Mobile Tech & Gadgets

NVIDIA was going to make the mother of all investments in OpenAI, but the era of favors between friends is over

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NVIDIA has emerged as the pillar of artificial intelligence. Your chips They are the ones who move the more powerful data centers of the world and is getting billion-dollar investments to keep the wheel turning. At the same time, it has become one of the largest strategic investors of the artificial intelligence ecosystem. OpenAI She seemed to be his best friend, but that’s over. AND Jensen HuangCEO of NVIDIA, makes it clear: the next investments will probably be the last. Also in its great rival. Of 100,000 million. That was the magic figure of which we talked a few months ago. Recreating the schemes of “vendor financing“of the dotcom bubble, NVIDIA was going to finance OpenAI with $100 billion. In exchange, OpenAI would buy NVIDIA chips for the same value. It was a “trap” operation because the company would become the financier of its own premium client. With such an investment, it was expected that OpenAI will build data centers that they would need between four and five million NVIDIA GPUs: Huang already commented at the time that this represented double the total GPUs they distributed the previous year. In short: an absolute animal. And those 100,000 million were a mega-operation, yes, but one more of the many rounds of financing that the company led by Sam Altman. To 30,000 million. But in early February of this year, something unexpected happened. In what seemed like a historic turnaroundJensen Huang, cornered by the media after a Casual dinner at a Taiwanese restaurantcommented that there was never a 100% commitment to make that mammoth investment. The CEO of NVIDIA pointed out that they would surely continue making “the largest investment” they have made in their history, but although he did not give a figure, it was clear that nothing more than 100,000 million. How much? Lessmuch less: 30,000 million dollars. Good luck, OpenAI. Love broke, a love that began when Jensen Huang gave a DGX-1 server to Elon Musk back in 2016. Because it is not only that Jensen has commented that the figure will be around 30,000 million, but because he has mentioned that “it could be the last time” that they inject money into OpenAI. And the reason is very clear: “the reason is because they are going public.” From there, OpenAI will have to change its model completely and will be under the designs of the market. Big bets. NVIDIA, with this operation, shows that it is taking another course, one in which it prefers not to marry anyone and not commit in a truly serious way to a single company. Of course, OpenAI is not the only big operation that NVIDIA is going to get into. Another $10 billion is in store for Anthropic, OpenAI’s great rival both professionally and personally (since Altman and Amodei they can’t stand each other). Worse Huang has also mentioned which, again, will probably also be the last. They are also expected to go public. Fewer giants, broader base. OpenAI will have 110 billion soon. Apart from NVIDIA’s 30,000, Amazon will inject 50,000 million and SoftBank has committed 30,000 million. Huang has hinted that these two large operations could mark the beginning of a change of course. Instead of operations that can be counted on the fingers of one hand in giants, more investment in smaller companies. NVIDIA has gone investing more modest sums at other AI companies over the years. Model and software companies, infrastructure, robotics and even autonomous driving. It has been converting its GPUs and platforms into the standard on which it is founded the entire artificial intelligence industryand perhaps this break with giant companies like OpenAI or Anthropic marks a new beginning in which the focus is on supporting a broader ecosystem of partners. In this way, you will be able to continue shaping your objective: a range of more or less large companies that scale on your platform. Image | Steve Juvetson, NVIDIA In Xataka | AI engineers are closer to football stars than ever: NVIDIA has paid 900 million for one

