Mobile Tech & Gadgets

Russia’s ghost fleet has changed its business model. Oil has given way to a much bigger target: Europe

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Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has not only built a vast fleet of tankers to avoid Western sanctions and continue exporting crude oil from the Baltic and the Black Sea, but has turned that logistical infrastructure into something much more ambitious. How much? The size of an old continent. The fleet in the shadows. According to Western and Ukrainian intelligence sources cited by CNN, Part of this so-called shadow fleet is being used as a covert platform for espionage and hybrid operations in European waters. We are talking about hundreds of ships that routinely sail near the coasts of EU and NATO countries, generating income of hundreds of millions of dollars for Moscow while, at the same time, expanding the radius of action of its security services away from Russian territory. “Civilian” crews with a detail. The pattern detected by the intelligence services is revealing. Many of these tankers, registered under flags of convenience and with mostly Asian or African crews, incorporate just before setting sail to one or two Russian citizens additional. The crew lists show as simple “technicians”but his background tells another story: former police officers, members of special units of the Ministry of the Interior, veterans of the Russian army or former mercenaries linked to Wagner. They are often the only Russians on board and, according to testimonies of Danish maritime pilots and European observers, exercise an authority that goes beyond the civilian chain of command, even imposing itself over the ship’s captain. Moran Security and privatization. Many of these men would be linked to Moran Security Groupa private Russian company with deep ties to the FSB, GRU, and the Kremlin’s military contractor ecosystem. Moran was sanctioned by the United States Treasury in 2024 for providing armed security services to Russian state companies, and his history connects directly with Wagner and with operations in scenarios such as Syria or Somalia. Its corporate structure (with registrations in Moscow and in opaque jurisdictions such as Belize) and its professional profile, explicitly oriented to recruit veterans of special forces, fit perfectly into the logic of hybrid warfare: formally private actors that allow the Russian state to operate with a high degree of plausible deniability. Espionage and internal control. The functions of these “technicians” would not be limited to protecting the cargo. Ukrainian and Western sources maintain that also supervise captains non-Russian vessels to ensure that the ships are acting in the interests of the Kremlin and that, in at least one documented case, took photographs of European military installations from one of these tankers. Furthermore, although details are scarce, intelligence services suggest that some of these men have participated in acts of sabotage. These would not be direct confrontations, but rather low-profile actions designed to collect information, generate uncertainty and strain the limits of the Western response. The Boracay case. He Boracay tanker illustrates this dynamic well. Sanctioned, with frequent changes of name and flag, two Russian citizens embarked in September in the port of Primorsk, near Saint Petersburg. Both were listed as technicians and were the only Russians among a crew of Chinese, Burmese and Bangladeshis. Coincidence or not, his crossing through Danish waters overlapped with a wave of sightings of drones near the Copenhagen airport and Danish military bases. Days later, the ship was boarded by the French navy against Brittany for irregularities in their documentation. No drones were found on board, but the presence of the two Russians came to light and they were discreetly questioned. For some analyststemporal correlation proves nothing, but for others It fits too well with the pattern of trial and error in the “gray zone.” Drones, sensors and something new. Beyond Boracay, Swedish and Danish authorities have detected on other ships in the shadow fleet antennas and masts not usually found on civilian merchant ships, as well as hostile behavior towards inspectors and an obsession with photographing critical infrastructure. In an environment like the Baltic, a strategic bottleneck surrounded by NATO countries, any anomalous activity becomes a disproportionate weight. For European security services, these ships are ideal mobile platforms: seemingly legal, difficult to intercept without diplomatic escalation and capable of approaching ports, cables, bases and airports without raising immediate alarms. Hybrid warfare at sea. All this fits with a broader strategy that senior intelligence officials, such as the new head of British MI6describe as constant testing “below the threshold of war.” Drones near airports, aggressive activity at sea, discreet sabotage and covert espionage are part of the same repertoire. The shadow fleet is not only an economic instrument to circumvent sanctions, but an extension of the Russian security apparatus, capable of operating in a space where Western legal and military responses are slow and politically sensitive. The European dilemma. Europe thus faces an uncomfortable decision. Intercepting ships without insurance, with dubious documentation or with armed personnel on board could stop these practices, but it also carries the risk of a direct russian reaction. As summarized on CNN a veteran Danish maritime pilot, no small country wants to be the first to make the move. The answer, if it comes, will have to be collective. Meanwhile, the shadow fleet continues growing and sailingdemonstrating that for the Kremlin the war is not only being fought in Ukraine, but also in the seas surrounding Europe, silently and in civilian uniform. Image | kees torn, Greg Bishop In Xataka | For years Europe has wondered how to stop the Russian ghost fleet. Ukraine just showed you the way: with AI In Xataka | A ghost fleet has mapped the entire underwater structure of the EU. The question is what Moscow is going to do with that information.

