Mobile Tech & Gadgets

fill rivers with converted plastic bottles

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It must have been the end of 2009 and, while no one was looking, a handful of wasps crossed the Nivelle River and sneaked into Dantxaria. We found them a few months later installed in Amaiur, 15 kilometers further down, already in the Batzan region. Since then, heto vespa velutina has been consolidated throughout the Cantabrian coast, Galicia and the entire Ebro valley. We have been finding and destroying nests throughout the peninsula. And in 2025, nine of them were found in Alcañiz, the first documented case in the province of Teruel. Given this, the Government of Aragon decided to take action on the matter: set traps made from plastic bottles. What are they doing? In a joint action by the Forest Guard of the Alcañiz City Council and the Nature Protection Agents of the Government of Aragon traps have been placed on the banks of the Guadalope River to catch the Asian queen wasps as they emerge from torpor. In fact, there are two types of traps: on the one hand, there are the VespaCatch, which have special holes for these queen wasps. vespa velutina for which, for example, the native wasp does not fit Vespa crabro. On the other hand, handmade traps made with plastic bottles and a pair of black zip ties have also been installed. The mechanism is the same: they work with a natural attractant made with water, sugar and fresh yeast. Once inside, they cannot leave. In this way, it is hoped that they will be prevented from creating their primary nest and end up forming a new colony. And does it work? According to Alcañiz, they have already captured 62 Asian wasp queens in what seems like a huge success. The Environmental Biology group at the University of Vigo is not so clear. This group, coordinated by Sandra V. Rojas-Nossa and Salustiano Mato, has published between 2018 and 2024 a series of works that compare the effectiveness and selectivity of the most used trap models. And the results are bittersweet. Bittersweet? Yes, it’s true: VespaCatch is the one that records the highest capture rates of the Asian wasp. But it does so at the cost of capturing vulnerable native species. In fact, according to their conclusions, “with the traps tested, bait trapping continues to be environmentally unsustainable and is not recommended as a control method in regions with an already established invasive population.” To give us an idea, according to Rojas-Nossa data, approximately 100 individuals of other species for each V. velutina captured in spring. It’s true that it’s difficult transfer Galician data to Teruel, but the capture of 62 queens could have caused a small damage to the local fauna of Guadalope. It is the great paradox of the velutinas: we have reached a point where ending them means ending everything else. Image | Alcañiz Town Hall via La Comarca In Xataka | After centuries of disappearance, there are people releasing beavers into the Tagus and other rivers in Spain. The problem is that we don’t know who

They already know how to avoid the norm

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After the USB-C victorythe European Union has set its eye on another aspect of our mobile phones and He wants batteries to be easily removable by 2027. The objective behind this change is twofold: to extend the useful life of the devices and, in the process, reduce electronic waste. The deadline for the change is February 18, 2027, just over nine months, and it is striking that The big mobile brands haven’t said a word. There is a reason for his silence. Open consultation on exemptions. The Commission has proposed adding more products to the list of exemptions, including smartwatches or activity bracelets and electric toys. At the end of April, The European Commission opened a public consultation so that whoever wishes can express their opinions about the standard, which includes citizens, companies, academics or public authorities. Total silence. This consultation, which closes on May 26, is an opportunity for manufacturers of affected products to present their complaints and thus avoid applying the standard. Returning to removable batteries would mean profoundly changing the designs of the majority of mobile phones that we use today, which is why the silence of smartphone manufacturers is striking. Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO… so far no one has raised their voice to oppose the measure. Because? The small print. There is a reason why there are no complaints from mobile phone manufacturers, and it is that they have already found a way to not have to apply it. In the fine print of the new law, it contemplates two conditions by which the devices are exempt from applying the standard: Battery Durability: if it retains 83% of nominal capacity after 500 charge cycles or 80% after 1,000 charge cycles. Water resistance: devices that have an IP67 certification or higher. High-end mobile phones (and many mid-range ones) already meet these conditions, so they will not have to make big changes. In addition, manufacturers have the ability to ensure that their devices have longer-lasting batteries, as well as waterproof designs, even in the low ranges. Who has complained?. The consultation has collected complaints from other types of manufacturers that are dedicated to small accessories such as wireless headphones and other wearables. Companies such as Shenzhen Baseus Technology and Conduction Labs state that making certain products with removable batteries is “technically infeasible without destroying the product.” They refer, above all, to devices such as headphones or rings, which are not currently part of the list of exemptions. What does the norm say?. The European Commission recently detailed what he means by removable battery and what standards electronic devices must comply with from 2027. They are as follows: The battery must be “easily removable.” This doesn’t mean that cell phones are going to be like your old Nokia, but that the battery has to be removable with “commercially available tools.” If a specific tool is needed, the manufacturer is obliged to supply it free of charge. The user must not use, under any circumstances, heat or solvents to disassemble the mobile phone, so the use of glue is restricted. Manufacturers will be required to provide clear instructions so that anyone can remove and replace the battery. The software cannot hinder the battery replacement process, for example blocking it because the change was not made at an official service. Manufacturers must sell replacement batteries for at least five years after the product is removed from the market. The price of batteries must be “reasonable and non-discriminatory.” Image | Apple In Xataka | The European Union regulates too much. We are not saying it, the European Union itself has just admitted it