energy and data centers

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When talking about Iran’s weapons, missiles are often mentioned. However, a fundamental leg of the country’s war machine is that of kamikaze drones. He Shahed-136 introduced in 2020, known as “loitering ammunition“, has been Iran’s strategic spearhead in the Middle East for years. Also a weapon that Russia has used in the Ukrainian war. After the beginning of the war against the United States and IsraelIran has directed these drones against its enemies. Not against bases, but against the two pillars that can do the most damage to the West. Energy and data centers. The drones. Since the Ukrainian war began, drones have proven to be the most fearsome weapon. There are more homemade ones, there are more sophisticated ones, but they all have something in common: power to destroythey can be operated at a good distance, they are very cheap, it is difficult to intercept them and the most advanced ones can be launched in swarms without risks for the operators. But Shahed’s drones are not like a street DJI with explosives: they are drones with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers that are ideal for attacking very effectively. The key is in the price: they are thrown a lot and, even if many are intercepted, the cost of that interception is extremely favorable for the attacker. It is estimated that a drone costs about $20,000 while a interceptor missile The average is between 300,000 and 400,000 dollars. That relationship is making even the US is using them. Ras Tanura. And it is these drones, and their variants, that Iran is using to attack critical infrastructure. Because they don’t have to hit the targets directly: they just need to land nearby or with the simple threat that they can reach that key infrastructure. We have an example in Ras Tanura. It is one of the largest oil refineries in the world that had to close its doors last Monday. Aramco (the owner) made the decision after debris from intercepted drones fell near the facilities in Saudi Arabia. This caused a crisis in the crude oil market, with the barrel rising in price meteorically and with a lot of Overcrowded cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Data centers. But if power is critical, in the age of AI, data centers have also become a vital infrastructure. That is why these facilities are also in the crosshairs of an Iran that attackeddirectly, two installations of Amazon Web Services, or AWS, on March 1 and 2. AWS presence These are two data centers in the United Arab Emirates, while another Amazon facility in Bahrain also suffered some damage from a third attack. And specifically, computing on EC2 and cloud storage on both S3 and DynamoDB began to experience high error rates. Amazon itself confirmed that “these attacks have caused structural damage, disrupted power to our infrastructure, and, in some cases, required fire suppression activities.” They point out that the water damaged part of the equipment and, as a consequence, their clients should migrate their workload to servers in other parts of the world because the recovery “will be prolonged.” Market with anxiety. This has impacted the market, of course. If in the energy and crude oil segment it is evident that stopping a plant that ‘produces’ 550,000 barrels a day and cutting off a transit area through which passes 20% of the world’s oil has its consequences, which data centers becoming a target has also shaken the market. Major companies related to AI, semiconductors and storage suffered the consequences this past Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday. NVIDIA, Micron, Western Digital, ASML, Applied Materials, SK Hynix and Samsung traded lower on the worst day in recent months. It is not known if components can continue to be transported at the high rate we had if two of the busiest container shipping corridors of the planet suffer an alteration in traffic. But don’t worry, they are already recovering so that the AI wheel keep turning in any way. Images | Goal, Tasnim News Agency In Xataka | Ukraine has shown that wars are no longer won with tanks. They are earned with something that Spain has in its hands: PAMOV

How to turn your cell phone into an mp3 player without notifications or distractions

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Let’s tell you how to turn your cell phone into an MP3 playerso you can dedicate it solely to playing music without any other distractions. You are going to do this so much with an old cell phone to which you want to give a new life as with a new one when you want to use it only to listen to music. Our mobile phone is the control center of our digital life, and at all times we receive notifications, notices, updates, and the eternal temptation to use it to write messages or browse social networks. But what happens when you want to isolate yourself from the world and have your phone only serve to listen to music and podcasts? In these cases, you may be tempted to simply buy a new device, a media player that is not so connected to everything and only serves that purpose. But before spending money, you should try doing this on your current mobile to see if it is enough. Let’s tell you two ways to limit your mobile to listen to music. One is going to be less aggressive, that of limiting all notifications and interruptions that could take you out of your musical bubble. And the second will be more aggressive, to directly limit your mobile. First decide where you will listen to the music The first choice you have is to decide where you are going to listen to your music. And here you will have many options, both music streaming services and other native alternatives to have greater control over the musical content you have. Here we leave you a list of alternatives which you can opt for: streaming service: Spotify and Apple Music are the most popular music streaming services, with other alternatives like Tidal quite close behind. If you don’t want algorithms, you can opt for Qobuz, which has better music quality, without music inserted as an advertisement, and a clean experience that is like entering a record store, without sacrificing the ability to have playlists. YouTube-based streaming: You also have available free alternatives to Spotifymany of which they use YouTube or other pages as a source. Come on, they create a streaming service with albums and everything, and use YouTube to extract the music from their videos. Create your own Spotify: You also have applications for create your own Spotify. They usually do this by having an application on the computer to turn it into a server, and then be able to play the music over the Internet on other devices. You will need to have your main computer on, although many will allow you to download music. The most popular option is set up your own Spotify with Plexbut there are other interesting alternatives. Have your music on your mobile and use a player: And then you have the more artisanal method. If you have digitized your music to convert your CDs into mp3, purchased digital music directly, or used any other method to build your own music library, you can simply put it in a folder in your phone’s memory and then use a music player. With alternatives like AIMP, Retro Music Player or Pulsar you can have everything: integration with lyrics, covers, tag editor, and everything you need. And finally, you must think If you will listen to the music having an internet connection or not. In the event that you are not going to have a connection, make sure that if you use a service that takes music from the Internet such as Spotify or the alternatives, you download the albums that you are going to want to listen to directly on your mobile. Set a focus mode The least aggressive way to limit your phone to focus on the music listening experience is set up a focus mode. With this, what we are going to do is prevent notifications from appearing or that no application or phone call can bother us while we have our mode active for when we listen to music. If you want to create a concentration mode on Android, you have to go to your mobile settings. Inside, click on the section Modes. Inside here, click on the option Create your own way to make a custom one. On iOS, the option is called Concentration modes. In both cases, you will have to give it a name and an icon. This is up to you, but I suggest it be something recognizable, such as a reference to listening to music and an icon like headphones. Each operating system has its options, but they are quite unified. The most important thing is that make two specific changes on Android or iOS when you are creating this mode: Don’t create a schedule: This is so that the mode is activated automatically at certain times. In this case, I recommend not setting a schedule and using it manually, activating it only when you are going to use it. Turn off notifications: Disable the option Allow all notificationsand don’t allow any app to send you notifications. Perhaps, you can set an exception such as very close family so that if they call you the call will ring, but what are notifications you can deactivate them all, so that you do not receive any notice, and thus you can escape and not look at what is happening. Make very few exceptions: On both Android and iOS you will be able to set an application as an exception so that its notifications appear. You may want to put something like emails, but always try to remove messaging and social media apps, and this way you will avoid the main distractions. There are apps that make your screens minimalist But of course, with all the changes we have made we have altered the behavior of the mobile, but we still have home screens full of app icons and distractions. Fortunately, There are applications to alter your home screen and make it have … Read more

