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Nvidia is going to give your chips to the push you need to maintain their domain

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Nvidia is preparing to open the door to the door to The photonic silicon. Just a few hours ago it has started in Palo Alto, California (USA), the Specialized Conference in Semiconductor Engineering and High Performance Computing ‘Hot Chips’. And the company led by Jensen Huang has not let out the opportunity to announce that in 2026 its platforms of artificial intelligence (AI) latest generation They will use photonic interconnections to reach higher transfer speeds between GPU clusters. Most of the designers and manufacturers of integrated circuits are working on the development of silicon’s photonic. Douglas Yu, a TSMC executive with responsibility in the field of systems integration, explained In September 2023, what disruptive capacity has this technology: “If we manage to implement a good system of integration of silicon photonics we will trigger a new paradigm. We will probably be placed at the beginning of a new era.” Nvidia has just taught her letters Before moving forward we are interested in intuiting with some precision what we are talking about. The photonic silicon is a discipline that in the field that concerns us seeks to develop the technology of this chemical element to optimize the transformation of electrical signals into light pulses. The most obvious field of application of this innovation is the implementation of high performance links that, on paper, can be used both to solve communications between several chips and to optimize the transfer of information between several machines. Advanced packaging technologies with which the main semiconductor manufacturers work, such as TSMC, Intel or Samsung, can benefit a lot from a communication mechanism between very high performance chips. And the big data centers in which it is necessary connect a large number of machinesalso. However, there is a particular discipline that has a projection of the future overwhelming and the one that would be wonderful about the advantages proposed by the photonic silicon: AI. CPO technology reduces energy consumption to just 9 watts per port This is precisely Nvidia’s commitment. In the clusters of the thousands of GPU they must work in unison, so it is essential to connect them using high performance links. It is possible to solve this challenge using traditional copper cables or optical modules, but these two solutions introduce very important inefficiencies in the infrastructure. The most problematic are the loss of energy and bottlenecks. Data transfer can consume up to 30 watts per port, which increases the dissipation of energy in the form of heat and increases the probability of a failure. In addition, latency limits the scalability of clusters as the GPU number of data centers increases. To solve these inefficiencies NVIDIA will integrate the optical components that require photonic interconnections In the same encapsulated switching chip. This technology is known as CPO (Co-Packaged Optics) and reduce energy consumption to only 9 watts per port. In addition, it minimizes signal loss and improves data integrity. It looks really good. NVIDIA has confirmed that it will integrate CPO technology into its Quantum-X infiniband and Spectrum-X Ethernet interconnection platforms during 2026. However, there is something important that is worth not overlooking: CPO will not be an extra. When it arrives, it will be strengthened as a structural requirement of the next generation of data centers for AI in a clear attempt to increase the competitiveness of hardware platforms for NVIDIA. Image | Nvidia More information | Tom’s hardware In Xataka | Intel and TSMC lead the revolution of photonic chips. His problem is that China has just done fully in this war

The US has bought 10% of Intel to save it from burning, and that plans a huge problem. One called favoritism

