Mobile Tech & Gadgets

How the new document that registers the fingerprint and iris of citizens works

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The Government of Mexico has decided to update the identity document of its citizens. The Unique Population Registry Code (CURP) goes from its classic 18-character format to become a biometric document which incorporates fingerprints, facial photography, electronic signature and even iris scanning. The change is no small feat, since it affects the entire population. And that is precisely why there have also been certain doubts about its implementation. What exactly is biometric CURP. The CURP is the personal identifier that the Mexican State assigns to each citizen and resident of the country. In its traditional version, it was simply an alphanumeric key printed on paper. This new biometric version maintains this, but now also includes a photograph of the holder, electronic signature, QR code with cryptographic authentication and, in most cases, iris registration. Management is carried out by the National Population Registry (RENAPO). What is it for and what problem does it seek to solve. The Government of Claudia Sheinbaum has placed the fight against disappearances in Mexico as one of the main arguments to promote this new measure. By integrating biometric data into the ‘Single Identity Platform’, authorities will be able to carry out identity searches and validations on site, connecting the RENAPO bases with the National Forensic Data Bank and with records from institutions such as the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) or state intelligence bodies. Beyond that, the document also seeks to combat identity theft, reduce the proliferation of falsified documents and simplify procedures such as opening bank accounts, accessing health services, applying for a passport or school registrations. What data does it collect and how does the document look like? Citizens have to appear at the Civil Registry, and the process usually takes between 20 and 30 minutes. During that time, ten fingerprints, a scan of the iris of both eyes, a photo, and the applicant’s digital signature are taken. The document is issued in physical and digital format, and includes the usual personal data (name, date and place of birth, sex, nationality) along with the new biometric elements and a QR code that gives encrypted access to all that information. As the Government assures, the document is valid both nationally and internationally. Who should process it and when. The decree establishes that the biometric CURP will be mandatory for all Mexican citizens and legal residents. However, its implementation is being gradual. The measure came into force last Octoberwith a pilot phase that involved Mexico City, the State of Mexico and Veracruz, and since then the expansion has reached other regions, including Jalisco, Nuevo León, Querétaro and Tlalnepantla. According to RENAPO, from October 2025 145 modules operate throughout the country. Starting this month of February, this document will be requested for certain government and private services. Although the traditional CURP will continue to be valid during this transition period, public institutions and banks will progressively require the biometric version for new procedures or data updates. What documents do you have to bring? The process is in person, free and is carried out only once. To attend the module, you must present: Original birth certificate or certified copy Valid official identification with photograph (INE, passport or professional ID; for minors, school ID) Validated traditional CURP Proof of address no older than three months personal email According to the authorities, in the case of minors, they must be accompanied by their mother, father or legal guardian. Where is it processed? The enabled modules include RENAPO offices, Civil Registry offices, the CURP Mobile service and itinerant modules installed in schools and community centers. The institution recommends managing the prior appointment through the official website from RENAPO. Issues. Despite the official argument to implement the measure, the project has not been without criticism. The fact of being obliged to transfer biometric data to the State (fingerprints, irises, photographs) has generated discomfort among citizens, especially those who fear improper use of this information or an expansion of mass surveillance. The decree establishes that the data will be stored under strict security protocols and with audited access in accordance with the General Law on Protection of Personal Data, although the real effectiveness of these guarantees is, reasonably, a matter of debate. From GQ Mexico express that some citizens do not feel comfortable providing information of this nature to the Government, although others consider that it is not new given the level of personal data that already circulates on the Internet. What happens if it is not processed. There are no economic sanctions if a citizen does not request the biometric CURP, but there are practical consequencesespecially in terms of blocking access to certain services. And those who do not have it when it is required may see their request rejected in public or banking procedures, longer waits in administrative procedures or incompatibilities in digital identity records. How to check if you already have it. To know if the biometric registration has already been processed, simply access the official portal of the CURP. If the receipt shows “CURP Biometric – Verified with RENAPO and Civil Registry”, the record is already updated. You can also go directly to any Civil Registry or RENAPO module to confirm it in person. Cover image | SEGOB and Onur Binay In Xataka | The US closed the El Paso airport and everyone looked at the Mexican cartel. It was worse: it was the US with a weapon that it did not know how to use