When Spotify launched its first Wrapped, it didn’t know what it was creating: a real monster

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If companies have learned anything since the Internet has evolved into this strange algorithmic mass that sometimes escapes our control, it is that, if something creates a trend, it must be there. For a few days we can enjoy the latest Spotify Wrappedthe now classic annual review where we find data playfully designed to share on networks such as which artists we listen to the most on the platform or which songs have defined our year. And as it could not be otherwise, the networks are flooded with captures. So far everything is correct. But as happens with any content that becomes popular and people like it, alternatives arise. And that’s not bad. In fact, Spotify didn’t invent personalized annual reviews, but when we already see a pseudo-wrapped on platforms like WeTransfer (hey, good for them), the alarm bells are already ringing that perhaps we are slipping a little. And throughout these days I have found examples that are each more absurd. Spotify. Wrapped has become one of those excellent viral marketing strategies. Since its launch in 2016, Spotify has gotten millions of users to voluntarily share their listening data every December. The flood of screenshots that each user shares on social networks becomes a tool for creating FOMO that encourages another potential user to use Spotify, or even gives them reasons to stay on this platform. It has become more or less a cultural phenomenon, a tradition like Christmas itself. And of course, this has attracted other companies enough to want to replicate this effect at all costs. YouTube Recap Irresistible. As I said before, Spotify was not the first to make annual summaries, but it was the first to turn them into irresistibly shareable content. The key is in its design: very striking graphics, personalized statistics and a perfect format to share on your Instagram story. The hashtag #SpotifyWrapped becomes a global trending topic every year, generating organic advertising comparable to very few advertising campaigns. And the formula is repeated every year without few changes beyond the visual: take the data you already have about your users, wrap it in an attractive way and return it to share with other potential clients. PlayStation Wrap-Up A Wrapped for everything. Having an annual review of your platform or service has become mandatory for many companies, extending to all types of industries. In the field of entertainment and gaming, platforms such as YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, PlayStation, Xbox, nintendo, Steam either Twitchamong many others, offer their own summaries. Curious not to see anything official that resembles it on Netflix and other streaming platforms, beyond some third-party tools, such as kapwingwhich allow you to import your own viewing data to see a similar overview. Twitch Recap cforced asses. Where the trend becomes truly interesting is in sectors where, a priori, an annual summary does not make much sense (or seen another way, cases ahead of their time). To Lidl (yes, the supermarket) has its annual review, where it tells you what you have bought the most through its app or how many times you have gone shopping. Lidl’s move is even nice, but there are cases that play a fine line. WeTransfer could perfectly fit in here. As a file transfer service I have no complaints (maybe one or two), but I would never have expected that a platform of this kind would also think of joining this type of marketing initiatives. And if we talk about forced cases, Securitas Direct. As is. The platform tells you through its My Verisure app data such as the number of times you have accessed and things like that. I can’t help but imagine someone anxiously awaiting their annual review of their alarm service to find out how many times they have been broken into this year. Jokes aside, here is already an area in which having a wrapped looks out of place. But if anyone finds these statistics useful, nothing to say about it. Courtesy of Jose Jacas More examples that embrace fashion. Duolingo even overtook Spotify this year by launching your Year in Reviewrevealing learning statistics, streaks and the dreaded error counter. Trakt, a website where users register series and movies what do you see, too has its own summaryalthough to see it you have to upgrade to their payment plan, so I’ve never seen it. WeTransfer Recap Platforms like Uber either LinkedIn They have also joined the bandwagon with their own versions. Even the New York Times has launched its “Year in Games” for Wordle, Connections and other games, showing statistics such as the average attempts in Wordle or the most correct categories in Connections. Viral logics. If something starts to gain traction on the internet, all brands want to be there, even if the connection with their business is forced. It is the fear of being left out of the conversation. The same FOMO effect that these tools achieve, in some way, also generates FOMO around companies that seek to enter this trend in any way. These annual reviews are no longer just a data analysis tool, but a format that brands try to appropriate to gain visibility and engagement. It works because we are very heavy on sharing content and we generate the occasional unpopular opinion in the process, even if it is your supermarket purchases. This is how we operate on the Internet. I can’t wait to see the Wrapped from my electric company to learn more about my consumption peaks or my bank account to see what nonsense I waste my money on. In Xataka | How to share Spotify Wrapped 2025 on Instagram, WhatsApp or other apps

