ship that is not the same, but looks like quite to the SpaceX Starship. The most powerful imaginable today. The ship in question weighs 120 tons, can carry a payload of 115 tons and hold up to 1,100 tons of fuel. This would mean a delta-v of 6.4 km/s. And what is that? The delta-v is a measure of the amount of effort necessary to carry out an orbital maneuver. In simpler terms, it is the change in speed that can be achieved by burning all the fuel in a ship. In this case it would be 6.4 km/s. The problem is that to reach the metallic asteroids that could be mined to build on Mars, taking into account the necessary orbital spins, a delta-v of 10 to 12.8 km/s would be needed. It can be solved. These scientists have designed a plan that includes two pit stops. The first would be on the metallic asteroid itself. Once the materials have been extracted, on the way back we would have to stop at a type C asteroid. These contain volatiles such as water and hydrocarbons, which would facilitate a process known as production on site of propellant. In other words, the type C asteroid would be used as a gas station, using its resources as propellant to continue the trip. If these stops are made, the necessary metals could be obtained with a delta-v of 6.4 km/s. The imaginary ship looks like Starship, but it is not the same 22 pairs. In total, there are 22 pairs of metallic asteroids and C-type asteroids in a 20-year window starting in 2040. This means that, from that moment, when it is assumed that trips to Mars and the construction of bases could already be viable, there would be more than 20 mine and gas station options to bring metals to the red planet. In total, 200 tons of metal could be obtained in that period. It may not seem like much if we consider that it is little more than the payload for a single trip. But fuel needs to be optimized. The loading process on site of propellant is carried out at a rate of 2 kg per day. To fill the tank it would take about 1,500 years. Logically, that is not viable, so you have to go with the tank half full and, therefore, adjust the payload. Why 20 years? For the trip to take place, it is necessary that the orbits of Mars and the asteroids are correctly aligned. It’s as if the road to Ikea only opens once every few years. Therefore, many trips could not be made. Building an entire base would take a lot of time, but it’s something you have to take on. A solution. If chemical propulsion is changed to solar propulsion or nuclearit would be much easier to extract metals from asteroids and, possibly, the deadlines would be shorter. However, these scientists have chosen to make their calculations with the only viable technology today. Maybe in the future the trip will be a little shorter than all this. Of course, building a base will continue to be a very, very long process. Many generations of humans would retire looking at those works. Image | NASA | SpaceX In Xataka | Elon Musk says it will take 1,000 Starships and 20 years to build the first sustainable city on Mars

It’s called Gemini Intelligence and it wants to change how we use our mobile phones

