Mobile Tech & Gadgets

the arctic cold returns this week

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You only have to look at the thermometers to be tempted to think that the “polar cold episode” has passed. And it would be logical to think so: temperatures have risen in almost the entire peninsula and this Monday a storm is sweeping the peninsula and leaving water in the entire northwestern quadrant. However, it is a tremendous mistake. And we don’t say it, AEMET says it. What is going to happen? As I say, according to the Agency“throughout the last week of November, masses of cold air will arrive again from high latitudes.” But the issue is more nuanced than it seems: the rain is going to persist until Wednesday-Thursday and, through the door that this storm will open, a mass of arctic air is going to burst through. What comes next is complicated. After all, this “polar” episode has been a little more moderate than expected, but only by a matter of luck. Finally, meteorological chance moved the intrusion of air to the east and the result speaks for itself. Last week (TropicalTidBits) As explained M. Herrerawhat you see in the image is colder than in January in the central Mediterranean and warmer than in July in the eastern Mediterranean. If that finger of cold air had drifted further toward our position, we would have had a much worse time. Logical uncertainties. What we know is that “the last week of November will be colder than usual for the time of year in most of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.” But there are many factors at play. We do not know for sure what the real impact will be. There are things we do know. Because as we know, this type of cold air intrusion does not have much rain associated with it and, behind that front“it looks like we will be back in meteorological misery for a few days.” This makes for a bad end to November and a beginning to December that doesn’t look good at all. Above all, because the shadow of sudden stratospheric warming still there. In fact, during these days, the surprise has been that the warming has been very very strong and, although the consequences are not clear (they never are), the possibility that we will experience a very cold blow in December. Be that as it may, the main problem remains the same as always: yes, the rains of recent weeks They have helped us increase the dammed waterbut the trend is very worrying (we are using water much faster than in previous years) and if the winter is bad, the spring is going to be complicated. And a lot. Image | TropicalTidBits In Xataka | The two most important weather models in the world are discussing whether Santander is going to freeze next week. And the cold is winning

there is more money in less time and too many eggs in few baskets

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The expectation and unbridled optimism about the AI ​​revolution is giving way to a stage of nervous laughter. The question It is no longer whether there is an AI bubblebut when it will explode and what impact that explosion will have. It is inevitable to compare this situation with the one we experienced with the rise of the internet and the dotcom bubble, but this is even worse. Dog years, mouse years. Vinton Cerf, one of the fathers of the internet, spoke in 1999 how “a year in the internet business was like a dog year, that is, seven years in the life of a normal person.” Everything was going very fast then, but now it is spoken of “mouse year”: each of them would be equivalent to about 35 human years. In AI everything certainly goes much faster, and that is very, very dangerous. Stock market crashes don’t help. Until a month ago, the extraordinary optimism that existed in this market had caused the big technology companies to continue growing on the stock market while the rest of the economy barely did. NVIDIA has been the best example of this, but in the last month a good handful of technology stocks have fallen. NVIDIA itself, (-4%), Microsoft (-10%), Meta (-20%), Amazon (-2%), Broadcom (-4%), Oracle (-30%), AMD (-20%), Intel (-10%). Only Google (+15%) and Apple (+3%) seem to resist this downward trend. The bubble is huge. The last estimates for capital expenditures (capex) added to the investments of venture capital already exceeds 600,000 million dollars by 2025, and the consulting firm Gartner indicated that according to its data in 2025, spending related to AI will amount to 1.5 trillion dollarswhen in 2024 it was 988,000 million. By 2026, it is estimated that it will exceed two trillion dollars. And it has grown much faster. As explains Analyst Fred Vogelstein, that spending “is happening in a fraction of the time. The internet bubble inflated for 4.6 years before bursting. The AI ​​bubble has inflated in two-thirds of that time.” The numbers continue to grow without stopping, they get bigger and they start to make no sense. And when they don’t make sense, they probably don’t really make sense. Too much concentration. There are differences between this bubble and the dotcom bubble. For example, much of the gigantic investment in data centers comes from technology companies themselves, and not so much from venture capital or investment firms. Even so, the concentration is enormous: Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, NVIDIA, Oracle and Apple represent approximately a third of the critical S&P 500 market, which was already aiming for it years ago, even before everyone started talking about AI. We have already seen this year how if technology companies fellthe economy suffered noticeably. This is not an investment, it is a bet. Companies like Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta or Amazon are talking about projected capital expenditures (capex) of $70 billion to $100 billion in data centers. These companies are risking everything on AIwhen at the moment there is no reasonable justification to do so because the uncertainty is total. The best way to understand that philosophy is to remember what Mark Zuckerberg said about his investment in AI: “We’re going to invest aggressively. Even if we lost a couple hundred billion dollars it would be a bummer, but it’s better than being left behind in the race for superintelligence.” Or what is the same: if you don’t risk, you don’t win. OpenAI, bubble paradigm. If there is a company that represents the AI ​​madness, it is OpenAI. This valued at 500 billion dollarsbut the company itself estimates that until 2029 you will not start earning money. It is estimated that its “cash burn” in 2025 will be $8 billion, and that in 2026 that figure will be $17 billion. It’s growing in revenue, yeahbut not at a sustainable pace at the moment. The accounts don’t come out, but the important thing for Sam Altman (and his investors) is that theoretically they will end up coming out. Or so they say. Source: Bloomberg. Circular financing. We are experiencing another warning sign with the recent circular financing agreements between big companies technological. In these alliances OpenAI and NVIDIA (among others) are becoming something like banks and investors that guarantee the demand for their products. This means that these companies will probably emerge stronger, but it also increases the systemic risk of this bubble burst. We are seeing it with Oracle, which issued $18 billion in bonds and has raised its total debt above $100 billion. Others are in a compromising situation also. Crazy reviews. And we have more disturbing warnings, of course. Among them, those that affect the multimillion-dollar investments and valuations that AI startups are receiving. Reflection AI, the company founded by two former Google DeepMind researchers, has raised 2000 million dollars in one round, while Safe SuperIntelligence, the startup created by Ilya Sutskever, is valued at 32 billion dollars without having any public product. It is estimated that there are 498 AI unicornsand it does not seem that the investment fever has stopped, as demonstrated by the interest in Yann LeCun’s imminent startup. Altman, Nadella and Pichai warn. Even the technological leaders They recognize that there are signs of a technological bubblealthough they do it with nuances. Pichai talked about observing “elements of irrationality”, and in that same vein they were Satya Nadella (Microsoft) or Sam Altman (OpenAI). Meanwhile, Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, explained months ago that we are facing a bubble that will make only 1% of companies survive. China. This excessive spending has also been helped by the rise of China in this area. The Asian giant has demonstrated its ability to develop open models extraordinary. The DeepSeek effect It caused companies in the US to add even more fuel (money) to the fire while China takes a position more conservative. Mastering AI is a major national security concern and that ties assessments to political and tariff unpredictability. Source: Financial Review … Read more