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Intel has agreed to sell 10% of your company to the United States for a value of 8,900 million dollars. An interventionist measure is thus confirmed that has huge implications not only for Intel, but for the entire semiconductor industry. Above all, the American. Historical crisis. The Historical crisis that Intel is going without resolving. And his new CEO, Lip-bu Tanalready I recognized A few weeks ago, “twenty or thirty years ago we were leaders. Now the world has changed. We are not among the ten main semiconductor companies.” The mass layoffs and the decision of Bet everything to lithography 18a –No 20th node– They raised a complicated future for the company, which needs maneuvering margin. He has just obtained it, but we don’t know at what price. Or maybe yes. The agreement. According to indicate in IntelUnited States will invest 8,900 million dollars in company shares, and that adds to the 2.2 billion dollars that the US government paid to the company as part of the Chips and Science Acta federal program that was approved in 2022 and is intended to invest billions of dollars to relive the country’s semiconductor industry. Intel was too big to fall. He Moment of weakness It is still worrying, but there have been two recent “bailouts.” The first, by the Investment of 2 billion dollars of softbank In the company. The second, much more important, the one that has just signed the US government with the purchase of 10% of Intel for 8,900 million dollars. This measure is especially striking for several reasons. For a start, is the first time that the US government intervenes a company since the rescue of the car industry was produced during the 2008 crisis. But there are more implications. Potential loss of autonomy. The agreement is only economic and there will be no official representation of the US government in the Board of Directors of Intel. However, political pressure will now be seen without a doubt increased, and each business decision of Lip-Bu Tan and its team will be seen through a different prism: there is public money at stake. Desperate times, desperate measures? Another perspectives from which this agreement can be contemplated is that of despair. Accepting this governmental “rescue” can be seen as a clear indication that Intel was against the ropes and there was no escape without any movement of this type. For Lip-Bu this can represent a problem for confidence in his leadership now that he has just taken command, and in fact the American senator Tom Cotton He accused him to invest in 600 Chinese companies. President Trump He came to ask for his resignation In Truth Social and then end up meeting him and congratulating him for its management. A logical agreement for Trump’s roadmap. The US president began his mandate with the clear intention of centralize semiconductor production to the maximum and electronics products. This protectionism is closely linked to this decision, and allows to protect Intel in addition to mitigating the dependence of Taiwan and the Chips import and technology From China. The Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, Indian That the agreement is especially beneficial for the US government, pointing out that they were basically giving money to companies through subsidies, but here what the US achieves is to raise that subsidy as an investment. It is not “lost” money. It is not clear that since the money comes from the ACT chips, the US government is allowed to end up obtaining benefits of such “investment.” Favoritism. This politicization of the semiconductor business could end up causing uncomfortable alliances and distorting competition. Now that all kinds of government agencies may have much more inclination to buy Intel chips in the future, while direct competitors such as Apple, AMD, NVIDIA or Qualcomm are harmed before a landscape of government favoritism. Intel, we insist, perhaps it was too big and iconic to drop it, but this intervention raises a change in the rules of the game that affects both Intel and its national competitors and, of course, foreigners. Image | Intel | Gage Skidmore In Xataka | Intel’s plan in front of an unattainable TSMC: beat Samsung and consolidate as the second largest chips manufacturer

There is an ereader that has everything I am looking for to read books in digital format. And it’s no Kindle

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Although my ereader (Kobo Clara 2E) Stay perfectly, many times I review which are the current models that can interest me the most to read in digital format. There is much to choose frombut I have it very clear (and it is no Kindle): to buy a ereader right now, without a doubt it would be the Kobo Libra Color. * Some price may have changed from the last review A very complete ereader What does he have Kobo Libra Color What interests me so much? Well, the truth is that enough things. First, it comes with a seven -inch screen that has screen rotation to read vertically or horizontally. In addition, it is compatible with the Kobo Stylus 2, which allows you to take notes in any digital book (a function that I use a lot). Another interesting point is that its screen is color. I do not recommend much to choose this specific model to read comics or magazines – that is why a screen of at least eight inches is better. On the other hand, the most useful point that I see on its color screen is that you can take notes with different colors “Very useful to use a color for each character in a book.” Another thing that interests me most is the way to use. I do not like to depend solely on the screen to pass the pages – it gets dirty and, at least in my case, sometimes when my finger slides my ereader detects as if the zoom of the page had increased. In this case, the screen can be used, but also the Two physical buttons that are found on the right side (or left for left -handed people). Among other things, the Kobo Libra Colour comes with 32 GB of internal storage (more than enough to save many digital books), has blue light reduction, includes its own book store, is water resistant (IPX8 certification), its battery offers an autonomy of weeks, It is compatible with audiobooks And also with Google Drive and Dropbox. It is, without any doubt, a very complete ereader. You may also interest you Kobo Fonda For Libra Color Libra | Black Notebook | Sleep/Wake technology | Integrated 2 -way support | Vegan skin | Compatible with 7 -inch Ereader Kobo Libra Color * Some price may have changed from the last review * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | Rakuten, Kobo In Xataka | Best electronic books. Which to buy and nine recommended models In Xataka | Kindle Colorsooft vs Kobo Libra Color. What ereader with color screen chose according to your tastes and needs

Coinbase is going from being “Remote First” to harden teleworking. The reason: North Korean hackers