While everyone looks at Iran, China is building a nuclear “Great Wall”

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Under the surface of the oceans one of the technological competitions is taking place quieter and more decisive of the planet. The nuclear submarines They can remain submerged for months, travel halfway around the world undetected and launch missiles from thousands of kilometers away. Therefore, each new advance under the sea usually anticipates much bigger changes in the global strategic balance. Washington’s alarm. While much of international attention is focused on the immediate conflicts in the Middle Eastanother much deeper strategic concern is beginning to take shape in Washington. Apparently, the US Navy commanders have warned before Congress that the military balance under the sea is changing rapidly and that China is accelerating a transformation process that could alter the global nuclear deterrent in the coming decades. The underwater race. we have been counting in recent months. China already owns one of the largest submarine fleets in the world and is expanding it at high speed thanks to massive investments in its military shipyards. Production has gone from less than one nuclear submarine a year to significantly higher rateswith forecasts that the fleet will reach around 70 units by the end of this decade and close to 80 by 2035. Although the United States still maintains a technological and operational advantage in submarine warfare, the rapid growth of Chinese industrial capacity is reducing that distance and forcing Washington to rethink the strategic balance in the Pacific. The transition to a nuclear fleet. One of the most important changes is structural. For decades, the Chinese submarine fleet has been based on diesel-electric vessels, which are cheaper, but have less autonomy and must surface frequently. Now Beijing is promoting a strategic shift towards more and more construction focused on nuclear submarinescapable of remaining submerged for long periods and operating at great distances from their bases. This change will allow the Chinese navy to project a presence beyond its immediate environment and complicate US naval operations. in the Pacific and other oceans. The new submarines. The technological leap will come with new generations of submarines that will begin to enter service between the end of this decade and the 1930s. Among them stand out the Type 095 models and, above all, the Type 096designed to transport nuclear ballistic missiles long range. We are talking about equipped boats with JL-4 missilessubmarines that will be able to attack large areas of US territory even operating from waters near China, much more protected by its naval and air defenses. Such a capability would significantly bolster the credibility of China’s nuclear deterrent and reduce the need to patrol more exposed areas of the Pacific. A network to protect the nuclear deterrent. Plus: the Chinese project is not limited to building more submarines. American commanders said that Beijing is developing an extensive sensor network on the seabed, surveillance cables, satellite-connected buoys and unmanned underwater vehicles capable of detecting movements in nearby oceans. This system, described by many analysts as an “underwater Great Wall,” would allow China monitor strategic routestrack foreign submarines, and protect its own nuclear fleet while patrolling in relatively safe waters. The strategic horizon of 2025 and 2040. The result of this transformation should be seen clearly in the next decade. As the number of nuclear submarines grows and this undersea sensor network is deployed, China could greatly expand its underwater presence. beyond the first chain of western Pacific islands. US forecasts suggest that, around 2040Chinese submarines could operate more frequently in the Indian Ocean, the Arctic and even the Atlantic. If this evolution is confirmed, the global naval balance could enter a new phase marked by a fearsome underwater competition between the two greatest powers on the planet. Image | Google Earth, SteKrueBe In Xataka | The US has always been the largest nuclear power on the planet. China has already surpassed it in something: submarines In Xataka | The new fear of Western fleets is not nuclear. They are conventional submarines armed with surprise and a flag: China