We still have deals available on mobile phones, tablets, watches and more

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The last week of November comes the final fireworks of the Black Friday. It is true that many outstanding offers have already flown, but that does not mean that we have already lost the opportunity to take home bargains in technology. In fact, AliExpress still has quite a few of them. in his latest promoa which will end next November 28. We also have coupons available to save a little more, although some of them may no longer be available. Discount minimum purchase coupon 1 COUPON 2 3 euros 18 euros BFES03 ESBF03 4 euros 26 euros BFES04 ESBF04 9 euros 59 euros BFES09 ESBF09 14 euros 89 euros ESBF14 – 15 euros 89 euros BFES15 – 20 euros 139 euros BFES20 ESBF20 30 euros 209 euros BFES30 – 35 euros 239 euros ESBF35 – 40 euros 279 euros BFES40 ESBF40 50 euros 329 euros BFES50 – 60 euros 379 euros ESBF60 – 70 euros 499 euros BFES70 ESBF70 As we always tell you, these types of promotions are perfect for renewing our old device, to advance Christmas shopping or even to treat ourselves. There is a lot to choose from in this marketplace right now, but below we leave you a selection of offers that we find very interesting. Xiaomi Pad 7 by 211.65 euros with the coupon ESBF35, a very balanced tablet with a great quality-price ratio. Realme GT 7 Pro for 440.22 euros with the coupon ESBF70, a high-end phone with a monster battery. Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra by 256.53 euros with the coupon ESBF40, one of the best smartwatches there is. nintendo switch 2 by 421.13 euros with the coupon ESBF65, the new console from the Japanese company along with ‘Mario Kart World’. Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 by 111.99 euros with the coupon ESBF14, a very economical mobile phone ideal for the tightest budgets. Xiaomi Pad 7 If we are looking for a tablet with good quality-price ratio, this Xiaomi Pad 7 It can fit us very well. It is compact and has an 11.2-inch screen with 144 Hz and Dolby Vision compatibility. In addition, it does not lack power thanks to the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 and its 8 GB of RAM is more than enough for normal tasks or for studying. We can get it right now for 211.65 euros with the coupon ESBF35. Xiaomi Pad 7 (8 + 128 GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Realme GT 7 Pro A high-end phone at a mid-range price: that’s what this one offers Realme GT 7 Pro. It is a phone that has one of the best processors there is, such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite, as well as a very good 6.78-inch screen with a peak brightness of 6,000 nits. What stands out most about it, however, is its battery. It is a huge 6,500 mAh battery that also charges in a breeze thanks to its 120 W fast charging. 440.22 euros with the coupon ESBF70. Realme GT 7 Pro (12 + 256 GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra If we talk about watches and we are looking for one with Wear OS, one of the most powerful options is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. It is a very complete and resistant device that comes with a 1.5-inch AMOLED screen with 3,000 nits of maximum brightness, so we can see it without problem even outdoors. Its performance is great thanks to the Exynos W1000 and it has all kinds of sensors to monitor our health and our workouts to the millimeter. Costs 256.53 euros with the coupon ESBF40. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 AliExpress Black Friday is one of the best times of the year to get a new console. We have available nintendo switch 2 right now for 421.13 euros with the coupon ESBF65, a great price if we take into account that it is the version that includes ‘Mario Kart World’. A great console that allows us to enjoy its catalog at 4K and with good performance if we use its mode docked with a television. And if not, we can use its portable mode to play wherever we want. Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Not all users always look for the best of the best. For all those looking for an affordable phone that allows them to make normal use between messaging apps and social networks, this Redmi Note 14 It’s ideal. It costs right now 111.99 euros with the coupon ESBF14 and has a 6.67-inch screen with AMOLED technology, MediaTek chip, 5,500 mAh battery and a triple rear camera system that more than meets the requirements if we take into account that it costs just over 100 euros. Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 (8+256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Xataka, Xiaomi, Realme, Samsung, Nintendo In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best tablets. Which one to buy and 8 recommended models for all pockets and needs