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Coinbase, who was born as a digital native company and an defender of the work in a remote work, has reversed in the labor policy that he assumed mostly from the pandemic. Now require that all new employees travel to the United States for your face -to -face orientation. Those who access sensitive information must be American citizens and undergo fingerprints. Reason does not have so much to do with Teleworking setbacks that we have seen in other companies. It is rather a matter of survival: they have detected North Korean technological workers trying to systematically infiltrate the company To steal information and cryptocurrencies. The threat. The CEO, Brian Armstrong, explained that they have detected a constant flow of highly qualified North Korean candidates. “It’s as if 500 new each quarter graduated,” he said. And they are not simple amateur hackers: the FBI has confirmed that They operate with accomplices in US territory That they forward portable companies, attend virtual interviews posing as candidates and set up screen companies. It also occurs in Europe. For the Pyongyang regime, cryptocurrency theft is a more income source of financing whose income They also help the nuclear weapons program. Only this year they would have stolen $ 1.4 billion Exchange Bybit Between bambalins. Infiltrates are not the only problem. Coinbase has discovered bribes of hundreds of thousands of dollars to customer service workers to obtain account information. Some came to introduce mobiles in supposedly safe facilities to photograph screens with sensitive data. The company has responded with drastic measures: employees work in armored facilities with Chromebooks safe and limited access to information. “When we catch someone, we do not accompany him to the door; he goes to jail,” Armstrong said. Turning point. This security crisis marks a before and after in the debate on remote work. Coinbase has had to choose between what was its business culture and its survival. And he has done the second. In fact he has opened a new office in North Carolina to concentrate critical operations in US territory. The interviews now require keeping the camera on to verify that the candidate is the one who claims to be and is not being supplanted or directed. And now what. The Coinbase case can be just the tip of the iceberg. If a leading technology company with security as one of its pillars cannot keep remote work safe, what can others expect? Pandemia normalized teleworking, but security threats can reverse that trend. Especially in sensitive sectors such as finance, technology and defense. In Xataka | In 2011 a group of investors bought 80,000 bitcoins. They have been sold by 17,000,000% more expensive Outstanding image | Xataka

Your classic search engine is blurred to give way to searches for AI

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The transformation is underway. Millions of people around the world are seeing how a New button on Google’s home pagethat same that has marked the internet pulse for decades. It is not a secondary addition or a tab that goes unnoticed. It is the new Ai mode. With this movement, artificial intelligence becomes the protagonist of the search experience, displacing the classic formula which has defined the search engine since its origins. And with this there are changes that not only affect users: they also challenge the information industry and Google’s own business model. From the links to the answers: a jump that changes the rules Ai mode is available, for the moment, only in English, Although its global deployment has already begun. For those who press the aforementioned button, the search engine will stop functioning as until now: the consultations no longer show the lifelong links, but in responses prepared directly by the AI. The land had already prepared with the Google ai overViewsgenerated summaries that occupy the most visible part of the results page. If a couple of years ago you were looking for something like “Cafeterias in Paris with good wifi and quiet corners to work”, Google showed well positioned pagesRecommendations in blogs or forums, and some Google Maps block. Example of results with Google Ai Overviews With the Overviews the dynamics changed: before reaching the links, the user was a summary created by AI as the following: “To enjoy a modern Parisian experience with good wifi and quiet workplaces, consider X place. For its modern environment. X place It also offers a cozy atmosphere. ” Thus the tool responded, linking to the sources he had used to elaborate the generative summary. That jump placed the information processed and summarized in the foreground, but also opened a debate: AI can be wrong. His “hallucinations” They have already left uncomfortable holders, from non -existent presidents to poorly cited years. On the other hand, the impact was immediate: less traffic for content creators, less advertising impressions. And this also reaches Google, that still controls much of the advertising that is inserted in third -party sites. With that context, the launch of AI Mode is another step in this direction. Press the new button, The list of life results disappears. If we repeat the search for Parisian coffee shops, the answer is no longer limited to a contained recommendation. Now a more elaborate compendium is shown: coworking spaces, specialty coffees, interactive maps, quiet areas to work and even practical advice on how to find the best options. Example of results with Google AI Mode In the desktop version some links continue to appear in a reduced module to the right, but the message is unequivocal: Google wants you to solve everything without leaving its ecosystem. The experience is conversational. You can ask for a specific place, ask for comparatives or add nuances, and The system keeps the thread of conversationfeeding on the web to give you the answer. Google summarizes it on its official page: “Are you trying to understand a new topic? Are you looking for specific recommendations? Do you need help to decide between two products? Just ask us.” All this works with Gemini 2.5 In its standard version, although users can access Gemini 2.5 Pro Reasoning capabilities. With AI Mode and AI Overviews, Google takes a radical turn: the search ceases to be a catalog of links to become a response system. And that transition not only redefines how we find information, but opens a new chapter in The balance between the open webthe creators of content and the giant who, to a large extent, controls the entrance door to the Internet. Images | Google | Screenshots In Xataka | Tiktok stole the searches, Depseek beat them in Ia: Baidu discovers that being “the Chinese google” is no longer enough