In its unstoppable expansion throughout Spain, mass tourism is claiming a new victim: the Albaicín of Granada

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History on all four sides. Culture. Views of the Alhambra. In theory, living in the Albaicín, a historic neighborhood in Granada, should be a privilege. In theory. The tourist overcrowding that has already devoured other cities from Spain (and other countries) is making everyday life in the most popular areas of the neighborhood resemble a gymkhana in which residents must navigate visitors in search of the best selfie. And that’s not even the worst. Part of the residents they take time warning of how tourism is affecting housing and services. They claim a “Livable Albaicín”. What has happened? That the list of Spanish cities in which the tension between mass tourism and the daily lives of residents is growing adds a new town: Granada. For some time now, the residents of the city, more specifically the Albaicín neighborhoodwarn of how the arrival of visitors to the area alters their routine and something just as or even more important: services, commerce and, above all, housing. It’s not something new. In fact, the platform that gives voice to the complaints of locals, ‘Albayzín habitable’, It was launched in 2024. However, a quick search on Google shows how their complaints have not stopped over the last two years. On the contrary. On Instagram, where they accumulate 10,200 followersshow intense activity in the streets. Their purpose, they clarify, is to act against “a tourism model that is killing the neighborhood.” They are not against the sector or visitors, but against overcrowding. What is the problem? The photo is not very different from what can be found in other points where the rope that unites residents and tourists has been tightening for some time. The group cries out against the transfer of housing that migrates from the residential market to tourist rentals (“where before there were neighbors there are now lockers“) or the risk of losing spaces for citizen use in favor of the sector, as, they warn, may occur with Saint Agnes and Saint Michael. The first is a old convent. The second was a juvenile center. Now they both could become hotelswhich has already brought out the neighbors to the street to protest. Is it that serious? On Monday The Country public a chronicle in which he points out other consequences of the tourism of the neighborhood, effects well known in other great destinations in the country, such as Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela either Palma de Mallorca. For example, crowds at the San Nicolás viewpoint to achieve the best selfie of the sunset or a change in the commercial fabric of the neighborhood, with traditional businesses that look with concern at the medium-term future and new ones that open despite not having any cultural link with the environment. “Look, now the groups of tourists surround us, before it was the neighbors who were on the street,” commented a neighbor sarcastically told the newspaper. But is it so noticeable? He is not the only one who points out this progressive mutation that, little by little, is making the neighborhood more adapted to the needs of those who are passing through and less to those of those who live there permanently. In August, Tatiana, a spokesperson for Albayzín Habitable, lamented the closure of a supermarket and a clinic, essential for residents. Businesses such as hairdressers or supermarkets give way to retail stores. take away and cold sangria. “Local shops and supermarkets continue to disappear and are replaced by trinket shops for tourists or hospitality establishments only available to the most privileged,” they insist on the neighborhood platform. @aidajr_93 The residents of Albayzin have united under the platform #albayzinhabitable to make ourselves heard and for the city council or the Andalusian board to hear us and regularize the uncontrolled tourism that we have in Albayzin, where speculation is driving out neighbors who have been in their homes all their lives to build tourist apartments, historic Carmens are converted into luxury apartments. The streets are uninhabitable for those of us who live here because they are always full of tourist groups, thefts, parties and it is impossible for the families who live here to take a bus because it is full of tourists. Elderly people do not dare to go out because they cannot go home, families with children cannot use the buses because it is impossible and if you are in a wheelchair, forget about it. We are not kicking tourism out of the neighborhood, we just ask for control and for neighbors to be more protected and to be able to be inhabitants of our streets and homes. #Grenade #UncontrolledTourism #stopspeculation #Albayzin @EL NIÑO DEL ALBAYZÍN @Sonsoles Ónega @Antena 3 @6️⃣LaSexta6️⃣ @Cuatro @RTVE @Pepe y Vizio @Junta de Andalucía @Andalucía Directo @Al Rojo Vivo ♬ original sound – Aidajr_93 Are they just impressions? There are also figures. Last year Albayzín Habitable estimated that in the area there were around 7,400 places for tourists, which would exceed, he assures, the number of registered residents, which is around 7,000. Correct or not, their data is not the first to warn of the tourist saturation that the neighborhood is experiencing. A few years ago the Granada City Council commissioned a study on the topic that concluded that Fígares and Albaicín are the areas with the highest concentration of tourist rentals in the city. By measuring the proportion of tourist apartments over available family homes in each part of the municipality, the technicians concluded that in both areas it reached 24%. In hard and fast figures, that translated into 715 homes out of 3,038. What are the consequences? The report suggests that this tourist pressure may be driving out neighbors. Although during the period analyzed (2015-2022) the whole of Granada had recorded a negative demographic dynamic, the trend seemed to be accentuated in Albaicín, with the transfer of 712 of the almost 9,300 residents initially registered. It is not the biggest ‘bleed’ in the town in net terms, but the data does stand out if analyzed in proportion. … Read more