A 28-page US document has brought peace in Ukraine closer than ever. The problem is that it is the translation of a Russian text

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And suddenly a 28 page document unpublished to date has suddenly entered as a missile in the negotiations of the war in Ukraine. Promoted by Washington, it has unleashed a diplomatic storm in Europe and in kyiv because, far from having been prepared with the main parties involved, it had been conceived in discreet negotiations between the American businessman Steve Witkoff and the Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, with the participation of Jared Kushner and the late endorsement of Trump. The origin of a plan. The result of these meetings was a text that Europe and Ukraine had not seen and that, to further alarm (according to one Bloomberg exclusive), preserved the linguistic structures typical of an original written in Russian, confirming the suspicions that Moscow had achieved filter your vision of the war in a document presented as a US initiative. The pressure exerted by Dan Driscoll (a close ally of JD Vance) on European and Ukrainian diplomats, urging them to accept territorial concessions in a matter of days, ended up setting off all the alarm signals. For European governments, which considered themselves central partners in any peace negotiations, the origin of the plan became a strategic question: they needed to know who had written it and with what objectives before sitting down to discuss. This information gap triggered a race against time to stop the imposition of a text that, in its initial form, was not only surprising for its demands, but also for its obvious alignment with Moscow’s interests. Territory, legitimization and a threat. The most explosive section of the American plan required that Ukraine will withdraw of the fortified urban centers that it still maintains in Donetsk, breaking the “belt of fortresses” that has slowed the Russian advance since 2014. This withdrawal would not only imply the displacement of tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens, but it would open a corridor that would leave exposed to key cities like Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia. To make matters worse, the document proposed that the occupied areas be recognized as “de facto Russian”a more favorable formula for Moscow than the already problematic “de facto under Russian control”, and which, in practice, brought the international community closer to accept territorial changes achieved by force. Added to this was the idea of ​​converting the evacuated territories into a demilitarized zone whose violation by Russia (not an implausible scenario given recent history) would allow Moscow to open a new, even deeper offensive in the future. From the Ukrainian perspective, accepting this point would be sowing the conditions for a future war in worse terms, reinforcing the impression that the document did not seek a stable peace, but rather formalized a strategic result that Russia has not been able to obtain through military operations. Security cut and promises broken. The security guarantees included in the plan were vague to the point of irrelevance: they promised “reliable protection” without detailing mechanisms, but simultaneously prohibited Ukraine from entering never in NATOprevented the stationing of allied troops in its territory and forced kyiv to modify its Constitution to renounce accession. For a country marked by the experience of Budapest Memorandum (formal guarantees that prevented neither the annexation of Crimea nor the 2022 invasion), accepting an even more ambiguous framework would amount to to be left helpless facing an aggressor who has systematically broken all previous agreements. Red lines. The absence of a commitment type Article 5 and the refusal to allow training missions or deterrence forces on Ukrainian territory reinforced the conviction that Ukraine would be trapped between a strengthened Russia and a West that would reserve the right to “diplomatically support,” but not to intervene. This component fueled rejection in European capitals, which consider it essential that Ukraine keep an army strong as a land barrier that protects the continent. Limit to 600,000 troops to the only country in Europe at war, without imposing a similar restriction on Russia, was perceived as covert disarmament and a prelude to a future Russian offensive. Amnesty and frozen assets. One of the most shocking elements of the plan was the proposal of a general amnesty and Ukraine’s renunciation of any legal claim about war crimes, deportations or deliberate destruction of infrastructure. For an exposed population to documented atrocitiesthis clause meant not only the denial of justice, but also the elimination of the legal basis that allows Europe to advance the reparations loan backed by frozen Russian assets. That loan, of 140,000 million of euros, is considered by the EU as the more solid path and less expensive to sustain Ukraine during the postwar period. The US plan not only made it unviable, but also redistributed those funds in an unusual way: 100 billion would go to a US investment vehicle that would deliver half of its profits to Washington, another 100 billion would be contributed by Europe and the rest would go to a joint fund with Russia. For Berlin, Paris or Warsaw, the message was clear: Russia would obtain indirect financial relief while the Europeans would see their most effective tool of strategic pressure weakened. The attempt to force kyiv to renounce all moral and legal responsibility for the aggressor reinforced the perception that the plan sought to resolve the war “quickly,” not “fairly.” The Russian strategy. Since the beginning of the invasion, Moscow has not changed their fundamental demands: more territory in the east, military neutralization of Ukraine and permanent veto on its accession to NATO. This strategic immobility, together with gradual advances on the front, has allowed it to capitalize on Western fatigue, the political fractures in kyiv and transatlantic tensions. For the Kremlin, the leaked plan demonstrates that its commitment to prolonged resistance, military pressure and the erosion of Western will is bearing fruit. Putin openly celebrated it, affirming that the document could serve as a basis and that rejecting it would only lead to new Ukrainian defeats. Likewise, Moscow has hinted that even a signed agreement could be used as leverage to resume the … Read more