The ship that the three throats has launched in China

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The world has engaged in the transport network electrification. It is a vital part of emission reduction planand although cars play an important role, there is a sector that cannot be overlooked: The ship’s. The majority of world trade moves in the oceans and we have been seeing projects such as the Yara Birkeland load ship or the Ferris to connect ports. And that maritime electrification is critical in China. The decarbonization is A fundamental part of short -term China strategies and, although We have been seeing results for yearsIt is not enough. Being the country that leads battery production and the electrification of cars, assaulting the seas was the next logical step. They have several projects underway, but curiously one of the most striking, for their versatility, is that of the first fully electric cleaning ship. It is a ship owned by China Three Gorges Corporation, the company that manages the imposing prey of the three throats that, in addition, it has departments intended for Renewable Technologies Research. This ship has a double mission: Clean the floating waste of the rivers and, in the flood seasons, be used as a transport ship along the Yangtsé River. Its main characteristics are as follows: It has 82 meters long. 18 km/Hy 4,000 kWh batteries. It has an autonomy of 150 kilometers per load. A savings of 253.4 tons of diesel are expected per year. Also a reduction of 842.4 tons of annual CO₂ emissions, 25,300 tons throughout its useful life. CTG esteem a useful life of 20 years and, apart from emission savings, they expect the ship to allow Save 20 million annual yuan(about 2.80 million dollars) in fuel. After being Booty In December last year and a first inaugural trip, he is ready to sail fulfilling his mission. China climbs into the electrification ship, literally Beyond this cleaning ship, the intention China is that Decarbonization policies Transportation begin to bear fruit in the short term. Within those actions, and apart from the Incentives For shipyards and companies that adopt these technologies, an update of recharge infrastructure in strategic ports has begun. Because there are two factors that come into play: on the one hand, the batteries had to allow dilated autonomies to Maximize the operating time in the sea. On the other, the ports should have the ability to quickly recharge those batteries while maintenance work is performed on the ship itself. Fruit of that strategy, we have projects such as two countertops that It is estimated come into service at some point next year. These are two 100% electric ships of about 130 meters in length that has the capacity to transport from 10,000 to 13,000 tons, while having autonomies of about 500 kilometers to make routes between the port roads of the country. Improving communication between its main ports is another of the projects in which China has embarked, and these container companies will have ten batteries with a total power of 1,900 kW. Yujian 77 But they are not only developing container. A few weeks ago the service entered the Yujian 77the first totally electric passenger ship in the country that, with 49 meters in length, has a capacity for 358 passengers and the objective of performing tourist routes in coastal areas. And they are also developing the Futurean advanced ship focused on ocean research that has as a mission Study the oceans and perform “green technology” tests. It has a length of 110.8 meters, capacity for 80 crew and what attracts the most attention is the ability to operate for 60 days in a row, being fully electric. But, although that entrance of China through the big door in the electric ship segment has its importance due to the maritime weight of the country, the rest of the world also moves in the same direction. In fact, closer to our borders we have companies such as the Norwegian Viking Line and The world’s largest electric ferria beast of 200 meters with capacity for 650 cars. It is evident that the world of ships has not wanted to continue waiting for solid state batteriesand it remains to wait to see what will happen when this technology settles and if you can board much larger ships, such as huge cruises And above all, Portenero. Images | Gorgeus Yichang (2) In Xataka | This loading brows with 192 solar panels and a hybrid system. The most striking thing is that you can do it without crew