In 2022, the gas crisis skyrocketed the price of electricity in Spain. In 2026 we have a “green shield” but also a serious problem

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Just when in Spain we began to breathe a sigh of relief, convinced that we had overcome the inflationary trauma of 2022 “after cutting energy ties” with Russia, history repeats itself. This week a “black Monday” began that has shaken international markets. This time the epicenter is not in eastern Europe, but in the Persian Gulf, after the recent attacks that have been forced to paralyze QatarEnergy facilities. The impact on our country has been devastating. According to data collected in OMIEthe price of electricity in the wholesale market has jumped 60% in just 24 hours, climbing to 90.14 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). To put it in perspective, this represents a 1,300% increase in price compared to what we paid just a month ago. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has already warned that We must prepare for a “long war” with serious global economic consequences. And the fear is already palpable in the street with the long lines that yesterday we observed of drivers trying to fill their tank at gas stations low cost before prices continue to rise. If the gas goes up, why does the electricity go up? To understand why a conflict thousands of kilometers away makes our electricity more expensive almost instantly, you have to look at how our system works. As explained The Confidential in a very didactic way: the European electricity market is “marginalist”. This means that the most expensive technology that needs to be used to cover the demand of a specific day is the one that sets the final price of all energy. If the sun or wind is not enough and the gas plants have to be turned on, all electricity is paid for at the price of gas. And the gas, right now, is trapped in a war funnel. As we have already explained these days20% of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 25% of the world’s oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz (the epicenter of the current tension). Any threat of a blockade in that area generates a domino effect that triggers reference prices in Europe. The energy expert Joaquín Coronado explained in LinkedIn that this panic is already real: The prices of electricity futures for the rest of 2026 have suddenly risen by 24%. As he himself points out, “only the price of gas has changed,” but that is enough to drag down the entire system. The hit in the pocket. All this macroeconomics lands directly in the bank account of citizens. As pointed out The Countrythere are more than 11 million users in Spain who have regulated rates (the PVPC for electricity and the TUR for gas) who will notice this increase almost immediately, since their contracts reflect the daily fluctuations of the market. The calculations about what this crisis is going to cost us are already on the table: The OCU, in statements to The Newspaperestimates that if these prices are maintained, the average electricity bill with a regulated rate will jump from the 62 euros we paid in February to around 82 euros in March. An increase of 30% in a single month. A platform report Roams figures the monthly impact about 12 euros extra for electricity (17% more) and increases of up to 18% on the gas bill. The worst scenario is drawn the comparator Selectra: If the conflict drags on and we return to the panic levels of 2022, the electricity bill could skyrocket by 200%. But energy is just the first domino. Financial Times collect warnings from the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), who already assumes a short-term rebound in general inflation. As oil rises, transportation rises: from fuel at the pump (gas stations already assume extra costs of 12 cents per liter) to maritime freight of goods and plane tickets, which on some routes to Asia have quadrupled in price. So, are we the same as in 2022? The good news is that we are not exactly at the same starting point as when the Ukrainian war broke out. As analyzed elDiario.esSpain today has three “mattresses” that cushion the first impact: the arrival of spring (which reduces the use of heating), some reservoirs 83% full (which allow generate a lot of hydroelectric energy cheap) and an electric mix where more than 50% of energy is already renewable. Furthermore, the PVPC formula was recently renovated so that it does not depend only on the daily market, softening the extreme peaks a little. The bad news is that we have exchanged one problem for another. To stop depending on Russia, we throw ourselves into the arms of the United States. As the economist José Carlos Díez warns in the chain Vibe Zero44% of the gas we consume today comes from the US. This places us in a position of extreme vulnerability to the new geopolitical “black swan”: the anger of Donald Trump. The refusal of the Spanish Government to give up the military bases of Rota and Morón for the offensive against Iran has caused Trump to threaten to cut off all trade with Spain. If the United States turns off the tap on LNG ships, José Carlos Díez warnsSpain does not have the physical capacity or infrastructure to replace a supplier that gives us almost half of our gas from one day to the next. The social shield and our pending duties. Faced with the threat of the crisis becoming entrenched, the Government is already moving. According to Expansion, If the conflict lasts more than four weeks, Pedro Sánchez’s Executive has on the table reactivating the “social shield” of previous crises: reductions in VAT on electricity, fuel discounts and direct aid. However, fiscal patches do not hide the underlying problems. In Xataka We have put our finger on two great absurdities of our system. On the one hand, we are an “energy island” since we have seven regasification plants capable of receiving ships from all over the world and helping Europe, but we do … Read more