It is a leap in Spanish sovereignty in spatial geopolitics

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In 1989, Spain boosted its space industry. Not to go to the Moon, but to guarantee its telecommunications capacity. This is how Hispasat and its fleet of geostationary satellites offering broadcast coverage of television, radio, broadband and connectivity in remote areas. In 2023 it was decided that Hispasat would be our own Starlink. It has been a huge failure has put Hispasat in an extreme situation. But since those satellites are not going to be wasted, there is someone who has already shown interest a few months ago: Indra. And it is the key piece for the Spanish company to become one of the heavyweights of European rearmament. The slap of Hispasat. We told it a few days ago. The resounding failure of the plan that sought to place Hispasat as the alternative to starlinkwhen technologically they are two totally different things, has been the condemnation. To face the transformation, it received public funds, money that it has had to return. The figures are scary: 22 million from public aid that have flown out of the company’s coffers. It has left them shivering. Indra enters the scene. Indra is a technology group specialized in defense, aerospace and advanced digital technologies. They are focused on the military industry, but not building tanks or ships, but rather the “brain” of the systems, as well as radars, surveillance services, electronic warfare either cyber defense. For a company like this, Hispasat is candy. And at the beginning of this year we already said that Indra was very interestedlaunching a 725 million euro offer that needed regulatory approval. Now, and as we read in Europa Pressthe Council of Ministers would have already authorized the purchase of 89.68% of Hispasat by Indra for 725 million euros. With this operation, Indra would control the communications satellites, but also Hisdesat. This is the branch of Hispasat military satellitesfocused on offering encrypted and secure communications. It is key in both military and government operations. Metamorphosis. The Government of Spain controls 28% of Indra’s capital, being the company’s main shareholder, so this approval is a mere procedure. But, if Hispasat was completely absorbed, Indra would experience a metamorphosis. If space is new battlefield (something that The United States, Russia or China are pushing), Spain must be there, and would be hand in hand with Indra systems. Because this space war is not just something from science fiction or satellites with machine guns like the ones France wants (or the ones it has China with robotic arms), but something we are already seeing in Ukraine. During the war with Russia, Starlinkwhich are communications satellites, were key to offering communications and cloud services, connecting troops, fighters and drones in real time without depending on anyone else. In Leonardo’s league. It is true that the latency of the Hispasat network is greater as it is at a higher altitude, but it is a first step. Additionally, it allows Indra to be more three-dimensional. The satellite network is added to its radar and command systems division, becoming a piece with more weight in the current turbulent geopolitical board. And, although he commented that this approval from the Government was a formality, it is not empty bureaucracy, but a declaration of intentions in the direction of industrial and military sovereignty, reinforcing its position within Europe like the French Thales or the Italian Leonard. Rearmament context. In the end, everything falls within a context in which Europe is seeing that it must stop depending on external agents for its defense and services. A few months ago, The European Commission called for rearmamentand different countries have already raised their military reindustrialization strategies (some giving some ‘face’ to finance infrastructure), but in all areas we are witnessing that the European Union has lost confidence in allied countries. The war in Ukraine or the tariffs have strained the relationship with the United States, and even in the aerospace industry we are seeing that, now, Europe is taking out the credit card to stop depending on the United States or Russia to launch things into space. And this move by Indra makes the company transcend from being one that provides systems to one that plays the role of architect of European defense. Images | Zarateman, In Xataka | ESA has taken a historic step to access the Moon autonomously: Argonaut, the first European lunar module