Experience leaves difficult answers to ignore

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He Free Freestyle 2 It is designed for those who need to control their glucose daily. But what if someone proves it In medical terms you do not need it? On this new 24/7 of the Xataka YouTube channel We have used it for more than a week to understand what it contains to live with that level of continuous control … even when there is no diagnosis behind. Mario Arroyo He has used it for more than seven days in a row, in all kinds of situations: from a copious meal to a paddle game or a night with unexpected dances. “O oysters! Eh, nothing hurts, nothing hurts.” The reaction was spontaneous and marked the tone of a test that did not intend to issue medical trials, but observe how such a device behaves outside the usual context. Freestyle Libre 2, Live with a 24 -hour glucose sensor The first thing that impresses with free freestyle 2 is its appearance. When opening the package and seeing the applicator, our partner’s reaction was clear: “God, what a piece of needle”But that feeling vanished to put it on. The process is fast, without pain. For a full week, it has even unnoticed when sleeping, exercising or showering. What seemed invasive, turned out to be comfortable. The sport also left its mark. After playing the paddle for two hours, the glucose level collapsed: from a normal value to only 57 mg/dl. Something similar happened at night, where several declines were detected without apparent cause. Three hypotheses were afloat: the soft diet for being sick, possible imprecise readings of the sensor or, ultimately, a body notice. At that point, the tool ceases to be just a curiosity. To what extent can we trust your alerts? Synchronizing the sensor with the mobile is as simple as approaching it for a few seconds. The app is updated every minute, showing the current value and its evolution with arrows. In addition, keep the record and allows you to consult the maximum and minimum daily. It is a tool designed for those who need to monitor their glucose, but its clarity makes any user interpret it. Does that constant information provide if you don’t depend on it. After eating a “normal” dish of about 70 grams of turkey rice, the glucose reached its highest peak of the day: 168 mg/dl. The fact, although within the expected, caught the attention for how fast it went up and how much it varied against the previous value. Measure before, just after and after two hours it allowed to visualize how the body responds. With the sensor, what was previously invisible is now drawn in real time. The sensor has an error margin of approximately 9.2%, according to the company that manufactures it. A reasonable fact for a system that does not require medical intervention. But the cost is another story. There are cheaper optionsand its price can be a real barrier. The question, then, is not only if it works, but for who works. Is it a useful tool for anyone or only for very specific profiles? After more than seven days with the sensor, the experience has been positive, although nuanced. He adds: “It seems to me a very comfortable device” and acknowledges: “I think that if you do not have a real problem of diabetes, its usefulness is somewhat limited.” Technology works, and works well. The complete analysis, with all the details, is in the last video of our YouTube channel. Images | Xataka In Xataka | I have used Ultrahuman glucometer for two weeks without being diabetic. I learned something about my body, but it’s not for anyone

While giving us mobiles with better cameras, more power and a flood of AI, I just want them not to die in summer