The mouse cursor has hardly changed for half a century. Google just tried to make that no longer the case

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Google DeepMind has published the principles and demos of Magic Pointera mouse pointer powered by Gemini who understands what you are pointing out and why. Without writing anything. Just pointing. Why is it important. The chatbot as the main interface has been the dominant model in AI for two years: you open a window, write and you get a response. Magic Pointer proposes the opposite: the AI ​​moves with you around the screen, reads what is in front of you and acts without you explaining the context. If it works as promised, the text box is no longer the gateway to AI. The logic behind the project is that the problem with current AI is not its capacity, but the friction to use it. Every time you want to ask a model for something, you have to drag your world into it: open a window, paste text, explain the context from scratch, etc. Magic Pointer reverses that flow: the AI ​​goes where the cursor is. In detail. The system captures visual and semantic context around the pointer. You indicate a date in an email and Gemini suggests creating an event. You select two images, a sofa and your living room, and the model composes them. You hover over a table and you can request a graph without opening any more apps. The objective is to replace the prompts long by what DeepMind calls “natural shorthand”: point out something, say what you want, and have the system fill in the gaps. There are live demos at Google AI Studio and the system now reaches Chrome. In autumn it will land in Googlebookthe new Google laptop with Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo as manufacturers. Between the lines. We are looking at three ways to put AI in a computer: Apple integrates it within each application. Microsoft puts Copilot on a side panel. Google puts Gemini inside the pointing device itself: it is not in the background, it is the cursor, it is the widgetis the interface between the user and the machine. That last one is a philosophical bet. And it has implications for the chatbot model: if the cursor acts as a contextual agent, the chat window loses its monopoly as an entry point. Yes, but. Googlebook arrives in autumn as a premium product, with no announced price yet. The Android ecosystem on the desktop remains the weak flank: if developers do not build native apps for the big screen, the Magic Pointer points to a world that does not yet exist. And in any market where Gemini is restricted by regulations, the entire proposition becomes empty. In Xataka | The AI ​​industry already knows how to make more money. Just use the fear strategy Featured image | Google