the Christmas of the great polarization

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If it is true that Christmas is a time of peace, love and reunions, one thing is clear: this year those feelings will be less present on Spanish tables. The holidays of 2025 will be those of polarization and harsh debate. Campofrío predicted it with your christmas adverta two and a half minute piece titled precisely ‘Polarized’, and this is confirmed by the organization More in Common with a study which puts (even more if possible) the finger on the sore spot. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dinners promise to be mined territory this year. Nougat, polka dots… and anger. The year doesn’t matter. Christmas has its essentials: lottery, nougatsan avalanche of perfume ads and Abel Caballero showing off in Galician/Spanish/English of the millions of LED lights in Vigo. Another ingredient will be added to that cocktail this year: polarization. Campofrío warned about this in his Christmas advertisement, in which he seeks to turn the tension around with a message that invites us to “enjoy life.” And confirms it a study from More in Common that puts the thermometer on political tension. “Polarization has become the background noise of our public life and also an uncomfortable presence in our private lives. These days, when Christmas brings us together around a table, that tension is more noticeable,” reflect the organization in Substack before swiping a data interesting Worrying: last year one in five Spaniards (20%) already experienced a “strong argument” during the big events of these days, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. A percentage: 14%. The data comes from ‘Atlas of polarization in Spain’a document recently presented by More in Common and which has been prepared with the responses of more than 2,5000 interviewees. All Spanish and of legal age. The report should be taken for what it is: a study, with its strengths and weaknesses, but it helps to understand a phenomenon that will catch few by surprise. And not only because “everyday polarization” be easily identifiable in the press, general television or social networks. In recent years, several researchers have addressed the topic in books such as ‘Polarized’ either ‘From voters to hooligans’ and even the CIS has also captured that division in his polls. If we focus on the report From More in Common there is a specific indicator that helps to better understand the drift of Spanish society and the ghost that will rise this Christmas in many Spanish homes: in the last year 14% of those interviewed have broken family or friendship relationships for strictly ideological reasons. Not only that. 25% He claims to have felt “attacked” or “strongly criticized” for expressing his ideas. A conscious problem. The most curious thing is that we Spaniards are aware of this handicap. To the question of “To what extent do you think Spain is united or divided?” 16% respond that they see the country as more or less cohesive, 19% show doubts and 65% He admits that he appreciates a fragmentation. In fact, this last option has been gaining strength since October 2024, when DANA spread the feeling that we Spaniards faced the future more united. At that time, 39% claimed to see harmony in the country. What divides us? There is also little doubt about what lies behind this social fragmentation. When More in Common asked its interviewees what elements are dividing the country, it found a resounding result. Networks are emerging as the most polarizing factor. 37% of those surveyed They point them out as the factor that most contributes to the climate of confrontation. The media is next in terms of relevance, with 33%. If we talk about political actors, Vox, the Government, the PP and PSOE stand out (in this order), the ones most often pointed out as causing polarization. At the opposite pole are the judges, the Church, NGOs and the Royal Family, which closes the ranking. More than Germany or France. As remember More in Commons The above refers to the perception that we Spaniards have of ourselves, which still raises a doubt… Do we really have a polarization problem? The answer seems to be yes. Yes, at least if we compare ourselves with other countries. The report shows that in Spain ideological positions are more dispersed than in Germany, France or Italy. In fact, he assures that ours is “one of the most polarized countries in Western Europe.” In the background, two clearly defined ideological blocks: the voters of PSOE, Sumar or Podemos on the left and those of PP and VOX on the right. The ‘bomb’ themes. The report also clarifies which issues make the atmosphere more tense when two people from different ideological blocks meet: one from the left and the other from the right. The most curious thing is that it is not taxes, nor health, nor education or the role of the State. Not even climate change. The issues “more divisive” They are immigration and the territorial model. Another issue on which Podemos or Sumar voters and Vox voters are considerably apart is that of gender equality. A concept: “Affective polarization”. “There is a bloc of Vox and PP and another that is concentrated around PSOE and Sumar and other parties. Among voters in the same bloc, mutual feelings are relatively acceptable, but feelings towards the other bloc are becoming negative,” explains to The Country Tarek Jaziri Arjona, author of a study that delves into another relevant concept: “affective polarization.” That is, not only ideological divisions but how we feel when we meet people who think differently. It is not a minor issue if we take into account that many Spaniards live in ideological ‘echo chambers’, environments in which those who think in a similar way predominate. 48% of those surveyed In fact, they recognize that almost all (14%) or most (34%) of their friends share their ideas. Everything bad, then? No. The report also provides some positive readings. For example, it shows that it is not impossible to reduce the polarization of the … Read more

hundreds of tons of rare earths

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During World War II, Nazi Germany built hundreds of bomb shelters as defensive frameworks of the Third Reich to protect the civilian population and critical infrastructure from Allied bombing. After the war, most were abandoned and passed for marginal uses until, decades later, one of them was converted into a high security warehouse. From war to the strategic reserve. At some undisclosed point in Frankfurt, a World War II anti-aircraft bunker, one of those concrete colossi that for decades were urban ruins or spaces converted to leisurehas acquired a new silent feature and deeply political: hosting one of the largest European warehouses of rare earths and critical metals. In the midst of a deterioration in global trade and with Europe facing a strategic dependence that I had been ignoring for years, this underground refuge has been transformed into an extreme security deposit for materials without which modern industry simply does not function. The Chinese shock and the race. The rbunker activation It is not coincidental. Since China tightened in Aprilus restrictions to the export of rare earths and strategic metals (in response to US tariffs), European inventories have remained below minimum. Tradium, one of the two large German importers of these materials, began to buy back stock to private investors and redistribute them directly to European companies in key sectors such as automotive, electronics, energy or defense. The move is reminiscent of a war economy in slow motion: it is not about speculation, but about surviving a prolonged supply disruption. An armored warehouse. The old bunker, renovated since 2011 after the first major warning from Beijing with the embargo on Japan over the Senkaku Islands, offers more than 2,400 square meters storage with different levels of security, protected by solid walls, cameras, opaque blinds and a four-ton armored door that gives access to a windowless chamber. Nikkei counted Inside, hundreds of blue and green drums loaded with neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium or terbium (all of Chinese origin) are lined up along with specialized metals such as gallium, germanium, indium, antimony, rhenium or hafnium. In total, some 300 tons that Tradium It is considered the largest known stock in Europe, although it admits that even larger and more discrete reserves may exist outside its knowledge. Skyrocketing prices. The impact of the chinese lock It is starkly reflected in the prices. Dysprosium has exceeded 900 dollars per kilomore than triple that before the restrictions, while terbium is around the 3,700 dollarsabout four times its previous value. Both are essential for improving the thermal resistance of electric motor magnets, making them critical parts for the electric vehicle industry. However, for European companies, price has taken a backseat: the real problem is the availability. After eight months of non-existent or minimal deliveries, even a half-year strategic stock begins to seem insufficient. Extreme security. The level of protection in the warehouse is such that even in the event of theft, the materials they could not be reintegrated in the industrial chain without certification, which reduces its value outside the legal circuit. In return, customers pay up to 2% annually of the stored value for logistics, which includes insurance. Meanwhile, European diplomacy is trying to buy time: the German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, has traveled to Beijing to negotiate some type of relief, although he himself has acknowledged that there are no clear signs that China will grant general export licenses in the short term. Buried geopolitics. If you also want, the Frankfurt bunker is much more than a warehouse: it is a physical symbol of the extent to which geopolitics has penetrated the bowels of the European economy. Where civilians were once protected from bombings, today they protects the industry of strategic asphyxiation. Thus, the question that floats between drums and concrete walls is not how much rare earths will cost tomorrow, but when will they circulate again normally and whether Europe will arrive in time to build real autonomy before the next supply cut leaves it exposed again. Image | Berlin Wanderlust In Xataka | Germany didn’t know what to do with a dangerous Nazi bunker in the middle of Hamburg. The solution has radically changed the city In Xataka | Germany needs China’s rare earths at any price. And that price is giving you the future of your economy