the science behind a geological risk that repeats itself every 1,200 years

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Although the tsunamis seem like effects that are reserved for the Japanese coasts, the reality is that Spain He also has many ballots to suffer an event of this magnitude on our coasts. Cádiz is one of the locations with the highest risk of suffering a tsunami in Spain, and the authorities wanted to verify that the emergency and response systems they work in case this type of event occurs at any time. In order to verify this, the authorities carried out a drill in mid-November in which the ES-Alert systemseveral schools and all emergency services. And given this great display, the question is mandatory: what are the chances of a tsunami occurring in Cádiz? Cádiz is at the center of this simulation because it is the area with the greatest danger from tsunamis in the country, due to the history behind it and the seismicity of the Azores-Gibraltar area. For this reason, the Junta de Andalucía has prepared a Emergency Plan for the Risk of Tsunami (PEMA) and has chosen Cádiz for the largest tsunami simulation carried out in Spain. Because. In the past, geological records indicate that at least five large tsunamis have occurred in the Gulf of Cádiz in the last 7,000 years. All of these associated with megaearthquakes at the plate boundary between Africa and Eurasia. Added to this is the historical reference: the tsunami linked to the Lisbon earthquake of November 1, 1755which completely flooded Cádiz and part of the Andalusian coast with waves of several meters in a matter of dozens of minutes. The paleoseismology works of the CSIC and several universities place the recurrence interval of these events between 1,200 and 1,500 yearslong enough to be socially forgotten, but too short to be ignored in risk planning. This places the southwest of the peninsula as one of the most exposed areas in Europe to tsunamis, despite the fact that the “perceived risk” on the street has historically been very low. And this is precisely something that has been analyzed in the layers of sand and marine remains left inland and that gives us information about what happened thousands of years ago. Although logically always with a time frame that is approximate. Why now. The fact of doing the simulation in this month of November may make us think that scientists have found evidence that a large tsunami is coming to Cádiz, but nothing could be further from the truth. What is happening in this case is that a risk that has been known for a long time and for which, until now, hardly anything had been tested on a large scale, is being taken more seriously. That is why this scientific evidence that tells us about the real risk that exists in this case on the coast of Cádiz has been transferred to the regulations. In 2015, the Basic Planning Guideline for Civil Protection against the Risk of Tsunamiwhich recognizes the Gulf of Cádiz as a critical area where the expected wave height exceeds 0.5 meters. A framework that is not limited to pretty maps, but defines decision guidelines according to magnitude and location of earthquakes, chains of command, warning protocols and response time objectives, with the National Geographic Institute, AEMET and the future SINAM network as input sensors. What has been simulated. In this case, Cádiz has simulated an earthquake with an approximate magnitude of 7.5-7.6 to the southwest of Cape San Vicente, very similar to the one in Lisbon in 1755 and which generates a tsunami that points directly to the western Andalusian coast. In this scenario, the propagation models estimate between 45 and 60 minutes from the activation of the alert until the arrival of the first wave from Cádiz, which in practice is the clock with which Civil Protection works. The objective of the exercise was to virtually save as many people as possible in that one-hour window: horizontal evacuation to non-flood areas, vertical evacuation to high floors, beach and port rescues, protection of cultural assets and management of damaged buildings were tested. On paper, all this already existed in manuals and maps; What was missing was to see how a real city behaves when a tsunami warning sounds in the middle of a work morning.​ Images | Matt Paul Catalano In Xataka | There are scientists deliberately causing earthquakes in the Alps and they have a good reason for it