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Google just introduced Gemini Intelligence in The Android Showthe great event dedicated to the green android operating system. The name, which inevitably reminds Apple Intelligencemakes it quite clear where the news is going: artificial intelligence. But here we are not just talking about creating emojis or generating images, but about something more ambitious, at least on paper. The company wants to change the way we use our devices. So how does that promise hold up? Google assures that Gemini Intelligence will allow us to automate tasks, as can be seen in the example shown during the event and included in the cover image, reading the information that appears on our screen and interacting with it. It will also arrive with a navigation assistant for Google Chrome, make it easier to fill out forms, and update Gboard to help us shape our thoughts out loud. Let’s see in a little more detail what each new feature consists of. Everything Gemini Intelligence brings to Android Google says it has been working on automation features for months alongside several popular food and transportation apps. The goal is for Gemini Intelligence to be able to take care of certain tasks for us, not just answering questions, but acting within the device and some compatible applications. “Gemini takes care of the logistics so you can enjoy the moment,” the company says. These are some of the examples that Google has shared: Reserve a bike in the front row for a spinning class Find a class program in Gmail Add to cart the books you need Gemini Intelligence may also use the context of the screen or an image. The company proposes, for example, an open shopping list in a notes application. In that scenario, it would be enough to press and hold the power button to activate Gemini Intelligence and ask it by voice to create a shopping cart with those products. In theory, the system would take care of it. Another example is photographing the poster for an activity and asking them to search Expedia for a similar tour for six people. Another important piece of Gemini Intelligence will be in Chrome. Google wants to make its browser on Android smarter starting at the end of June, with Gemini built in to help us research, summarize information, and compare content on the web. It is not just about reading a page and returning a summary, but about accompanying us in tasks that normally require jumping between several tabs or services. In addition, Chrome will incorporate a function called auto browse, aimed at more mechanical tasks. Google gives examples of booking an appointment or a parking space. On paper, it is another step in the same direction: less manual interaction and more capacity of the system to take care of specific procedures. Android autofill will also take a leap with Gemini Intelligence. So far, Autofill with Google has mostly served to save time in basic fields, but Google wants to take it further. The feature will be able to take advantage of Gemini’s personal intelligence to fill out more fields within apps and Chrome, even when forms are longer or have small boxes spread across the screen. The promise is simple: that filling out forms from your mobile will no longer be such a burdensome task. Android may use relevant information from connected applications to fill in that data for us. In any case, Google emphasizes an important point: this integration will be strictly optional. Each user will decide if they want to connect Gemini with Autofill, and that connection can be activated or deactivated from the settings. Gboard will also be updated with a new Gemini Intelligence feature called Rambler. The starting point is quite recognizable: Android already allows you to quickly convert voice to text, but we don’t speak the same way we write. We correct ourselves as we go, we repeat ideas, we leave half-sentences or we fill in the gaps with fillers. Rambler wants to take care of just that. The idea is that you can speak naturally, without having to construct the perfect sentence before starting. The system will take the important parts of what you say and organize them into a clearer, more concise message. Google ensures that Gboard will clearly show when Rambler is activated and that the audio will only be used to transcribe in real time, without being stored or saved. In addition, Rambler will be designed for multilingual conversations. Thanks to Gemini’s advanced model, you will be able to change languages ​​within the same message and understand the context even if we mix several languages. Google uses a combination of English and Hindi as an example, but the idea is broader: that the message still sounds like us, just a little more polished. 10 GOOGLE APPS THAT COULD HAVE SUCCESSFUL Which phones will be compatible with Gemini Intelligence Google has made it clear that Gemini Intelligence will be an exclusive function of Android phones, something that we could already imagine due to its characteristics. Nothing about an application that allows you to use some of its new features on the iPhone. Now, even within the Android ecosystem, its deployment will also be limited: it will be focused on the “most advanced devices” and will arrive in phases. According to official information, Gemini Intelligence will first arrive on compatible Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones as early as this summer. Later, at the end of the year, it will also land on other devices, such as smart watches, cars, glasses and laptops. In development. In Xataka | Anthropic does not offer its services in China. So China has invented a black market for Claude tokens

The reason why a hantavirus “pandemic” is very far away has a name and surname: long-tailed mouse