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In recent years we have seen huge advances in smartphones cameras, in His brilliant screenshis fast charge, Your powerand what they manage to do thanks to the progress that artificial intelligence has brought to the sector (now, not when it began to promote itself eight years ago). And yet, in a summer as hot as we are happening, what I miss most is being able to take advantage of all those functions. Because as temperatures are taking place since May in Andalusia, the reality is that I can’t. The problem. When the heat arrives, the girls fall in love and Solar panels have a fatal. It is also the worst enemy of modern smartphone, whose current functioning completely modifies. With high ambient temperature, smartphone begin to suffer thermal strangulation or Thermal Throttling. It is a technique that reduces the performance of the device so that it does not continue to warm up. What do we notice? In which everything is slow, getting to cause Lagand slowdown accused even in high -end mobiles that do not suffer with normal ambient temperatures even when we demand a lot. It is also common for smartphones to begin to deactivate functions that require greater consumption and therefore heating, such as high rates of soda (90 Hz, 120 Hz 0 more), fast charge or high brightness on the screens. The latter is especially unfortunate, because it is on sunny summer days (when we have more hours of sunshine) when we need the record shine peaks that manufacturers promote with each recent launch. The situation on extreme heat days. The last great heat of these weeks has been the perfect example of how smartphones suffer. In an encounter with friends in the field where there were smartphones of several major brands, the smartphones became unusable in the hottest hours. Fully attenuated and impossible screens to see the sun, abysmal performance, extremely hot bodies and worrying warnings of two types: impossibility of continuing to load to protect the battery, and complete smartphones blockages with a temperature warning as The one Apple details on its website. The first caused that we had to wait until sunset to load the smartphones (with the consequent complete download of several of them for hours) every day. The second, even losing calls: c on the very hot mobile, a relative called me, and the call was abruptly cut by showing a notice like the next. The situation is also improvable with more moderate temperatures. A heat wave in Andalusia is an exceptional situation and that is not lived in countless territories. However, in May, I was at an outdoor wedding about 25 degrees of temperature and decided to take photos and videos with an iPhone 16 Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. The iPhone responded with Throttling, strongly attenuating the screen and slowing down any interaction with the interface. The Ultra Galaxy S25 responded something better, without being slow but also presenting little shine in its panel. The situation was paradoxical: I was using two of the smartphone with the best camera in the market, but I could barely record and take pictures, for the slowness with which they worked and because I almost did not see what I was shooting. Not because of the reflexes of the sun, but because of the little maximum shine of the screens once the terminals felt some heat. Another similar situation, changing camera for GPS, is what is lived in cars in summer: the mobile attenuates its screen and there are cases in which it costs to see the navigation interface, especially if at the same time we are carrying the terminal. And it is not trivial, we load them using the GPS because the consumption shoots and on a long trip the battery does not endure. Keys to protect them from heat. The solutions we have as users are, unfortunately, limited. But There are things we can do. For example, minimize its use in the sun. In summer, as we pointed out, it will be difficult, but there will be multiple situations in which we can place ourselves in the shade. Or what is easier: always leave the mobile in the shade, instead of at very hot points from a place in the sun, on the beach or in the car. They are not few occasions in which I have remembered acquaintances that his mobile would be burning because they had forgotten the sun. We can reduce camera use, especially when necessary. Sometimes, doing tourism, we tend to leave the screen on with the camera in use, preparing for a shot that sometimes does not arrive. It is in those situations when the terminal turns off until we have a shot to shoot can save a lot of heat. House and car tricks. My maximum advice is to use the terminal as GPS subject with a support for air conditioning ventilation grilles, so that it will be cool. It will load at normal speed and work as a browser without major problem. It is a advice that applies even if we use something like Carplay or Android Auto, as the vehicle will continue to resort to the terminal GPS, with the consequent heating. At home, two other tips that I have put into practice: use Cooling with integrated fan or even Cold accumulators covered with a trap that also greatly reduces the temperature of the smartphone when they come into contact with them. Thus they are trying to mitigate the problem. Manufacturers lead a lifetime fighting heat. The problem is that, at the same time, they are integrating components that, although they are more efficient than in previous generations, also have higher final consumption, especially when we think that more and more cameras, more bright screens and chips capable of Move AAA games (although The best is pulling streaming). He Xiaomi 15 Ultrafor example, he convinced us for how his cooling system with Steam camera three -dimensional manages to tame the Snapdragon … Read more

If the question is “how ancient Rome smelled” the answer is “yes”