Spanish ants are using other species as “sexual livestock” to expand across Europe. And it’s working for them

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Nature has given us many ways to reproduce. From the simplest mechanism (clonality) to really very elaborate systems of sexual reproduction: where some species generate males and females, others produce a huge number of ‘morphs’ depending on the season, population density or social caste. But in all these cases, even the most complex ones, “the phenotypes produced by a female invariably belong to the same species.” Or so we believed. Because the Spanish ants have done so by jumping that “apparently universal restriction” into the air and are taking advantage of it to domesticate other species at will. They are doing what? As it sounds: after examining more than 120 populations and sequences of almost 400 different individuals, researchers from the University of Montpellier they came to the conclusion that the queens of Messor ibericus they are cloning males Messor structor to create hybrid workers that allow them to progressively expand throughout Europe. Evidently, although these hybrid workers are used as the workforce of the anthill, we are not talking about a system of slavery of other species analogous to the human systems of ancient times. However, it is fun and very interesting. Juvé et al. (2025) Why is this happening? When we talk about cocial insects, colonies function almost as if they were factories: if there are no workers, there is no nest, no food, and no viable reproduction. What happens in this case is that (according to the researchers) the queens of the Messor ibericus They cannot produce viable workers without the genetic contribution of other species. And, without thinking twice, they do it. Why is it important? For many reasons, but above all because it opens up an incredible melon: it brings back to the debate table the real meaning of “being a species.” It also forces us to rethink what we know about sexual reproduction and allows us to understand colonies as ‘superorganisms’ that are much more complex than we believed until now. So… can we really talk about sexual domestication? In this context, ‘sexual domestication’ appears as a visual metaphor of a complex process. However, there is no doubt that the appearance of colonies with internal reproductive ‘livestock’ changes the rules of the game. And not only on a scientific level: the fact that they are gaining ground throughout the continent shows that the strategy is successful. Very successful. Towards a European hegemony of the Spanish ant… No no. We can hardly say that. Today, all the ants on the continent are experiencing a real invasion: that of the Argentine or red fire ants. This is a biological invasion linked to globalization. In this case, what is happening is that by freeing yourself from dependence on M. builder (because it can produce reserves of its genetic material without needing colonies of this species), the M. ibericus They can move with complete freedom and that means they are moving into new and unexplored territories. But the complete battle, facing the fire ant, is yet to come. And they are already losing it. Image | Phil Honle In Xataka | New species of insects are not discovered in exotic places: we have just found two new ants in Andalusia