If it is better to collect in 12 or 14 payments

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One of the most common questions that many workers answer when starting to work in a new company is: How do you want to collect your salaryin 12 or 14 payments? It is a question that seems simple, but choosing one or the other can be decisive for the personal finances of each employee. As finance experts explain, understanding the advantages of each modality is essential to plan expenses and savings during the year or obtain greater profitability from your salary. That is precisely the question that labor lawyer Andrés Millán posed since your profile on LinkedIn“if I could earn 15,000 euros in January, with knowledge of capital management, it would be ideal.” More salary or more pay As confirmed to us Marta Rayaces, tax expert TaxDownthe annual salary is the same, whether it is paid in 12 or 14 monthly installments. However, the amount that employees receive every month and the way in which each extra payment is received can change some financial habits. The workers’ salary is not calculated monthly, but annually from of your gross salary. Then, depending on the choice of each employee (or by company imposition), that amount is prorated into 12 or 14 payments. That is, if a person has an annual salary of 16,000 gross euros per yearthat amount will be the same in either of the two options, it is just distributed differently over the months. In the 12-month prorated option, the worker earns more each month (1,333.33 euros gross), but does not receive extraordinary payments. With the 14-pay option, the monthly salary is lower (1,142.85 euros gross), but two extra income is generated, usually in June (summer pay), and December (Christmas pay), key months for the highest expenses. This difference is reflected in the availability of cash by the worker, so that he can manage your money. Rayaces points out that the higher salary provided by the 12 monthly payments leaves more cash in the employee’s pocket, which allows him to establish a savings planinvest or meet regular expenses with greater liquidity. On the other hand, with 14 payments you obtain less cash each month, but the two additional payments are useful to cover seasonal expenses, such as vacations, going back to school or the increase in expenses incurred during the Christmas holidays. Personal income tax withholding and tax effects According to the Taxdown expert, the choice between 12 or 14 payments also modifies how the tax is applied. monthly income tax withholding, although it does not affect the final amount paid to the State. “The annual gross salary is the same, the only thing that varies is the frequency of payment. It is just a question of how the withholding is distributed throughout the year,” Rayaces pointed out. The personal income tax withholding It is calculated based on a percentage of the total salary. Therefore, as was the case with the annual gross salary, the lower the monthly amount, a proportional withholding is applied, so the amount that is withheld as personal income tax is also lower in the same proportion. That is, taxation will not be a differential factor between the two options since it is exactly the same annual percentage in both regardless of whether it is done in 12 or 14 payments. Manage or let others manage Rayaces points out that the main condition that must prevail in this decision is the ability to manage the personal finance. “If you have financial and investment knowledge, it is better to pay 12 to earn more month after month,” says the Taxdown expert. In that way, you can invest part of that salary and obtain profitability from it. On the other hand, if you do not organize well and then you have problems making ends meet when seasonal expenses arise (planning vacations, gifts and meals at Christmas, going back to school, etc.), then it is better to receive your salary in 14 payments and thus you will receive more money when those expenses occur. In Xataka | Good news, salaries in Spain are rising: the problem is that if you are young you probably don’t know it Image | Unsplash (Andres Simon)

Renewable gasoline and diesel are the last bastion of combustion cars to be able to circulate in Europe: they have a difficult time