An Aragonese company used the brand ‘La Mafia’ for its restaurants. Italy has managed to have it annulled in Spain

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The restaurant chain ‘The Mafia sits at the table’ it’s news. And not because of the new features of its Italian-inspired menu or because of the opening of new stores. What has made it hit the headlines (much to its chagrin) is its brand, a business card that the Republic of Italy considers offensive and takes years starring in a complicated judicial soap opera. Now Roma has achieved a key victory that puts the brand in serious danger in Spain. The key: Can the word ‘mafia’ be used happily? What has happened? The news has advanced it the diary Expansion. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) has resolved that the name of ‘The Mafia sits at the table’a popular restaurant chain founded more than 20 years ago in Zaragozais “contrary to public order and good customs”, which is why it has endorsed the request for annulment made by the Government of Italy. The OEPM resolution is recent (February 26) and leaves little room for interpretation. In the opinion of its techniciansthe brand alludes to a real organization with activities “contrary to the ethical and moral principles” of the EU. Hence, I agree with Italy that it is questionable whether it can be registered and exploited on a commercial level. “It would offend the victims and their families,” he warns. Is it something new? Yes. And no. Italy has been maneuvering for years to force the Aragonese restaurant chain to abandon a name that it considers offensive. And nothing has gone wrong in his efforts. In 2015, he filed a complaint that led to the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) refusing to register the trademark at the community level. Years later (2018) it was marked equally important when the General Court of the EU (TGUE) endorsed the decision of the EUIPO and prevented the company from shielding its commercial name. What does that mean? That was more than a simple judicial victory. The decision The TGEU prevented the company from registering its trademark at the community level, which in practice left it unprotected. However, the TGUE’s decision had its limitations. For example, it did not prevent the Zaragoza chain from continuing to use its name in the dozens of restaurants it has throughout Spain. What changes now? The OEPM opinion goes one step (and several) further. The brand is no longer only annulled at the community level, but it is also doing so in Spain, a fundamental decision since ‘La Mafia sits at the table’ (remember) is a chain born 26 years ago right here, in Zaragoza. The Spanish organization has aligned itself with European justice and has come to the conclusion that the name is “contrary to public order” and “good customs”, which is why it has endorsed the request for annulment presented by Italy. Not only that. The transalpine country has already gone to the commercial courts of Barcelona to prevent the Aragonese company from continuing to use its name. What will happen now? “The resolution could be issued in less than a year and, if favorable, would force them to cease using the trademark,” explains to Expansion Josep Carbonell, partner of Fieldfisherthe office that has advised Italy in the procedure. Of course, the company also has margin (one month) to appeal the OEPM’s decision. In any case, its resolution of February 26 represents a setback for the future of the brand in its large market. What is the problem? The underlying question is very simple: can the word ‘mafia’ be used happily or not? Should its commercial use be banned? The company claims that it was inspired by a recipe book and appeals to the right to freedom of expression, remembering in passing that it is not unusual to find books, movies and series focused on the same topic. years ago in fact already clarified that its objective is not to offend anyone, but to generate an atmosphere similar to that of the ‘Godfather’ saga. For the authorities, however, the reading is somewhat different. In its resolution, the TGUE recalled that (at least in this case) using the term “banalizes organized crime” and even warned of the risk of “romanticizing” it. In a similar vein, the OEPM recalls that Spain is no stranger to this criminal organization and its activities, “contrary to the ethical principles” and “fundamental moral values ​​of the EU.” In the background there is a more complex issue, such as remember Carbonell: Is using the word ‘mafia’ in an artistic work the same as elevating it to the category of a business’ trademark? Is it an isolated case? Not at all. The Italian authorities have not only focused on the Zaragoza company. In 2024, fed up with his town being associated with organized crime, the mayor of Agrigento (Sicily) issued a municipal order to prohibit the sale of tourist souvenirs related to the mafia. The underlying reason was similar: to prevent people from doing business with (and romanticizing) an organization that, beyond the veneer that Hollywood has given it, has been causing headaches for the Italian authorities for years. Images | The Mafia 1 and 2 Via | Expansion In Xataka | Sushi was a sleeping giant of the fast food industry: in the US it has already begun to eat hamburgers

More and more men pee sitting down instead of standing up. Science knows it’s a good idea