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Smelling a colony, a room or a plate of food causes our mind to jump and travel over time. It is something tremendously powerful And that has led to investigate ways to smell video games, The cinema either to the Internet. These systems existed And, although it would be the definitive immersive experience, None finished curdlingPerhaps the problem is that we don’t want to sniff certain things. And, definitely, something we would not want to experience is the smell of ancient Rome. It smelled strong. Thomas Derrick, a doctor at Macquarie University in Australia, believes that ancient Rome would have been extremely smelly for Anyone of today. In statements a RNZthe researcher specialized in people’s daily lives during that historical period in Rome believes that “it probably smelled quite bad.” Ok, but … to what extent? “You would smell human waste mixed with smoke resulting from the burning of firewood, animal droppings and other things rotting and decomposing.” And the sewers? The problem is that there was not a single source of those bad smells, being the result of a stinky combination not particularly pleasant. Rome had a sewer system (the ‘Maximum sewer‘It is an example), but not some sewers like the ones we can imagine to carry the waste of the latrines to a black well or something like that, but something more similar to a river drain to evacuate the stagnant water of the public areas. Derrick says in an article to The conversation that “we can assume, with enough security, that the owners did not have latrines connected to the sewers in the big cities, perhaps by fear of the entrance of rodents or the bad odors.” In addition, they did not have valves such as those that currently prevent things from the sewer, so the gases that originated from the waste, such as methane, could enter the houses. And considering that lamps with a flame were used, The danger of explosion was there. Nothing was wasted. Most likely, the most humble had a nearby black well. And, in addition to the feces, it must be taken into account that the garbage could also be thrown into the same place … or directly to the street, as was the case with urine, thrown from the windows of the buildings of several floors. Apart from human waste, there were work animals that were used regularly in cities that They did their things in the streetsas well as decomposition corpses of both these animals and people. And what is garbage for the vast majority, for others it is a “treasure.” There were professionals who collected stool to use them as fertilizers, but urine could also be used to wash clothes. That urine is still rich in ammonia, so could be used to disinfect. Patches for poop. If the streets were up of excrement (and what are not excrements, another question that arises is how they could walk through them without ending up to the stool knees. The answer they found was the placement of large stones in the streets to dodge both the mud and the waste. Pompeya is one of the places where you can see these “stones to cross”, a cobblestone that also allowed a simpler step for animals that were used to load or for tasks such as moving the large stone mills that were used in the bakeries. Again, more animals … and more waste. Humanity. Derrick says that this nausebound smell of the big Roman cities was not only due to the feces of each other. “Roman settlements would have strongly smelled of body sweat,” he says. Also demystify that Image of Roman public bathsaffirming that they were not as hygienic as we can think if we visited the ruins of some of them. And yes, although they were places where you could carry out hygienic activities, especially were meeting points in which it defined and ate, pulling the remains to the ground. In addition, although the Romans knew the soap, they preferred to scratch the skin with a bronze curved tool called strígile and use perfumed olive oil for personal hygiene. And the mixture of oil and dead skin was thrown (again) to the ground or water. And since water and oil are not mixed, when the water disappeared, only that greasy mejunje remained. The author comments that the bathrooms, “were surely quite dirty places.” That tool would be strígile There were always classes. The elites could have more refined customs and even use perfumes that, yes, existed in ancient Rome. To elaborate them, they mixed animal and plant fats and they were impregnated with aromas such as roses, cinnamon, lilies, incense or saffron. They could bring spices to India thanks to the vast Commercial networks of the Empireand if these perfumes were applied in the human body, they mixed with body smell to work for something … different. Where they were used with more olfactory success it was in the statues, since they sought to enhance that aroma of the gods and goddesses with perfumes that exalted the cult of deities. What is clear is that what for us would be something nauseabundo, for the ancient Romans was everyday, the smell of the home. Do you remember the Maximum sewer? That class difference was also there: while the popular classes had blind wells, some Domus rich did have direct connection with the sewerage system. And now I can’t stop imagining how to smell some lentils reminds me of winter afternoons when I was little … and how for a Roman legionary away from home, smelling a swamp could make him think “as at home, nowhere.” Images | Pinterest (Peter Connolly), Featuredpics In Xataka | While modern concrete cracks within a few decades, the Pantheon of Agrippa has been standing for 2,000 years: myths and realities of Roman concrete

Italy has found a disturbing way to end the tourist of its beaches: privatize them