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Whether for lack of infrastructure, strict regulationsocial perception, or by many other factors, electrification is a process that is advancingbut very slowly. Meanwhile, more than 20 million diesel and gasoline vehicles continue to circulate in Spain, many of them more than a decade old (or two). However, there are solutions that try to make this energy transition more bearable, and one of them involves the use of renewable fuels. What exactly are these fuels?. They don’t have a single drop of oil. They are produced from organic waste such as used cooking oils, animal fats, forest waste or crop remains. The catalytic hydrogen generation process transforms these wastes into fuels with properties similar to those derived from petroleum, but with a key difference: the CO₂ they emit when burned is the same as that which plants have previously absorbed from the atmosphere. Here we would therefore speak of a closed cycle, unlike fossil fuels, which release carbon stored underground for millions of years. Emissions. Repsol states that its Nexa diesel can reduce net CO₂ emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional diesel, while your Efitec Nexa gasoline discount more than 70%. In this case, although the engine continues to emit CO₂, it was already in the atmosphere before being converted into fuel. However, there is a nuance: nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) continue to be generated during combustion, because they come from nitrogen in the air when exposed to high temperatures. And for now, studies show conflicting results, with some indicating slight increases in NOₓ with certain biofuels, while others like the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory they conclude that renewable diesel reduces both CO₂ and NOₓ. What is consistent is the reduction of particles and soot. Full compatibility with current cars. This is probably its biggest practical advantage. Any diesel or gasoline vehicle can use these fuels without technical modifications. There is no need to change the engine, adapt the tank, or install new pumps at gas stations. In the case of Repsol, its Nexa diesel also complies with the European standard EN 15940 for paraffinic fuels, and Efitec Nexa gasoline with EN-228. In addition, the company ensures that, thanks to its high cetane number, it improves combustion, reduces engine noise and has a cleaning effect on the injection system. Where to find them in Spain. Repsol clearly leads the deployment, with more than 1,000 stations that offer Nexa diesel and with the goal of reaching 30 stations with Efitec Nexa gasoline by the end of the year. BP too offers HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) in strategic locations such as Tafalla, Getafe, Villacastín Norte or Olaberria, although its network is more limited and is oriented towards professional transport. To locate them, the most practical thing is use web search engines of each company, since they include filters to find gas stations that offer renewable fuels. It is worth remembering that the conventional diesel sold at practically all gas stations in Spain already contains up to 7% biodiesel (B7 label), but it is not comparable to a 100% renewable fuel if we stick to emissions. Cost and availability. Price is one of the main obstacles. Nexa diesel costs approx. 10 cents more per liter than conventional diesel, placing it in the range of premium fuels. Renewable gasoline follows a similar trend. Furthermore, although Repsol has expanded its network, coverage remains limited outside large urban centers and main corridors, especially in terms of renewable gasoline. Industrial production. Repsol produces renewable diesel in its Cartagena refinery and 100% renewable gasoline at the Tarragona plant. The company assures that it has been researching these processes for more than twenty years in collaboration with Honeywell. In 2026, the opening of a new facility in Puertollano with capacity for more than 200,000 tons per year is planned. Who is using them already?. In addition to the fact that anyone can now go to a Repsol gas station to try these fuels, their use has transcended commercial vehicles. And they have been tested in competitions like the Dakar Rallyand even sustainable fuels are used on commercial flights. Also transport companies such as Scania, Alsa or Grupo Sesé have signed agreements for adoption. An intermediate solution. The current European regulations The CO2 emissions test for new vehicles measures emissions from the tailpipe. With this approach, the result is zero for an electric car, but not for one that uses renewable fuel, even if it is carbon neutral in its entire life cycle (from production to consumption). It is for this reason that the industry and defenders of these fuels are asking for a change in the methodology so that the complete life cycle of the fuel is considered. Repsol and other players in the sector They ask for adapted taxation and long-term objectives that provide stability to investments. The Spanish mobile fleet has an average age of 14.5 years and it has more than eight million vehicles that are more than two decades old, according to data from ANFAC (Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers). Therefore, renewable fuels could be an intermediate alternative in this stage of energy transition, especially since they do not leave millions of drivers behind. Cover image | engin akyurt In Xataka | In 2001, Renault launched a car ahead of its time: it was a miserable failure that now has another chance

create a reserve capital

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Tokyo is the capital of Japan. That’s been the case since quite a while. Yeah the debate which two of the country’s main parties have embarked on comes to fruition, the Japanese institutional reality could nevertheless undergo a radical change: Tokyo would be joined by a ‘backup capital’a city that would take over if necessary. The goal: decentralize the nation… and ensure that Japan won’t be knocked out if a natural disaster or emergency hits Tokyo. What has happened? That Japan has opened a debate that affects its economy, population, politics and above all the territorial and power balance of the country. Your goal: decide if you should have a “backup capital”a secondary capital that helps decentralize administrations and encourage economic development beyond Tokyo. It may sound strange, but one of its purposes is to assume government functions in case Tokyo suffers a disaster. Where does the debate come from? The local press began to talk about the matter even before the Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin (JIP) reached a coalition agreement. In fact, in September The Japan Times counted as it was among the “key” issues that the opposition wanted to discuss with the leader of the LDP, Sanae Takaichi. Since then it has remained on the table, with an agreement between both formations to advance their development next year and a open debate about what the creation of a backup capital would mean. Why a ‘substitute’ capital? For several reasons. One of the main ones is to prevent the Government from being paralyzed in the event that a natural disaster (or any other emergency) hits Tokyo, although that is only one of its purposes. In the background is the desire to correct the excessive political, economic and demographic concentration that Japan suffers from. “We must aspire to a country that avoids excessive concentration in Tokyo and is not too dependent on it, a place that is an economic zone that can counteract Tokyo and serve as a backup capital in times of crisis,” claims Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the JIP. Is it that important? Over the last few months, both ideas have been emphasized: the advantages that a secondary capital would have economically, politically and to decentralize the country and also to prevent Japan from being paralyzed in the event of a disaster. “The main importance of the concept of reserve capital lies in the dispersion of disaster risk and is a fundamental issue for national crisis management,” highlights Seitaro Hattori, governor of Fukuoka. In fact, Hattori focuses so much attention on that aspect (that the secondary capital can take a step forward in case of emergency) that he advocates locating it in a place where the risk of a large earthquake in the Pacific that affects Tokyo also punishes the secondary capital is minimized. “Fukuoka is a major city with a low disaster risk, as is Kitakyushu.” And what city do we choose? That’s the big question. There are those who fear that the true purpose of JIP is to merge the districts of the city of Osaka to give them a format similar to that of Tokyo, a change that would pave the way for it to become the secondary capital of the country. Reserve capital status would bring relevant advantages, such as tax exemptions. Right now in Osaka the metropolitan government assumes the provision of certain services, such as water supply, firefighters or urban planning. More local tasks, such as garbage collection, social services or education, depend on the districts. The JIP has been wanting to adapt Osaka to a model more similar to that of Tokyo for some time, claiming its benefits. Without success. Are there more names? Yes. Other names have also been mentioned in the national press, such as Sapporo or Fukuoka. “If we were to imagine an earthquake in the Nankai Trench, the city of Fukuoka, on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan, would be the least at risk of simultaneous damage. In terms of response capacity, Fukuoka is a suitable location,” claims Takashima. Images | Louie Martinez (Unsplash) In Xataka | Japan keeps setting tourism records, so it has an idea: charge three times as much to leave the country