The runaway price of RAM threatens more expensive phones than ever. And that’s not even the biggest problem

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Neither the car nor the house, the new indicator that someone is good pasta is the RAM memory that you have available. The RAM crisis is extremea price increase planned for 2026 that will hit the entire industry. Such is the seriousness of the matterthere are already those who predict that the manufacturers of telephones are considering returning to figures of the past: the 4 GB of unified RAM for smartphones of the next year. Samsung has doubled the price of DDR5 RAM after running out of stock, a movement that completely threatens the entire smartphone industry. And no, RAM is not just an element to ensure the fluidity of the mobile phone and efficient multitasking: RAM is a pillar on which the advancement of technology itself depends. How to know the components of your PC (RAM, Graphics, CPU…) and the state they are in The rise in prices. In just six months, RAM prices have skyrocketed between 100% and 400%. Giants like Samsung and SK Hynix are allocating around 40% of its resources to supply RAM to Stargatethe OpenAI infrastructure. Consequence: the RAM market has entered a valley of scarcity. The 4 GB of RAM. There are clear pillars for not recommending a phone even to my worst enemy: That it does not have good update support. That has a processor that can’t handle basic apps. That has less than 6 GB of RAM There are already those who predict that 4 GB of RAM will return in 2026a significant leap back even for entry-level devices, where 6GB of RAM was starting to become the standard. What they didn’t tell you about RAM. Advances in RAM go far beyond basic performance in multitasking and everyday apps. RAM memory is one of the vital organs of any smartphone, and the advances in it are what have allowed us, today, to have smartphones that are much more capable than those of years ago. Local AI processing– Without sufficient RAM, it is not possible to run local AI models. He iPhone 15 is the best example. Photographic quality: functions such as processing HDRcomputational zoom, and even the processing of the photograph itself (subsequently processed RAW data) depend largely on the mobile phone’s ability to move all that data in RAM. Exactly the same applies to video recording. Multi-window and multitasking: Multitasking is not just about not having a heavy game crash while you browse in Chrome. It’s that Google Maps can run in the background without slowing down your phone, that YouTube can run in mode PiP (window), that your keyboard is capable of managing translations and corrections in real time in any heavy app, etc. Gaming experience: We usually focus on CPU and GPU when thinking about a mobile phone capable of running a heavy game, but RAM is essential to avoid microcuts, speed up loading times despite having open apps, and ensure that the game will not close in the middle of a game. The consequences. We have been complaining for the last few years that there is hardly any real progress in smartphones and that, perhaps, we are close to their peak. But there are nuances in this interpretation. We have never had humble mobile phones with AI implementation, the ability to move triple A games on budget devicesand such a positive experience in practically any product range. The RAM crisis is a major brake on the advancement of upcoming proposals, and may make it more than likely that some 2026 phones will end up performing worse than their predecessors. There is no solution in sight. DDR5 RAM, although it has been on the market since SK Hynix released it in 2020is not common in entry-level proposals. DDR4 RAM is still the standard here and, unfortunately, so is its price. has been increasing by close to 200% in recent months. More expensive RAM, more expensive mobile phones or mobile phones with less RAM. Image | Xataka In Xataka | How to know how much RAM you have and what type it is, in Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux