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Society’s habits are constantly changing and this covers various areas, including the most intimate ones. An example of this is the growing habit among men of urinating sitting down instead of standing up. Beyond a simple fad, studies indicate that it can be a good habit for our urinary tract and prostate health. The study. A meta-analysis (a study based on studies) carried out a few years ago found that there were advantages for people with the so-called “low urinary symptoms” (LUTS), sitting could increase urinary flow, reduce the time required to complete the operation and minimize the volume of post-emptying residue of our bladder. In healthy people the difference in the parameters was not significant. Other more recent work analyzed the same parameters to obtain similar results, in which “urodynamics” was better for those who suffered from urinary tract problems such as benign prostatic hyperplasiabut did not find significant differences in the “healthy” group. Don’t forget hygiene. Does that mean that we have to wait until our prostate begins to suffer before changing the habit? Not necessarily. hygiene It is another reason given by defenders of urinary rest. When urinating standing up, the collision between the stream and the water causes (no matter how good our aim is and it is not always) significant splashes. These splashes may not be noticeable due to the small size of the droplets, but they can reach places that we would prefer to keep away from urine, such as toothbrushes. Everything else. And urine is not actually the problem, since it is a relatively aseptic and harmless in sanitary terms. It is the possibility that it “pushes” with it bacteria and viruses related to gastric problems, including the dreaded Escherichia coli. Upward trend. The tendency to sit is increasing and For some it is the effect of the Pandemic. In Japan, for example, successive surveys concluded that the number of men who urinated sitting down rose from 51% in 2015 to 58% at the beginning of 2020 and then shot up to 70% in the second half of that same year. In Europe, this custom is closely associated with Germany, where it is common to find posters in the toilets asking that they be used from the seat. Curious ramifications. But science is not everything, and the issue has become a topic of debate in some places. A few months ago, for example, a German court had to intervene on behalf of a tenant when his tenant requested compensation for damage to the bathroom of the rented home. Nothing less than €3,000 deposit. The dispute had been going on for a long time and the reason was that the owner of the house claimed that, by urinating standing up, the tenant had damaged the marble floor of the bathroom by urinating standing up instead of sitting down. Angry. Of course there are more detractors of this change in habits. In German, the term Sitzpinkleris often used derisively by those who find sitting down to urinate offensive and emasculating. For now the division is not as deep as that of taking off shoes (or not) at home. But the debate promises. In Xataka | We have always thought that “doing more sports” automatically equates to being fitter. It’s more complicated than that In Xataka | Waking up at 3 in the morning is totally normal: sleeping straight through is a modern invention, not an evolution Image | Maximilian Bungart

Gasoline prices are rising so much that a new subsidy is in the air. And her employers already reject her

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The sum of all numbers in a data set divided by the count of those numbers. This is how the arithmetic mean is defined, probably the most used statistical value. A first approximation to a story but it is by no means definitive. And the average tells us a small part of what happens. How is it turning out with the price of gasoline. Has gasoline gone up? The data They say yes but they are disparate. According to the portal dieselgasolina.com which monitors the price of Spanish gas stations, 95 gasoline has increased by two cents since yesterday and today it is purchased for 1.58 euros per liter. Diesel equals it in price and in this case it has increased by four cents. But the drivers’ feelings are very different.. Just a quick review of this map of eldiario.es in which the increase in the price of each service station is recorded. It clearly reflects that prices have risen where there is more population or in large mobility corridors, such as the most frequented highways. It is easy to find increases in gasoline to 1.70 euros/liter and diesel to even 1.80 euros per liter. With variations in the last week of more than 10%. That is, increases of more than 10 cents/liter in the last week. The average growth, therefore, is marked by other gas stations that have not changed their prices due to less frequent renewals. Click on the image to go to the original map. Source: eldiario.es The noise of the subsidy The rise in gasoline prices and, above all, diesel, which continues to be the vast majority in the Spanish vehicle fleet, has caused talk again about the application of a purchase subsidy by the Government. In March 2022, after a transport strikethe Government agreed subsidize the sale of gasoline and diesel to the final consumer with 20 cents/liter. Of those 20 cents, 15 were paid by the State and the remaining five cents were paid by the gas stations. Then, the price of both fuels was around 1.80 euros/liter and recovered them again despite the State’s efforts. That is to say, the subsidy somewhat alleviated the purchase of fuel but It certainly didn’t help curb prices.. Yet, In Portugal the aid reached 40 cents/liter and in Poland reduced VAT as a means to reduce the price. The situation does not invite optimism. Carriers are already beginning to complain the Government to implement an aid package to alleviate a situation that everything indicates will become even more complicated. Nacho Rabadán, general director of the Spanish Confederation of Service Station Employers (CEEES), described COPE the situation as “a black week for service stations”, ensuring that businessmen are eating part of the increase in costs from the rise in oil. However, CEEES has already informed the Government that they do not count on them if a new subsidy has to be applied to the purchase of fuel. They collect in The Independent that the association has sent a letter to the Executive and they rescue Rabadán’s words in which he assures that “in 2022, the payment of the bonuses had to be advanced by the service stations out of their own pockets and, on average, they amounted to 30,000 euros; we were the ones who financed the 20 cent measure. That cannot be repeated.” Those days, CEEES also defended that the procedure was erroneous and the low cost They threatened to close because, in their opinion, their business model would be put at risk if they had to advance the money. The big oil companies, on the other hand, they did enter into a price war. Recently, the CNMC accused Repsol to use the subsidy and subsequent discounts to eliminate its competition. At the moment, there is nothing firm on the table but the rumor of a possible subsidy for the purchase is taking shape again. All we have at the moment are statements from Carlos Corpus, Minister of Economy, collected by Expansion in which he points out that he says they will be “above the prices.” “Unfortunately, we already had to go through a similar episode in 2022 as a consequence of the invasion of Ukraine, so we are perfectly prepared to know what we have to do if necessary, protecting our citizens and companies through that shield,” Corps has made clear. For now, what that shield will be for citizens and companies is unknown. What is certain is that the gas stations want us to not return to the situation of 2022. Photo | Eric Mclean In Xataka | There is a hidden war to sell us the cheapest possible gasoline. One that Ballenoil and Plenergy already dominate