The US believed it had crushed Iran’s missile city. They have counted the complexes again, and it is as if they had shot in the air

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During the Gulf War, several American pilots returned convinced they had completely destroyed numerous Iraqi underground shelters. Days later, reconnaissance images revealed something disconcerting: Many of those complexes were still active because the explosions had barely blocked secondary entrances while the main infrastructure remained intact under tons of rock and concrete. The big surprise. For weeks, the White House presented the campaign against Iran as a crushing demonstration of modern military power: stealth bombers, precision missiles and coordinated attacks with Israel that had supposedly left the Iranian strategic network reduced to rubble. donald trump came to affirm that Tehran already “had nothing” in military terms and that its missiles had been dispersed and out of combat. However, the new secret evaluations US intelligence agencies describe a radically different and deeply uncomfortable scenario for Washington. After reanalyzing satellite images, underground access and logistical activity, American analysts discovered that Iran maintains operational 30 of its 33 complexes of missiles in the Strait of Hormuz and retains a good part of its mobile launchers and arsenals, in addition to having recovered the 90% access of its underground facilities. The feeling within some national security sectors is beginning to be disturbing: after spending thousands of missiles and selling the world the idea of ​​total destruction, the immense Iranian “missile city” remains practically where it was at the beginning. Architecture of a fortress. Here you have to remember something what do we count weeks ago. The real problem for the United States is not just how many missiles Iran retains, but how they were built and distributed their complexes for decades. Tehran turned entire mountains into underground defensive systemswith tunnels, protected warehouses, redundant access and mobile platforms capable of moving missiles from one point to another even after a bombing. Many installations were not designed to resist a specific attack, but to ensure that they always there will be something operational after any initial wave. That’s where the intelligence reports are causing real concern: Many of the entrances were temporarily sealed, but not completely destroyed, and the vast majority of the complexes they regained access operational in a matter of weeks. In some cases, the Iranians may even continue to launch missiles directly from the facilities themselves. The result is a very different image from the American public narrative: rather than eliminating the threat, Washington seems to have scratched the surface of an infrastructure conceived precisely to survive a war of technological attrition. The hidden price of the operation. The other great revelation of the conflict is not underground in Iran, but inside the own US arsenals. The campaign consumed gigantic amounts of advanced ammunition: more than a thousand stealth cruise missiles, around a thousand Tomahawks and more than 1,300 Patriot interceptors, figures that are equivalent to entire years of industrial production. The Pentagon attempted to balance two incompatible priorities: destroying extremely hardened Iranian complexes and, at the same time, do not empty completely its strategic reserves in the face of possible future crises with China or North Korea. This limitation explains part of the most controversial tactical decisions of the war. Rather spray completely many underground complexes, planners opted to seal access and entrances using fewer bunker buster bombs than necessary to destroy the entire facility. Now the consequences are beginning to appear starkly: it spent enormous amounts of high-end weapons, but the Iranian network continues to retain significant operational capacity. Hormuz as center of gravity. All of this takes on an even more delicate dimension due to where most of Iran’s surviving capacity is concentrated: the Strait of Hormuz. Approximately a fifth of the world’s oil circulates through that maritime strip, and US intelligence believes that Iran maintains enough missiles and launchers there to to continue threatening warships, oil tankers and critical infrastructure. The US Navy maintains a practically continuous presence in the area with more than twenty ships patrolling and holding the blockade, but the strategic reality is beginning to become uncomfortable: even after a gigantic military campaign, Washington has not been able to eliminate Iran’s ability to turn Hormuz into a nightmare for global trade. There is no doubt, this persistence completely alters the initial perception of the war. What seemed like a demonstration of technological supremacy is also beginning to look like a warning about the real limits of modern air power against deeply dispersed underground networks. The political contradiction. Ultimately, the conclusions of the intelligence “count” They are also opening an increasingly visible political rift in Washington. While the White House publicly insists that the operation was a historic success and accuses those who question that story of “virtual betrayal,” internal reports describe a enemy far away of being neutralized. And the contradiction threatens to become both a strategic and political problem. If the ceasefire collapses, Trump would have to decide between accepting that Iran retains a relevant military capability or relaunching an even more costly campaign using ammunition reserves that will most likely take years to recover. The dilemma is especially delicate because European allies They already fear delays in arms deliveries destined for Ukraine due to American industrial wear. The war against Iran was designed to demonstrate strength and restore deterrence, but what is beginning to emerge, however, is another, much more uncomfortable reading: that even the most powerful military machine on the planet may discover too late that destroying a “missile city” buried under mountains is much more difficult than announcing its destruction on television. Image | Iranian Media In Xataka | Suddenly, a military outpost sprouted up in the Iraq desert: it was Israel in its bombing campaign of Iran In Xataka | While everyone was looking at Hormuz, Russia has found a much more important route to supply drones to Iran