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The media coverage that is being carried out around the hantavirus is generating fear of the virusbut also mice. Even the president of the Government of the Canary Islands used Artificial Intelligence to check if mice swim, fearing that they could cause an outbreak in the Canary Islands with arrival at the port of Granadilla of the MV Hondius cruise ship. This particular piece of information makes for a lot of conversation. However, we are going to ignore it to focus on what is truly important. Should we be worried about mice during this health emergency situation? The reality is that not much. To begin with, we must remember that There are many different hantaviruses. The cause of the outbreak on the cruise ship is the Andes variant, the only one known to be able to be transmitted from person to person. Even so, it is still a zoonosis. That is, the initial contagion always comes from an animal, in this case a mouse. But not just any mouse. In the Andes variant, Its main reservoir is the long-tailed mouse (Oligoryzomys longicaudatus), characteristic of the forests of Chile and Argentina. Seropositivity has been detected in some other species of South American rodents. However, these are much more anecdotal cases. The vast majority of infections initially come from the long-tailed mouse. Now, this must be put into context and, above all, clarify some important terms. What is the reservoir of a virus? The reservoir of a virus is the organism, place or environment where the virus better replicated and maintained over time. Generally this concept is used to talk about animal reservoirs. These are the animals in which a virus reproduces best. Normally they do not experience symptoms, but their immune system does not attack them in the same way as ours would, since They usually develop tolerance. That is, the immune system detects them, but The inflammatory response that causes the symptoms of the disease is suppressed. Said in a very colloquial and simple way, it is the house in which a virus lives and grows most comfortably. Many times, humans are accidental hosts of viruses. They have mechanisms to invade our cells, so animals can pass them to us. Sometimes we can even infect each other. However, we are like a house in which they live in transit and discomfort, with the immune system attacking them in a much more excessive way. It would be that rental apartment that is falling apart, where you live until you find something better, if the house doesn’t fall on you first. In the case of the Andes hantavirus, Its main reservoir is the long-tailed mouse. This rodent does not get sick when the virus enters its cells. Therefore, the hantavirus can multiply in them, reaching very high viral loads for a long time. The long-tailed mouse lives mostly in forests in Argentina and Chile. How is it spread? A good part of these viral particles are found in mouse feces and other secretions. When these are dry, they can become dust, easily inhaled by humans. In fact, it is often spread when people in rural environments sweep in places where these animals have deposited their feces. Sweeping raises virus-laden dust. This is why, in areas where it is suspected that this mouse may be, it is recommended Use bleach and do not dry sweep. If this is done, gloves and a mask should be worn to avoid inhaling the dust from the feces. In the case of the cruise, it is not known exactly how patient zero could have been infected. It’s not even 100% clear who he is. But it is suspected that he could have been the first deceased, since he was fond of birds and went on birdwatching excursions in rural areas of Argentina, going into caves where there could be mice. When stepping on feces such a closed environmentthe dust could have concentrated in the air and caused the initial contagion. What does it mean that other rodents have shown seropositivity in Andes hantavirus? Seropositivity against a virus is the presence of antibodies generated by the immune system to fight it. That a mouse is seropositive for the Andes virus means that it has passed the virus. Plain and simple. It could be a reservoir or it could not be. It is known that he has survived, but it is not known if he has shown symptoms or if the virus has replicated efficiently in his body. The only mouse with which this is well demonstrated is the long-tailed mouse. That is why it is considered the main reservoir of the Andes hantavirus. Beyond that, we can only speculate. Of course, what is clear is that it is a virus that is only abundant in Chile and Argentina, where this rodent is mostly distributed. Can you swim? Yes, the long-tailed mouse can swim. It normally lives in forests where there may be bodies of water, which it sometimes has to cross to get from one point to another. Now, does this have any implications for the health crisis of the Hondius? The answer is emphatically no. First of all, It would be extremely rare if one of these mice had traveled on the ship without being seen. It is true that in the past there were diseases, such as the plague, in the spread of which the rats that traveled on ships played a significant role. However, at present this is highly unlikely. Plus, we’re talking about a luxury cruise. It is not normal for a mouse to travel undetected inside a ship. The most accepted hypothesis currently is that patient zero must have been infected outside the ship. On the other hand, even if the virus had reached the Canary Islands, it is one thing to swim through the ponds of a forest and quite another to cross the sea from the anchored boat to the port. We should not fear any rodent Could Spanish mice … Read more

In the “war of the workshops”, Iryo defends himself. And he has already made it clear to Renfe why he will use its facilities