review with features, price and specifications

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The role of ink printers in homes and small offices has been quite reinvented in recent years. Connectivity, configuration guidance and integration with smartphones have been incorporated into even the most basic models. But the great push has been given by the use of the ink tanks. The Epson EcoTank ET-2956 It is the most interesting model for the domestic environment from the Japanese manufacturer and offers the consumer everything they can expect from a general purpose model in these times: connectivity, ease of use, speed and most importantly in a home today, ink durability and printing cost. Technical sheet of the Epson EcoTank ET-2956 Epson EcoTank ET-2956 functions Print, copy and scan print speed B&W 30 ppm / Color 20 ppm print resolution 4,800 x 1,200 dpi double sided printing Automatic Connectivity USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi Direct) input capacity Up to 100 sheets compatibility Windows, Mac, iOS, Android weight 5kg scanner 1,200 dpi x 2,400 dpi Without automatic feeder price 369 euros EcoTank ET-2956 white A4 multifunction printer with ink tank, Wi-Fi connection, scanning, copying, duplex printing and ink included for up to 3 years The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Manual mid-range multifunction Although we have just mentioned the improvements that home inkjet printers have been incorporating over the years so as not to be completely forgotten by the user, we must begin by talking about the aspect that can most disappoint anyone who approaches these printer models after a few years: the design. The Epson EcoTank ET-2956 The design that we have known for multifunction printers for years does not hardly change. It is true that it introduces updated elements that are necessary at this point, such as touch controls, but apparently we are looking at a rectangular model that aims to be compact when we are not using it, and somewhat more voluminous when we deploy the paper tray or the control and screen wing. The weight of the equipment is 5 kg, very manageable to move around the house. The Epson EcoTank ET-2956 is nothing innovative in design. It focuses on being compact when not in use and very simple and quick to start up. The simplicity of the design facilitates something that is not trivial: a very quick start-up. Simply use the app (preferable to the printer’s built-in screen) and follow the instructions. They are not complicated at all and are summarized in removing the protections and blocking of moving parts, emptying the ink bottles and initializing the system. Step-by-step setup for “dummies” The great point in favor of ink bottle technology is not only how economical it is (we will talk about them later) but that the implementation and Filling of the tanks is done safely and completely cleanly.. It’s not even easy to get dirty. The bottles have a secure closure and the filling system is very well thought out. The connectivity of the Epson EcoTank ET-2956 is the usual one at this point: the USB that cannot be missing for emergencies or local start-up and Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac). It supports Wi-Fi Direct, Apple AirPrint, and Epson cloud services. The screen is not touch screen and if we have the phone nearby we will almost never use it. To control the printer, in addition to the application, we can use the 3.7 cm diagonal color screen. It is not touch-sensitive (thank goodness because with that size it would be complicated to handle) so you have to resort to touch controls. The physical control of the printer is practically a curiosity and we will use it basically when we do not have a smartphone with the Epson application to manage it. Ink tanks are always a success at home Once the printer is up and running, it is time to take advantage of its connectivity and printing capacity. As we have mentioned, the printer Comes with 1 complete set of ink (one 127ml black bottle and three 70ml cyan, magenta and yellow bottles). That is exactly the nominal capacity of the ink tanks, whose access is direct and have direct view of remaining ink in each of them. The nominal capacity offers a theoretical yield of 6,600 pages for black ink and 5,500 pages for color prints. The spare parts are also very economical for what is usually the inkjet printer consumable: about 16 euros for the black replacement and the color ones at about 10 euros. The ink tanks, which cost us around 40 euros to refill, offer more than three years of printing at a rate of 5-6 pages per day The Epson EcoTank ET-2956 offers borderless printing with a resolution of up to 4,800 x 1,200 dpi with a minimum droplet size of 3.3 picoliters and the use of 400 black nozzles and 128 nozzles per color. Offers automatic double-sided printing and work margins for maximum A4 size and minimum photo size of 10×15 or 13×18 cm. It is always useful to have a direct view of the remaining ink by color The capacity of the output tray is 30 sheets and the input tray is 100, with grammage between 64 and 300 gr/m2perfect figures for a home environment even printing on photographic paper. The print quality meets expectations, especially in basic documents, whether in black and white or color, always speaking of the domestic environment. The maintenance cartridge for ink for head cleaning is very accessible With photography we can get by if we choose the right photographic paper but it is not a specialized printer. The strong point is decidedly the printing cost per page. It does offer good print speed data, with 30 pages per minute in monochrome mode and 20 pages per minute in color. Being a multifunction model we cannot fail to mention the scanner mode. It is not automatic and therefore we do not have a feeding tray and it is not the model to choose if your priority is scanning numerous documents. The scanner gets us out … Read more

One night in 2000, Jennifer Lopez debuted a historic dress. And then Google changed the internet forever