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Summer on national beaches as a national concept we would say that it is in Danger of extinction In southern Europe. And not for the desire, but for the cost. If you start noticing a Run Run Among your acquaintances where talking about vacation on the coast seems little less than an urban legend for the exorbitant price, Italy has a message for navigators: they no longer give to hammocks and umbrellas. If touring homeland He was getting so expensive that he came out More profitable the Caribbeannow we have record. A beach banquet. Counted in a report The New York Times that, on the beaches of Apulia, especially in Bari, the time of lunch was always a Collective show Where entire families display tables, tablecloths and trays full of lasagers, rice with mussels, seafood pastes, fried sausages or raw octopus, keeping alive a custom that goes back to the rise of mass tourism in the postwar period. This practice, popularly known as Fagottari (Those who load with food packages), have their roots in the Italian working culture, when the beach holidays were the Unique accessible luxury and the shared banquet represented a community celebration. A tradition in crisis. Going to the beach in Italy has been a deeply rooted cultural ritual for decades, one marked by the custom of rent sun loungers, umbrellas and cabins in the so -called as stabilimenti Balnari They control much of the coast. However, this summer the influx has fallen between 15% and 25% compared to the previous year in private concessions, especially on working days, while on weekends the beaches continue to fill. The difference is also in consumption: those who come spend less on bars and restaurants, a reflection of generalized economic discomfort. The weight of inflation and prices. The most repeated explanation by business associations is the Loss of purchasing power in a context of inflation and increased cost of life. But this assistance crisis is also associated with the SUSTAINED UP of prices on private beaches, which have increased by 17% in four years. For example, the most extreme: rent two sun louges and an umbrella costs no less than 30 euros on the beaches of Lazio and up to 90 euros in fashion places like Gallipoli, in Puglia. The image of private beaches with rows of empty hammocks has become a symbol of disenchantment. The confrontation. There are more. Given that The Times underlined that in recent years, the rise of foreign tourism and the proliferation of the Stabilimenti Balnari They have been restricting the public space, making access and, in some cases, imposing rules that prohibit introducing food. Club owners allege the need to preserve the “decoration” and income of their bars, but neighbors denounce an attack on A basic rightbecause the law recognizes that Beaches are public And it cannot be forbidden to wear food. The conflict has reached political and legal dyes, with headlines that describe an authentic “Picnic Picnic War”, in which lawyers, consumer associations and even politicians They have intervened. The political and cultural debate. The Guardian told that the phenomenon has opened a deeper debate about the concentration of private management on the Italian coasts, which leaves little space to public beaches. Figures known as actor Alessandro Gassmann They have pointed out That the combination of “exaggerated” prices and economic difficulties is pushing the Italians towards the free beaches. Sector defenders claim that prices have not grown as much as they say and that They include services security and lifeguards, but consumer associations denounce that concessions have become A “black hole” For families finance. For the locals, the fact of having to hide or defend their fasteners represents a symbol of alienation and loss of identity. “Apulia is no longer ours”, Some regretremembering how free beaches have been absorbed by luxury resorts today. Citizen rebellion. Outrage has materialized In protests From Sicily to Liguria. In Lavinio, near Anzio, politician Matteo Hallissey (+Europe) was pushed when planting an umbrella to denounce illegal posters of “private beach”. In Mondello (Sicily), demonstrations made the authorities order to remove turniquetes that prevented access to sand. In Metaponto (Basilicata), the Police intervened to confiscate hundreds of sun loungers and umbrellas illegally. In Naples, activists protested against fenced sections In the spy of the monache, while in Marina di Pietrasanta (Toscana) They nailed umbrellas in the sand as a symbolic act of coastal reappropriation. These actions have visible a generalized discomfort: the feeling that the sea, collective heritage, has been usurped for private interests with the complicity of politicians fearful to face a powerful lobby. The lobby strength. The Stabilimenti sector constitutes a Economic framework Family and hereditary in many coastal regions, where businesses are transmitted from parents to children and generate fortunes linked to summer tourism. In locations such as Bacoli, near Naples, summer income can exceed 100,000 daily visitors. The power of this lobby has made successive governments, for two decades, have avoided Impose real limits to the privatization of the beaches. Faced with this inertia, some mayors, such as Josi Della Ragione in Bacoli, have promoted shock measures: decree that at least 50% From the coast it is freely accessible, knock down illegal constructions and remove equipment that blocks the passage. His determination has faced mafia interests and death threats, but symbolizes institutional resistance to the private appropriation of the sea. Mountain displacement. Thus, while private beaches lose customers, tourism is being redirected Towards the mountainwith special intensity In Los Dolomitaswhere some municipalities already alert risk of massification. The trend does not respond only to the economic factor: more and more Italians seek refuge in fresh altitudes to escape stifling summers, intensified by the climatic crisis. This tourist transfer symbolizes a cultural transformation into Italian summer vacations, in which The traditional model Private beach staggers in front of new social, economic and environmental realities. Perhaps for this reason, those shirts are, in words of manythe last thing left in some more and more privatized and … Read more

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