The microprocessor that advanced the Intel 4004 was not in a computer, but in a secret place: an F-14

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We are used to thinking that the history of microprocessors begins with the Intel 4004. Even those who are not experts have it associated with it as the first big chip that inaugurated the era of personal computing. But that is not the only possible story. There was another design, less known and outside the commercial circuits, that began operating before the 4004 reached the market. It did not appear on a computer or calculatorbut in a F-14 Tomcatand for almost thirty years it was invisible to the public. What that plane had inside was a processor designed to do something that no commercial chip did at that time: automatically calculate speed, altitude or wing position while the pilot maneuvered. That system, known as MP944, had been in service since 1970, when the 4004 had not yet been introduced. Its context was completely different from that of Intel, because it was not designed for the market or to be licensed, but rather to fulfill a requirement of the military program marked by the tensions of the Cold War. A secret microprocessor in the bowels of an F-14 The novelty was not only that it made calculations, but that it did so automatically and digitally, something unusual in on-board systems from the late sixties. The MP944 processed sensor readingsapplied aerodynamic equations and provided data that influenced the behavior of the plane, reducing the pilot’s workload. It was not a passive assistant, but a module capable of interpreting those readings and providing results fast enough to be integrated into actual flight control. That is why it was considered a technology ahead of its time. The declassified documents in the nineties show that the MP944 combined advanced MOS technology with a 20-bit parallel architecture capable of executing pipeline calculations, something unusual for its time. Its frequency was 375 kHz and it could process specific mathematical operations efficiently enough to be integrated into real flight systems. According to the figures collected in Holt’s work and in the subsequent review by Tom’s Hardware, this performance placed the MP944 clearly ahead of the 4004 in number of instructions executed, although it was never intended as a general-purpose commercial chip. They were two different approaches: one for a military aircraft, the other for a commercial device. When Holt’s work came to light decades later, He argued that the MP944 should be considered the first microprocessoreven though it was not on a single chip nor had it been marketed. Intel engineers, such as Ted Hoff and Federico Faggin, disagreed and argued that 4004 was the first in integrating all the essential functions of a CPU in a single piece of silicon and with general use. Russell Fish, a former Motorola engineer, reviewed the MP944 documentation and described it as an advanced microprocessor for its time, while Richard Belgard saw it as an overly specific system, designed only to keep an airplane in flight. Holt maintained that the reason no one knew about MP944 for years was because his work had been classified and subject to military restrictions. He said he spent decades requesting the release of the documents and was only able to do so when, in 1997, he won the support of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren for the Navy to authorize their publication. With the documentation now available, the Navy qualified that version and maintained that Holt’s work had not actually been classified, but that what was missing was the company’s authorization to release the records. Garrett AiResearch admitted that they were no longer clear about what had happened, because the people who managed the case had left the company. When the information became available, Russell Fish claimed that MP944 was so advanced for its time that, had it been known, could have accelerated the development of the sector by up to five years. The creators of the 4004, such as Federico Faggin and Stan Mazor, openly disagreed and pointed out that the merit of the commercial microprocessor was to integrate all the essential elements on a single chip and make it viable for multiple applications. Richard Belgard qualified this position: he recognized the technical value of the MP944, but saw it as a system designed for a single purpose, without the capacity to open its own market. The debate about which was the first microprocessor is not resolved with a date, but with a definition. The 4004 was the first to hit the market as a commercial, integrated and programmable chip, and that merit explains its place in manuals. The MP944, on the other hand, previously demonstrated that it was possible to process data digitally and feed control systems in real time, even if it was done while locked in an airplane and outside of public space. One opened an industry; the other anticipated capabilities. Both represented different ways of understanding what a microprocessor could be. Images | DVIDS (1, 2, 3) | Thomas Nguyen In Xataka | The United States wants to be sovereign in AI. AMD’s new supercomputers will be part of the plan