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If you have a moment, go to Google and type something like “Jennifer Lopez 2000 Grammy dress.” Leave that new AI Mode section aside and tap on the ‘Images’ tab to find a green Versace dress with a jungle print that caused a real sensation in both the fashion media and the world of technology. In fact, that dress marked a before and after on the internet. Because before February 23, 2000, when we wanted to see what clothes the current star had worn to an event (to give an example), we had to wait for the news to appear on TV, browse through magazines or go to the Internet to Google it. And there you didn’t find the photo, but instead you had to wade through a sea of ​​blue text links to search through. There was no Google Images. We’re not even talking about videos. Before JLo’s Grammys dress, this was all field text Why it is important. Google’s decision to organize information based on images and not only on text not only changed the world of fashion as the work of a European brand went from being seen on the catwalks and little else, to reaching the entire world. It also modified our way of accessing information, laying the foundations for an Internet (and later, social networks) focused more on audiovisuals than on pure and simple text. These were the dawn of the internet of content. What started in July 2021 with an index of 250 million images, went to one billion images in 2005 and by 2010, exceeded 10 billion. Later, Google stopped offering that figure to focus on quality over quality. Paradoxically, in 2025 it is following the opposite path, massively deindexing images by considering them low quality or generated by AI. The context. In the year 2000, the Google search engine was not what it is now: the undisputed leader with almost 90% share. And the “almost” thing is something about the post-internet – ChatGPT had been overcoming that barrier for more than a decade. In fact, with just a couple of years of life, he was beginning his rise at a time when there was no hegemony as he managed to impose later, with others like Yahoo! and Altavista with greater weight. And then she arrived on the red carpet at the 42nd Grammy Awards, nominated that year for Best Dance Recording for “Waiting for Tonight.” Jennifer Lopez wore a semi-transparent green dress with a dizzying V-neckline that fell to her navel. If you already existed at that time and were old enough to watch TV, you surely saw it because because her dress was viraleven before that concept was used for matters other than biology. Seeing it once wasn’t enough, so people went online to look for it en masse. “People wanted more than text (…). At the time, it was the most popular search we had ever seen” counted Eric Schmidt for Project Syndicate. The former Google CEO explained that at the time “we didn’t have a sure way to get users exactly what they wanted: J.Lo wearing that dress.” Between the lines. That’s when started to cook Google Search Image. According to Cathy Edwards, director of engineering and product at Google Images, it wasn’t something that happened overnight, but JLo lit the fuse. There were few employees, but like Edwards explained In 2020, it was clear to everyone that they needed to build a photocentric search engine. The question was knowing what priority to give it. That same summer, Google hired a newly graduated engineer, Huican Zhu, and put him to work with Huican Zhu, who was the executive director of YouTube and who at that time was responsible for product. The two stood hand in hand and, According to Edwardsthey practically developed it alone to launch Google Search Images in July 2021. In Xataka | People are so fed up with the current Internet that they are returning to MySpace. Not out of nostalgia, but out of rebellion In Xataka | All the times that throughout the 20th century we imagined ourselves on the Internet

why interior design occupies the place of fashion today

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There was a time when status was measured by the cut of a lapel or the logo on a handbag. Today, the true statement of intent is not in the closet, but on the living room shelf. The scene is typical: a dinner at home does not begin until the table, perfectly “staged”, has been captured by the lens of a smartphone. Decoration is the new language of identity; a space where we project who we are with the same urgency with which we previously chose a outfit to go out into the street. The exposed shelter. The border between private and public has jumped into the air. If before the home was the place where “we took off our shoes”, now it is the stage where we “put on the filter.” An example of this phenomenon It’s the rise of the breakfast nook. What started as a functional gesture to organize cups and coffee makers has ended up being a “symbol of the aspirational home” that floods our morning stories on social media. This phenomenon is not coincidental. As detailed in the S Moda supplementthe house operates today with the codes of the street style: millimeter poses, studied corners and carefully filtered light. We no longer decorate to live, but so that our life “is sustained before the eyes of the eyes.” voyeurs of the networks”. The landing of the brands. The market has read the change with surgical precision. According to a report by Business of Fashionhome design is a $643 billion global market that has reached a higher cruising speed than fashion after the pandemic. Large luxury brands no longer see furniture as an accessory, but as a central piece of their ecosystem: Luxury as an architect of lives: Brands such as Hermès, Bottega Veneta or Loewe use fairs such as the Mobile Show from Milan to demonstrate that its aesthetics can encompass everything, from a bag to an armchair worth thousands of euros. The Democratization of Style: Real change comes from affordable fashion. As Modaes points outMango Home is emulating Zara Home’s strategy, positioning its home line in the segment premium with openings in strategic locations to elevate the brand. You no longer buy a quilt, you buy the “universe” of the firm. Even home care has become a beauty routine. Actress Courteney Cox, through her brand Homecourthas turned detergent and linen sprays into objects of desire. As explained in Forbestheir intention is to make mundane tasks like doing laundry feel like “a self-care ritual” and for the jars to be so pretty that they don’t have to be hidden. How did we get here? To understand why we are obsessed with making our living room “instagrammable”, we have to look back. We could place the starting point in the birth of Pinterest in 2010, a platform that created the first global archive of domestic aspirations. However, the real turning point was 2020. Seeing ourselves locked up, our homes became our offices, gyms and leisure centers. How do they explain from the Somos Nido studio For the supplement, space stopped being something external and became part of our mental health. At the same time, the real estate crisis has played a psychological role. According to psychologist Noelia Sanchointerviewed in El Mueble, faced with the impossibility of buying a house, we invest in objects to generate an emotional bond and reaffirm our identity in an unstable world. The rebellion against the “dictatorship of the neutral.” In recent years, a search for simplicity and homogenization has prevailed; an aesthetic of beige spaces designed for the algorithm. But the trends of 2026 already propose a rebellion against that coldness. Pantone’s recent selection of the color ‘Cloud Dancer’ (an ethereal white) as Color of the Year 2026 has sparked debate. According to Architecture and Designinterior designer Virginia Sánchez admits “not being a big fan” because she considers it a somewhat cold tone. To prevent homes from looking like empty clinics, experts recommend accompany this white with rustic materials and warm woods. In this context, furniture with character regains its throne. Pieces such as mango or walnut wood sideboards and grooved fronts — like those proposed by the firm sweeek— they come back strong to provide that personality and “exoticism” that extreme minimalism had stolen from our living rooms. Living is the new dressing. The rise of interior design tells us that we are no longer satisfied with being spectators of beauty; we want to live inside it. Whether through tablescape —the art of decorating the table in an almost theatrical way— or choosing a designer lamp, we are trying to regain control of our immediate environment. Fashion has moved from the catwalk to the sofa because, in an increasingly digital and ephemeral world, the home continues to be the only place where we can build a refuge that, in addition to being beautiful on a screen, makes us feel good when the camera turns off. In the end, the question is no longer what we wear to be seen, but what atmosphere we have created to be ourselves. Image | Unsplash Xataka | The bidet is dead. The square meter killed it and Scandinavian design buried it