After the Titan millionaire submarine disaster, China plans to take more rich tourists 1,000 meters under the sea

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The depths ofto Mariana Trench or exploration from the deep ocean It has always been a thing for scientists and remotely controlled machines. China wants it to stop being so and already has an ambitious plan in motion: taking wealthy tourists to 1,000 meters deep, where sunlight does not reach and where there is no turning back for an engineering failure. The project comes three years after the Titan tragedythe OceanGate submersible that imploded in June 2023 while I was visiting the remains of the titanic in which its five occupants died. Far from stopping its efforts, China is moving forward with a proposal that, unlike the Titan, is backed by decades of naval engineering developed with the support of China. Four highly sought-after seats. Ye Cong, director of the China Naval Scientific Research Center, counted to ChinaDaily that “after more than four years of research, engineers have finalized the structural design” and that, once the prototype is built, “they will carry out sea trials and then improve the design based on the results.” The submersible will have enough space to accommodate four peoplepilot included, so, to begin with, the availability of places is very limited. This shortage of vacancies is expected to contribute to skyrocketing prices for filling each seat. One of the most complex problems of the small submarine has already been solved: the panoramic viewfinder. Your designers they describe it as “one of the most difficult structural codes to decipher on a deep-sea submersible.” And it makes sense since at 1,000 meters deep the pressure is about 100 times greater than on the surface, and that window has to withstand it without giving way. An unprecedented leap into the abyss. This is not the first submersible that Chinese engineers have operated. However, such andhow do they count in South China Morning Post The new projects that are being tested far exceed the depths at which current submersibles operate, which do not go below 20 meters deep. They are used for lakes, reservoirs and shallow coasts, so going from there to 1,000 meters is multiplying the operating depth by 50. The same naval engineering center that is now building this new generation of manned mini-submarines already built The Huandao Jiaolong 1 and 2, two tourist submersibles with capacity for seven passengers and a limit of 40 meters. However, on that occasion, immersion operations were suspended due to regulatory restrictions, but everything learned then has been applied to the new design. China plunges into the field of underwater exploration. The West has been designing submersibles for decades for deep dives. Companies like Deep RoverTriton and U-Boat Worx have been manufacturing submersibles over 1,000 meters since 1985 and until now had no Chinese competition in that segment. The new project developed by the China Naval Scientific Research Center changes that scenario supported by the previous experience of the Jiaolongthe Deep Sea Warrior and the Fendouzhe, three ships that last year completed more than 300 dives around the world and accounted for more than 50% of all manned deep-sea expeditions on a global scale. Ye Cong assured the Chinese news agency that the submersible: “will be a valuable asset for cruise lines, high-end tour operators and oceanographic researchers. It will offer the most demanding travelers an unforgettable experience in ocean exploration.” The prototype should be ready before the end of 2026, with the commercial debut expected before 2030. Much more than a tourist “toy”: it is a key strategy. This submersible is not just a mere product intended for tourist use of millionaires with adventurous concerns. It is part of China’s strategy to become strong in the blue economy, the sector of economic activities linked to the sea, a developing sector in which China seeks to play a leading role in the future. The Asian giant already leads manned deep-sea exploration and wants that this technological advantage is amortized in the form of a private business for their companies. After the Titan catastrophea good part of the luxury underwater tourism industry came to a screeching halt. China is the first to step on the accelerator again in this area, and this project is supported by State resources, which gives it a considerable advantage over projects that, like the Titan, are developed with private funds and investors. In Xataka | There is a new chapter in the Titan submarine tragedy: the memory card of its camera survived the implosion Image | CSSC

list with a summary of everything that will arrive in this version of the operating system