It is one thing to support the US, quite another to defend Taiwan

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The latest diplomatic outbreak between China and Japan It does not seem to arise from an isolated gesture, but from a profound change in Tokyo’s strategic perception of the Taiwan Strait and Japan’s increasingly central role within the regional security architecture. The problem now is that China has forced it to make clear a position that until now it had found in the ambiguity the perfect setting. An archipelago between two fires. The statement of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, suggesting that a Chinese blockade or attack on the island could constitute a situation existential threat for Japan, it immediately upset the fine balance of strategic ambiguity that Tokyo had maintained for years. His comment put into official words for the first time something that Japanese security teams were discussing privately. for decades: that, in certain circumstances, Japan could be forced to act alongside the United States in a war scenario around Taiwan, not to defend the island as such, but to preserve the sea routes, energy supplies and American bases that guarantee the survival of Japan itself. That nuance, normally invisible to the general public, is what triggered the Beijing reactionwhich interpreted the statement not as a technical analysis, but like a hint that Japan could intervene militarily in an area that China considers strictly internal. The clash and diplomacy. Beijing’s response was immediate and forcefuldeploying a full range of instruments of pressure designed to punish, intimidate and isolate Tokyo. China issued warnings to students and tourists to They will avoid Japan alleging alleged security risks, suspended diplomatic meetings, delayed film premieres, patrols intensified of its Coast Guard in disputed waters and raised the tone of the propaganda discourse, recalling the war of the past to underline its current military superiority. The intention was clear: send a message internal and external that any questioning of his stance on Taiwan will carry an immediate cost. However, the virulence of the reaction generated a double effect. On the one hand, it fueled a growing sense in Japanese society that China systematically uses economic and diplomatic punishment to shape the behavior of others. On the other hand, it reinforced within the Japanese Government the idea that Chinese pressure is not going to decrease and that the only viable response is through strengthen alliances military and preparation for real contingencies. Sanae Takaichi And more. The division of Japanese public opinion reflects this tension: approximately half of society believes that Japan should intervene in a scenario of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, and the other half fear that any involvement would plunge the country into a catastrophic conflict. Meanwhile, the Chinese state machinery intensifies a warning message which, far from universally intimidating, is prompting growing accusations of diplomatic harassment by Tokyo and calls to further strengthen deterrence. The United States has conducted multiple tests of the Typhon system, which includes four trailer-mounted launchers and support equipment capable of firing Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles. USA and the military board. In this context of escalation, the sudden withdrawal by the United States of the system of Typhon missiles temporarily deployed at the Iwakuni base adds an extra layer to the puzzle. Its initial presence, capable of launching Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles with a range sufficient to hit critical targets in eastern China, had unleashed worry in Beijing and Moscow, which interpreted its deployment as a preview of a network of US land-based missiles in the Indo-Pacific after the end of the INF treaty. The official goal was to conduct rapid transition testing in the event of war, but it also represented a explicit demonstration that Japan is a key piece in the US containment strategy. His withdrawal, just when China intensifies retaliation against Tokyo, does not reduce tension: it shows the flexibility with which Washington repositions its pieces and its intention to keep Beijing in permanent uncertainty. Japan, in turn, finds itself increasingly at the center of a strategic dilemma: it depends on American security umbrella for its survival, but the price of that dependence is that any crisis in the Taiwan Strait automatically becomes a Japanese domestic matter. The strategic ambiguity. The episode has shaken the guiding principle of security policies in East Asia: the strategic ambiguity. The United States avoids explicitly compromising its reaction to a Chinese attack so as not to offer certainty to Beijing or Taipei, while Japan had tried to align its position without standing out. Takaichi’s words break that ambiguity, even though he later insisted that they did not imply a doctrinal change. In doing so, they reveal the evolution of a country that has left behind the absolute caution of the post-war and that, faced with the real possibility of a high-intensity conflict in its neighborhood, begins to assume that its security can no longer be separated of a possible war over Taiwan. For Beijing, this transformation It’s disturbing: a more assertive Japan, more integrated into the US military framework and more willing to act preventively modifies the strategic equation in the entire region. For Tokyo, on the other hand, the current crisis illustrates precisely why trying to ease tensions with China does not avoid its pressureand why maintaining decision-making capacity and room for maneuver involves reinforcing its autonomy and military cooperation. The fragile balance. Taken together, the sequence reflects a turning point. China wants deter Japan through immediate punishment, and Japan wants deter China showing that it will not be intimidated, as the United States adjusts discreetly his presenceremembering that its military power will be decisive in any scenario. For its part, Taiwan becomes the axis around which the stability of Northeast Asia revolves. The result is a more tense, more transparent and dangerous balance than in previous years. A balance in which the words of a prime minister, the oversized reaction of a neighboring power and the apparently technical movement of a missile system they intertwine to reveal an uncomfortable truth: that the region is moving towards a stage where a misinterpreted gesture has the potential to … Read more

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