There are restaurants charging their customers 15 euros when they do not appear in a reservation. And it is a trend that is going more

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“There are people who accept it and people who don’t. Let them make an effort so that we can make it to the end of the month,” comments Danitza Gabriela, Executive Chef of the Manifiesto 13 restaurant, with a laugh, in a video on the channel ‘The Xef in Kitchen‘. It refers to the charging of a fee if someone does not attend a reservation at your restaurant, But although it may seem drastic, it is not a problem that should be laughed at. It is a whole phenomenon baptized as ‘no show‘, and there are already restaurants that are taking measures. For example, charge 15 euros if you don’t show up. He no-show. Also known as ‘ghost reserve’, it is one of the nightmares of the restoration. The name is quite revealing: it is a reservation for a table that, without warning, does not show up at the agreed time. There the restaurant fills its gap, but there are times when it is not possible, leaving holes of hundreds of euros depending on the case. There are situations in which it is inevitable not to show up, even others of greater cause in which the last thing we think about is calling to say that we will not be able to go, but unfortunately it is becoming common in certain cities. Spread booking. Another Anglicism that is easy to understand. In large cities, there are diners who adopt the strategy of making reservations in several restaurants at the same time. This may seem like nonsense, but it makes “sense”: they secure all the options they like and then decide on the fly which one they prefer, not canceling, or not canceling early enough, on the discarded options. Freak. How often this occurs depends on the city. TheFork platform carried out a study on phantom reservations and, according to their analysis, between January and July of this year, there was not a single month in which no-shows accounted for more than 3.4% of the total. Then, it depends on the regions and, as we say, the city. Others studies They point out that, in large cities in the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand, the absence rate is around 15%. In the United States and Canada, 20%. 15 euros. According to that same study by The Fork, of the total number of diners who do not attend the reservation, only 38% do so due to last-minute unforeseen events that have prevented them from calling the restaurant. 7% say that they do not notify because they are embarrassed to call and 55% say that they get lost or forget that they had made the reservation. That is precisely what is leading restaurants to take action. We mentioned the words of Danitza, from the Manifiesto 13 restaurant, at the beginning of the article, and the amount they charge for not appearing is 15 euros. He explains it at minute 8:10 of this video: “Every day we call to reconfirm the reservation. We are applying a cancellation policy, only on weekends, because those are the days when we have the most occupancy. It is 15 euros, just so that people have that bit of respect.” Danitza continues by pointing out that “it’s very hard when you’re starting out. If you don’t have a lot of fuss and the table doesn’t come to you, you’ve already prepared… and it’s complicated. There are people who accept it and people who don’t.” At Gordon Ramsay’s, if you don’t cancel at least 48 hours in advance, it’s 150 pounds. Impact. Manifesto 13 is not the only restaurant that applies this. A couple of years ago, Amelia, a restaurant in San Sebastián with two Michelin stars, charged 510 euros for a service not provided to three diners who did not show up. It was a case that came to court after a complaint from one of the customers, and the result was the ruling in favor of the restaurant. Studies indicate that losses due to no-shows can suppose between 5% and 20%, depending on the type of business, and this is what has motivated locals to move tab. For example, with card number like warranty and deposits, as are done in other forms of entertainment and consumption. It has even come to pose the expulsion from the reservation system of clients who accumulate several. Images | Hitesh Dewasi In Xataka | The restaurant with the longest waiting list in the world is not a Michelin star: it is in Bristol and costs €40

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