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We bring you the list with all the news that will come to Android 17which Google has announced in its official presentation. Almost all the focus of the news Gemini Intelligence takes itbut there are also many that are worth knowing, and that will improve the Android experience, although there is also bad news. We are going to make this text summarized so that you have a complete and easy-to-read list. We will show you one by one all the news summarizing what each one of them is about. Remember that these are the basic new features of Android 17, and that later each manufacturer will be able to implement their own. What’s new in Android 17 Gemini Intelligence: Google wants to turn its AI into a proactive agent, and it does so with this function that will arrive first on Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones. It will allow Gemini to interact with your apps to perform complex, multi-step tasks in the background, such as organizing an itinerary or managing orders. All this without you having to do anything manually through the menus. Gemini will also integrate into Chrome to help you research, summarize information, share content, or even book appointments or parking spaces, as well as fill out more fields in apps and web pages. Task automation: Another Gemini Intelligence brick to use with food delivery apps, transportation, and more. Can you imagine being able to order your purchase online from a shopping list saved in your notes or a photograph? Well this will be possible. rambler: Another Gemini Intelligence feature, this time for the Gboard keyboard. It is a function that allows you to convert voice messages into text, being able to transcribe, eliminate repetitions, hesitations and organize sentences. AirDrop support– Quick Share becomes AirDrop compatible for everyone. This is something that the Pixel and Galaxy could already do, and now it will be expanded to everyone this year. You can make your Android phone send files to iPhone or Mac with AirDroid and vice versa. Less freedom to install APKs: Android is going to be less free, and you won’t be able to install any apps outside of the app store. Google will require developers to verify their identity so that their APK files can be installed, even if you download them from outside the app store. This is very bad news for third-party free app stores where you can install alternative apps. Pause Point: This is an option that tries to help you avoid opening apps almost automatically. Do not block access, but rather place a short pause before entering applications that you mark as distracting, such as Instagram, other social networks, or whatever you choose. Material 3 Expressive: The design language that debuted with Android 16 evolves with semi-transparency and blur effects, visible in elements such as the volume bar or the quick settings center. System icons are also improved for more cohesion with background accent colors, and more customization. WiFi and data controls: Another change is that the WiFi and mobile data controls are finally separated again in the quick settings. Custom widgets: You will be able to create custom widgets without having to design them by hand. Android will use Gemini Intelligence to build widgets for your home screen from natural language instructions. Android optimization: The Android kernel will be able to learn from the execution profiles of apps to reduce interface jerks and improve opening speed. More security: The security of the system is also reinforced, with small improvements to avoid fraudulent calls and bank scams, or detect applications that behave suspiciously. Malware detection is also improved. On-screen reactions: A wink for those who record themselves commenting on what appears on your screen. You can record a video in which what you see on your screen and your face appear at the same time with the front camera. Gaming improvements: Added support for remapping Xbox or PlayStation controller buttons. A new virtual controller function is also added that translates touches on the screen into physical signals. With this, you will be able to use controllers designed only for touch controls in your games. Universal clipboard: Finally you will be able to copy and paste content between mobile, PC and vice versa, just as Apple allows you to do it between its devices. RAM limits per app: Android will set memory caps based on device RAM. If an application tries to consume too much, Android will close it to avoid crashes and the fluidity of the operating system from being affected. OTP Security: This new security measure is added to avoid banking scams. With it, there will be a three-hour delay in accessing SMS with verification codes for third-party applications. Android Auto: Total redesign of Android Auto to completely move to the Material 3 Expressive design language. Migration from iPhone: Migration from an iPhone to Android is improved, with support for migrating messages, contacts, eSIM or the home screen. New emojis: Google has redesigned the 4,000 Android emojis to give them a slightly more three-dimensional look, with more depth and detail than the flatter, more cartoonish versions they replace. Android 17 availability Google has not specified a specific release date for Android 17. However, It is expected to arrive during next June on Pixel 6 onwards. And from there, it will be up to each manufacturer to implement it in their respective customization layers. Another thing to keep in mind is that some of the features may come later. Google has presented Android 17 as an update with many pieces, and some will have staggered rollouts. Screen reactions will arrive in summer, new emojis later, widget creation functions in summer, and others such as migration from iPhone or AirDrop compatibility later this year. In Xataka | Google wants to leave behind the greatest limit of Chromebooks: its recipe mixes Android, Gemini and premium design

Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT are not supposed to be used in China. It is supposed

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In China there is what is popularly known as the “Great Firewall”a large security wall that prevents its citizens from accessing certain services. At the same time, there are foreign companies that block their services in China, this is what is happening with AI tools like ChatGPTbut the law is made, the trap is made. Gray market. They tell it in South China Morning Postthere is a whole flourishing market of services that promise to provide access to American AI models, such as Claude or Gemini, avoiding the restrictions imposed on both sides of their borders. On online sales platforms such as Taobao or Xianyu, unlimited subscriptions to Claude Code, Gemini and ChatGPT are sold with low latency and without VPN. These platforms have become a solution for Chinese developers who want to access American models to program, debug or use multimedia generation services. How they do it. Access is done through what is known as ‘shadow APIs’ which, in essence, is an intermediary. What they do is set up proxy servers outside of China and divert all user requests there, so that those external servers are the ones that actually call the official APIs of models like Claude or Gemini and then return the “masked” response as if it were a local service, without the need for a VPN or foreign payment methods. It pays for them. According to the developers cited in the South China Morning Post piece, they resort to these ‘shadow APIs’ because they simply consider them to be tools that are clearly superior to the local offering. This translates into more precise code, fewer hallucinations and less time correcting bugs than with Chinese models which, according to what they say, still invent functionalities or fail more often. In addition, these services give them almost complete access to models like Claude Opus or Gemini, with huge context windows (up to a million tokens), without having to fight with VPNs or foreign payment methods. Wiles. All that glitters is not gold and there are also advertisements that do not fulfill what they promise. Some of these services advertise full access to models like Claude, but are actually processing requests with cheaper Chinese models like Qwen or MiniMax. Additionally, there is the risk to privacy as all traffic goes through an anonymous intermediary who could do whatever they wanted with often sensitive data. Frontier Model Forum. Is a coalition formed by several AI companies dedicated to the security and regulation of border models, but in practice it is functioning more as an intellectual property defense mechanism. Recently OpenAI, Anthropic and Google announced that they were working together to curb copying of their models by coordinating the sharing of suspicious usage patterns and distillation attack detection techniques through this common forum. Image | Xataka In Xataka | The center of gravity of mobile photography has moved to China and OPPO is going for the throne with the Find X9 Ultra

The lungs have an incredible capacity to regenerate after quitting tobacco. But time plays against