Donating cash to children is exempt from personal income tax for parents. It is not free for children

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Young people do not have it easy to get ahead in a context of very tight salaries and with him housing prices skyrocketed. Therefore, helping children or a family member financially becomes the natural impulse. However, this willingness to help may have tax consequences What is important to know before making the transfer. In a binding query Addressed to the General Directorate of Taxes (DGT), a body dependent on the Treasury, a person raised the possibility of helping his family financially through a cash donation. The consultation made it abundantly clear: anyone who donates cash has nothing to fear on their tax return. The same cannot be said about the person who receives it. ​What the Treasury says about the donor’s personal income tax. The General Directorate of Taxes responded to a person who wanted to donate cash to his mother. The DGT pulled the file and argued its response in a previous binding consultation, in which a father raised the tax consequences of donating cash to his children. The Treasury’s response establishes that “for the donation of money, no capital gain or loss will be computed for the donor,” which implies that on the part of the person who gives that money there is nothing to declare or pay in the Income Tax. The technical reasoning is quite logical and simple. When money is donated, there is no difference between the value at which it was acquired and the value at which it is transmitted, so there is no alteration in the donor’s assets that justifies paying taxes on it, as established in article 33.1 of the Law on Personal Income Tax. When the gift is not money, the story changes. The organization itself takes advantage of the consultation to remember that the exemption from personal income tax taxation Applies exclusively to cash donations. That means that if parents They donate a home to their children that they bought 20 years ago for 100,000 euros, and that at the time of donation its value is 200,000 euros, must pay personal income tax for that increase of 100,000 euros in its value between the date of purchase and the donation. The same occurs with shares or other assets with market value that may increase in value between the purchase price and the donation price. The most curious thing is that this principle does not apply in the same way if that same property had lost value since its purchase, the donor would not be able to deduct that loss. Children do pay the Gift Tax. It should be noted that the fact that the father does not pay personal income tax for that donation does not mean that the transfer of assets has no consequences for the person who receives it. The child who receives the money is obliged to declare the donation and settle the Inheritance and Donation Tax. This tax falls on the person who receives the donation, not on the donor. The amount to be paid for the child or family member depends on factors such as the amount received, the degree of relationship and, above all, the autonomous community where the recipient resides for tax purposes. Depending on what requirements are met, the amount to pay may be close to zero euros, but it is necessary to complete the procedure. If the donation is not declared within the established period, the Treasury may impose penalties and interest. A tax that depends on the communities. The Inheritance and Donation Tax is partially transferred to the autonomous communities, which means that each community sets its own bonuses, reductions and tax rates. This generates very notable differences between paying this tax in one community or another. Madrid and Andalusia, for example, apply a 99% bonus on donations between parents and children, which in practice means that the recipient barely pays taxes when making this type of donation. At the opposite extreme, communities such as Catalonia or the Valencian Community have more demanding tax systems, with progressive rates and fewer bonuses. A particularly striking case is that of Extremadura, which has extended the exemption up to 200,000 euros in donations for children to buy their first home. In Xataka | The Great Wealth Transfer: the movement from boomers to millennials that will transfer millions between generations Image | Pexels (Kaboompics.com)