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The battle for the use of Renfe workshops continues to give us new chapters. From the closed door and the complaint to the CNMC we have moved on to appeals to the latter’s decision and a crossroads of statements in which numbers are beginning to be put on the table. The last to speak was Iryo. What is happening? Iryo and Renfe have an open battle over the use of the latter company’s workshops. To understand all the keys: What does Renfe say? What Renfe says is that the regulations only require them to hand over part of their facilities to their rivals to carry out light maintenance, but that is not the case when the work involves heavy maintenance. Iryo’s actions fall under this last definition and Renfe already reported in October that Ouigo was performing heavy maintenance on their facilities without their permission. In addition, they point out that giving space to these trains from the Italian company will have a direct impact on their offer. If Iryo is occupying a space that Renfe had planned to use, the Spanish company estimates that they will have to withdraw from their offer around 1.2 million seatsof which more than one million fall within its Public Service Obligation (OSP). They estimate 60 million losses in income. What does the CNMC say? The CNMC considers that Renfe would obtain a substantial competitive advantage if Iryo has to send its trains to Italy to carry out heavy maintenance. They consider that, if this happens, it would stop providing service with the affected trains for weeks. (as has happened in France) and that maintaining them without performing said maintenance is a danger to the safety of passengers. For this reason, it forces Renfe to open its facilities and allow the Italian company to carry out these jobs with the employees it considers. In exchange, the Spanish company receives compensation as if it were a rental of the facilities. What does Iryo say? Until now we have known the version and calculations of Renfe but not of Iryo. The Italian company assures that moving its trains to its country would mean a extra cost of 17 million euros and defends that they would only be occupying 7% of all Renfe facilities. To estimate this extra cost, they calculate that if Iryo has to take the trains to Rome, they would stop being operational for about two months each, although, they point out in The Economistwhich on other occasions the company reduced this time horizon to one month. This operational stoppage, Iryo points out, would be key in the market because they compete with 19 trains available in our country, while Renfe has 270 high-speed trains at its disposal. And they culminate their complaints by pointing out that these actions are scheduled based on mileage and that Renfe was aware that they would have to carry out these operations for months. A music that sounds familiar to us. The truth is that railway liberalization in Europe has created a constant fight between operators that, as we are seeing, sometimes goes far beyond the tracks. Renfe has pressed everything it can to prevent Iryo from carrying out these maintenance tasks at its facilities but has also recalled that the company has to work on all high speed lines and not only in the most profitable since, unlike Ouigo and Iryo, they work as a public service operator. Furthermore, remember that upon arrival Iryo committed to building his own workshops but no steps have been taken in that direction. At the same time, it is logical that Iryo tries by all means to carry out its maintenance work in Spain to minimize its impact on the offer. And, as we said before, in France they have already forced the company to take your trains back to Italy to perform this type of maintenance. Country where Renfe has also encountered countless obstacles to deploy your servicesespecially in everything related to his arrival in Pariswhere the most profitable lines start. Photo |Smiley.toerist and Renfe In Xataka | If the question is when Ouigo was going to be profitable, the answer is: now. And that makes Renfe suspicious