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Smoking is not healthy at all and even less for our lungs, which are severely affected in their structure by the harmful damage of the tobacco or at the end of any substance other than oxygen. This is something that is quite well internalized, but the other reality is that when we quit tobacco we can recover some of what we lost due to its great capacity for regeneration driven by healthy cells that replace damaged ones. There is evidence. The great turning point in our understanding of this phenomenon came with a pioneering study published in Nature in 2020, where they analyzed the cells that line our bronchi among smokers, ex-smokers and people who have never touched a cigarette. Here what they found was fascinating, since they saw that in the lungs of smokers there were a large number of cells that were mutated and could be the prelude to lung cancer. However, upon quitting this bad habit, a group of non-mutated cells genetically similar to those of non-smokers began to proliferate rapidly. It’s good news. So, at this moment the healthy cells, which had remained “hidden” or protected from the smoke, begin to multiply to replace the damaged ones that end up dying to prevent them from developing cancer. Here the study pointed out that up to 40% of lung cells in ex-smokers are these new replacement cells, and most importantly, this repair process occurs even in people who have smoked a pack a day for 40 years, which is a lot. That is why this is the explanation we find for the plummeting risk of lung cancer after quitting smoking, although it is not logically eliminated. The chronology. Regeneration is not only genetic, but it is also mechanical and functional, and we see it clearly in the different events that occur when tobacco is stopped. For example, in the first 24 hours There is a normalization of carbon monoxide levels in the blood and the effect on respiratory capacity or even blood pressure is noticeable. In subsequent weeks, tissue recovery and regeneration of cilia begins, which are small “brooms” in the lungs to expel the mucus that accumulates upward, drastically reducing respiratory infections. But if we go to the first year, we see how lung capacity experiences a measurable improvement in a spirometry. You have to be cautious. Despite the good news, experts and companies like SEPAR they are prudent by pointing out that lung regeneration is partial, not total. This means that the lung is not exactly that of a newborn, and there are structural damages that are irreversible. Diseases such as emphysema or advanced fibrosis persist, since the tissue destroyed at these levels cannot regenerate. Likewise, in the case of COPD, quitting smoking significantly stops or slows down the progression of the disease, but does not cure the severe obstructive damage already established. Age influences. The regeneration capacity also decreases with age and with the years accumulated as a smoker. Healthy cells end up dominating the epithelium after years of abstinence, but there are always residual risks that do not disappear. This should make us aware of how important it is to stop smoking as soon as possible so that we can have much fewer chances of having a serious disease in our lung, such as cancer. Images | wirestock at Magnific In Xataka | Beyond tobacco: we have just discovered that diet can also affect the risk of developing lung cancer

This is the new Xiaomi pack that costs just over 750 euros

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From time to time Xiaomi launches the odd pack that brings together several of its devices, and normally these packs are usually on sale. This week the brand has returned to the fray, launching one of the best combos we have seen to date: it includes two televisions and a Bluetooth speaker for a price of 769 euros. This is what the pack includes: Xiaomi TV F Pro 2026 (32 inches) Xiaomi TV F Pro 2026 (75 inches) Xiaomi Bluetooth Speaker. Xiaomi TV F Pro 2026 (75 inches) + Xiaomi TV F Pro 2026 (32 inches) + Xiaomi Bluetooth Speaker The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Two TVs and a Bluetooth speaker The 32 and 75-inch Xiaomi televisions are from the “F” line, which means that they are essentially the “A Pro”, but with the Fire TV operating system instead of Google TV. In this way, they have Alexa integrated and the menu is the same as what we find in the Fire TV Stick from Amazon. Both televisions offer 4K resolution and are compatible with the image format HDR10+. It incorporates a panel with QLED technology and its refresh rate reaches 120 Hz in Game Boost mode via HDMI, which are two ideal features if you are looking for a television for gaming. In addition, its speakers are compatible with Dolby Audio and it has a reduced blue light mode to protect eyesight. On the other hand, the Xiaomi Bluetooth Speaker It is not a speaker that is intended for use with the television, but with other devices such as smartphones. It stands out mainly for having Harman AudioEFX audio software, it is resistant to both water and dust (IP67) and its theoretical autonomy reaches 17 hours of use. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: Xiaomi pack offer today ✅ THE BEST 3 x 1: We are talking about a pack that includes three devices, the most interesting being the TVs. The TVs: The two TVs have a QLED panel, and one of them has a 75-inch diagonal. ❌ THE WORST The Bluetooth speaker: As it is a pack with two televisions, it is missing that instead of a speaker it included a sound bar to make the pack more rounded. 💡 BUY IT IF… You want to renew a couple of televisions, whether for the living room and kitchen, bedroom or a second residence. In addition, they are especially interesting for their gaming-oriented features. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You only need a television or are you looking for a different experience than what QLED televisions offer, which are more oriented toward gaming and not so much toward sports or movies. You may also be interested Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, compatible with Wi-Fi 6, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and HDR10+ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links XIAOMI Soundbar Pro 2.1ch-300W TV Sound Bar with Powerful Bass and External Wireless Subwoofer. Compatible with Dolby Audio™ and DTS Virtual:X. HDMI ARC/Optical/Coaxial/Bluetooth Connections The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Xiaomi In Xataka | Best home theater projectors. Which one to buy and five recommended models from 299 to 18,000 euros In Xataka | Mega-guide to set up a home theater: projector, screen, sound system and more

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