The MacBook Neo is the biggest existential threat to the Windows laptop market. And the manufacturers have no answer

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Catacrac. This is how the announcement that Apple made with the MacBook Neo. They are modest in specifications, yes, but they have a surprising price/performance ratio if we take into account that it comes from Apple. The company, which seemed like it would never “humiliate itself” with a “cheap” product, has ended up doing just that. And in the process, it has posed an extraordinary threat to Windows laptops with a product that is a missile to the waterline of many manufacturers. A perfect team for many people. We’re all looking for the best product at the best price, and the MacBook Neo is a fantastic balancing act. It is not by far the best laptop one can find, but it is a device with a very reasonable configuration for many people. And it is because many people use the laptop for tasks that do not need more power or features. Apple has also hit the nail on the head with the price: being an Apple product, those 700 euros almost seem like a bargain. A textbook masterstroke. While Windows laptop manufacturers get tangled up in justifying why a laptop It should cost 1,500 euros to do everything you want (not to mention the AI ​​options), Apple has on its hands a product that overturns the perception of value. The MacBook Neo does not seek to win performance races, but rather to be the equipment that any student, administrator or home user buys without looking at another alternative. In 2026, true innovation is not to include an incredible NPU, but to offer a product that solves a need and do so at a price that previously seemed an insult by Apple’s standards. Remembering netbooks. Almost 20 years ago the industry tried to move in this direction with netbooks. These Windows laptops were (very) modest, crude and cheap and generated a lot of expectation, but realities soon arrived. Its limitations were so obvious that they were not worth it, and the concept of the “modest, cheap and functional laptop” was perhaps ahead of its time. Cupertino has arrived on time. Apple seems to have arrived at the right time, because we have been saying for years that mobile chips were already extraordinarily powerful and were wasted both in our smartphones and (especially) in iPads. The MacBook Neo is what netbooks should always be—well, maybe a little expensive for a netbook—with the difference that here the features promise to be much more adequate. Slap for Windows on ARM. The appearance of this team is also a very hard blow for all those teams that have tried to Windows on ARM it made sense. We have seen several throughout these years and everything seemed to indicate that Microsoft and the manufacturers they had a chancebut they have ended up making computers that were basically clones of their variants with Intel/AMD in almost everything. With more autonomy and many AI functionsYes, but with often high prices and with some software limitations because the Windows ecosystem on ARM architecture is not nearly as prepared as Apple’s with macOS, which completed that transition after the launch of the M1 in 2020. There is hope for Microsoft and its users. Manufacturers of Windows equipment will now have to react and come up with competitive options. And they certainly have the potential to do so. Qualcomm has its Snapdragon Meanwhile, NVIDIA already has its SoCs for laptops almost ready —we saw them at CES— so we may be looking at a “second era of netbooks” in which the MacBook Neo competes with Windows/ARM machines on price and features. Of course, it remains to be seen what the real performance, autonomy and reliability of these future devices, including Apple’s, are. Suddenly Apple has a catalog of “affordable” products that puts its competitors in trouble. Beyond the Chromebook. The MacBook Neo could be seen as a “Chromebook killer”, but Google has stopped promoting them and manufacturers no longer lend them either so much attention. In fact, the future of Google laptops It seems to go through Android, not ChromeOS. While the MacBook Neo can certainly be a very reasonable device for students, it is actually an attack on the conventional “home laptop” with which HP, Dell or ASUS have always triumphed. Apple’s prestige plays a lot in its favor here, and it may win over not only young people, but also many other users who saw Apple as an aspirational brand that was too exclusive for their budgets. Memory makes everything more expensive… except the MacBook Neo. Furthermore, this launch moment could not be more cruel for Windows laptop manufacturers. All of them have already been warning that they will have to raise prices due to the RAM memory crisis, but Apple has done just the opposite: instead of presenting more expensive products—well, has also done it—, the firm has uncovered a functional and affordable bet that does not punish consumers. Sacrifices must be made, yes, but they are reasonable, especially in view of events. Apple has shown that you can be “humble” in price without losing your identity, and now it remains to be seen what the response of Windows equipment manufacturers is. Because what is clear is that that answer will come. And it is likely that after all this launch it will end up being very good news for us, the users. In Xataka | Apple made a splash with its cheapest iPhone. And the iPhone 17e is coming to repeat the play

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