is being played in the skies of Atacama and the Andes

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The scene took place in the middle of the Cold War, when several British astronomers detected a periodic signal from a radio telescope so strange and precise that they came to name it internally. as “LGM-1”: Little Green Men, “little green men.” For weeks, some scientists even seriously contemplated the possibility that it was an artificial message coming from space… until they discovered that they had just found the first pulsar in history. The new space race passes through South America. The rivalry between the United States and China is no longer played only in Taiwan, the Pacific or the chip industry. I counted the weekend the new york times which is also moving toward some of the clearest skies on the planet, in places like Atacama, the Argentine Andes or Patagonia. What for decades were simple astronomical projects shared between universities has been transformed into a field of strategic competition. Washington suspects that part of Chinese space infrastructure in South America can be used not only to observe deep space, but also to track satellites, support military communications or expand Beijing’s technological capacity in the Western Hemisphere. The consequence is a kind of new Cold War where antennas, radio telescopes and space stations begin to be seen as top-level geopolitical assets. The radio telescope that was frozen. The most obvious case is in the Argentine province of San Juan. Over there remains paralyzed a gigantic Chinese radio telescope that was going to become the largest in South America. Officially, the project had scientific purposes: to study radio waves from space and collaborate with Argentine astronomers. But Washington began to press to Buenos Aires for fear that the system could be used to track US satellites or reinforce Chinese space capabilities. The important detail is that this pressure began under Biden and continued with Trumpshowing that concern is already part of the American strategic consensus. Today, the antenna remains disassembled and part of its components are still blocked in Argentine customs. Atacama and the value of clean skies. The dispute has a lot to do with geography. Chile and Argentina have some of the best skies of the planet for space observation thanks to its altitude, dryness and absence of light pollution. That is why they have been attracting European telescopes for decades, Americans and asians. However, the arrival of Chinese projects changed the political balance around these observatories. In Chile, a Chinese complex of one hundred telescopes in Atacama ended up blocked after strong diplomatic pressure from Washington. Officially, the project would serve to monitor asteroids and cosmic phenomena, but the United States feared that the infrastructure would have much broader strategic applications. The road built to the observatory is still there, although the complex never got up. The fear of “dual use”. The real core of the problem is the “dual use” concept. Many civilian space technologies can be easily adapted to military or intelligence roles. A radio telescope capable of capturing weak signals from distant galaxies can also help monitor satellites or orbital communications. That fear explains why Washington views any Chinese space infrastructure outside Asia with increasing distrust. Beijing holds that its projects are purely scientific and accuses Washington of trying to contain its technological expansion. But for the United States, allowing China to gain strategic positions in Latin America means accept a presence potentially permanent technology in a region historically considered sensitive to American security. The shadow of the Chinese base. Impossible to ignore it. The Chinese space station built in Neuquén in 2015 It remains the great precedent that conditions everything else. The facility operates on land donated free of charge for fifty years and is managed by organizations linked to the Chinese space program. Officially it is a civilian base for space exploration, but in the United States there has always been suspicion of possible military or intelligence uses. That enormous antenna erected in the middle of Patagonia became for many American sectors the symbol of how China was beginning to consolidate a strategic presence in the Western Hemisphere through investments, infrastructure and technological cooperation. Scientists caught up in geopolitics. It is the other leg of the situation. One of the most striking aspects is how this rivalry has ended up directly affecting to scientists and universities. Astronomers accustomed to collaborating internationally suddenly found themselves caught up in debates about national security, espionage, and strategic competition. Some Argentine researchers were even invited by the United States to specific programs on risks associated with civil space infrastructures. For many, the feeling is that space has ceased to be relatively neutral terrain and has become part of the confrontation between powers. Cold War looking at the sky. If you also want, what is happening in South America reflects a much deeper change in the global competition between the United States and China. The rivalry no longer depends only on military bases or aircraft carriers. It is also played in data networks, submarine cables, artificial intelligence, space stations and astronomical observatories. Thus, under the skies of the Atacama or the Andes, a silent battle for technological control and strategic access to space. And precisely therein lies the paradox: because they are telescopes designed to observe the universe that have ended up becoming pieces of a new terrestrial Cold War. Image | x, Casa Rosada (Argentina Presidency of the Nation) In Xataka | The US is doing everything to drown China. China has already achieved that 35% of its chip machines are its own In Xataka | The US’s problem in the AI ​​and humanoid race is not China: it is all of Asia and it is greatly disadvantaged

the largest streaming music service is not working

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It’s Tuesday afternoon. You probably just finished the work day and are on your way home. Good time to listen to your favorite music, right? Well, if you are trying to do it with Spotify, we have to tell you no: it is not a matter of your mobile phone or your Internet connection. The largest streaming music platform on the planet is down. She has been my companion Amparo Babiloni who gave the alert. Your app has stopped responding when trying to play music online, while songs included in playlists downloaded for offline listening continue to work. So this drop can be an especially annoying problem if you don’t have a Premium plan or if you haven’t previously downloaded music to your device. 27 SPOTIFY TRICKS – Control all your MUSIC like no one else! Spotify also has a web player, a practical option if you don’t want, or can’t, use its application, available on computers, televisions, consoles and, of course, mobile phones. In our case, when trying to access the service from the browser, we have encountered the message “Error 503 first byte timeout”. For now, Spotify has not offered an official explanation for the crash, although the error message gives you an idea of ​​what may be happening. The warning appears when the server receives the request, but takes too long to return the first response. In other words: it is usually related to temporary saturation, a partial outage, maintenance tasks or an internal server failure. If we look at Downdetectoranother good way to follow in real time what is happening with popular services, we see that the problems with Spotify began around 5:52 p.m. this Tuesday and were growing rapidly. After 6:00 p.m., there were already hundreds of reports from users indicating problems with the service. In development. Images | Spotify + Nano Bana | Screenshot In Xataka | What is Cloudflare, how it works and why a crash or block causes half the Internet to fail

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