After comparing many OLED monitors, my next desktop display is going to be a TV

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choose a good screen to work or study on the computer, especially if we spend long days in front of it, is not an easy task: there is a very wide variety of options on the market, with a thousand different technologies and it is easy to get lost among them. However, if we prioritize the best image quality, brutal contrast and pure blacks, then the search is much simplified: OLED panels They are the best choice. LG OLED42C54LA – TV 42″, OLED EVO 4K The price could vary. We earn commission from these links In this sense, today there are more and more models of OLED monitors for PC and consoles. However, most of them are designed to enjoy video gamesadding a good handful of features and gaming technologies that increase its price. If the use we plan to give to the screen is not to play, then we are going to waste all those technologies and we will end up paying for functions that we do not need. Without overlooking that, usually, They have quite aggressive designswith striking lines, RGB lights that are anything but discreet and bases and supports that follow the same line. Using a television for the PC is a great idea in this case At this point, the alternative is very clear: use an OLED television (relatively contained diagonal) as a desktop screen for the computer. A great idea if what we are looking for is that OLED technology and we do not need everything associated with gaming screens: DisplayPort portshigh refresh rates, minimum response times, VRR technologies or designs like the ones we have mentioned. It must be taken into account, however, that although technology has advanced a lot In this sense, OLED televisions still have some risk of burn-in when using still images repeatedly. To avoid this, manufacturers like LG usually include specific technologies. And even we ourselves can help avoid it with such simple practices such as using dark mode in the operating system, hiding the taskbar automatically when we are not using it or setting a screensaver after short periods of inactivity on the computer. Taking all this into account, televisions like this 42-inch LG OLED They are a great purchasing option for several reasons: Its 42-inch diagonal It is acceptable for use at close range without making it uncomfortable It mounts a 3840 x 2160p Ultra HD panel that, in combination with those 42 inches, results in great clarity (vital to use up close without blurring texts, icons…) It has four ports HDMI 2.1 where to connect without complications any PC, laptop and even game console It reaches 120 Hz, which translates into greater fluidity of everything that appears on the screen, making transitions and scroll more comfortable for the eyes In addition to all this, it is still a television that we can take advantage of for purely “television” use. This is: watch movies, series and any compatible content from platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video or YouTube, among others. In addition to the DTT channels, of course. And in all cases, with great image quality thanks to its OLED panel. As an alternative to the LG, this other Samsung that goes up to 48 inches It is also an excellent option: it has a similar price (849 euros) and gives us that extra diagonal if we prefer somewhat larger screens. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: LG OLED evo 42″ OLED42C54LA ✅ THE BEST Great image quality: The OLED panel of this television offers pure blacks, high contrast and very vivid colors Allows you to play with a good experience: Thanks to its HDMI 2.1 and 120 Hz refresh rate, it is a good complement to latest generation video game consoles ❌ THE WORST Not best for avid gamers: For gaming PCs or high-end laptops, it falls somewhat short by not reaching 144 Hz Diagonal a bit big for some users: At 42″, it can seem somewhat annoying if we sit too close and it is difficult to find OLED televisions of 32 inches or less 💡 BUY IT IF… You do not need functions dedicated to gaming, you do not plan to play on it at high FPS rates and you prefer a more sober design ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You are an enthusiastic gamer who values ​​reaching 144 FPS (or more) and prefers more contained diagonals You may also be interested The price could vary. We earn commission from these links PlayStation 5 Pro + EA FC26 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, LG In Xataka | What is the best laptop for working in 2026. Tips and recommendations In Xataka | Best keyboards for writing and working: which one to buy and six recommended models

They will now require VPN providers to also block IPs

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According to an information note from LaLiga, the Commercial Court No. 1 of Córdoba has issued several orders granting LaLiga and Telefónica precautionary measures “unaudita parte” (“without hearing the other party”, without previously hearing the defense). These measures specifically target two of the providers of VPN services best known on the market: NordVPN and ProtonVPN. The consequences are very important. Dynamic blocking obligation. The court order – to which we have not had access, and which is mentioned in LaLiga – requires that both NordVPN and ProtonVPN must: “Immediately implement in its internal systems the appropriate measures to make it possible for the IP addresses provided by the plaintiffs, in which the illegal broadcast of protected audiovisual content has been verified, to become inaccessible from Spain.” Is absolutely unheard of. VPN providers as part of the problem. These orders, they say in LaLiga, “recognize that VPN service providers are technological intermediaries” that are within the application of the European Digital Services regulations, and therefore must prevent infringements from being committed through their infrastructures. The proceedings also highlight that VPNs are an “extremely effective and accessible means of generating the possibility of access to content that is not accessible in certain geographic locations.” Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, I already pointed out recently to the objective of imposing its demands on VPN providers. And on top of that take advantage of that activity. According to the documents cited by LaLiga, these VPN service providers not only facilitate access to geographically restricted content, but also actively advertise this ability to bypass the massive IP blocks ordered by LaLiga. According to the judge, these campaigns “distort the real location” and contribute to avoiding the restrictions already decreed by other courts. Unheard of part. That legal term sounds complex, but its meaning is quite direct. It literally means “without hearing the other party.” We are – if the orders are confirmed, to which we insist, we have not had access – facing a unilateral resolution. The normal thing is that the other party can defend itself, but we are facing a (another) legal exception reserved for emergency situations that they have taken advantage of in LaLiga for their policies of massive and indiscriminate blockades, regardless of the damage to third parties. NordVPN and ProtonVPN may oppose each other. In LaLiga they talk that we are facing precautionary measures, something also important because with them we do not have a final sentence. The affected companies have the right to oppose these measures once they have been notified to try to have the judge revoke them after hearing their arguments. Even so, LaLiga also indicates that the measures are for “immediate implementation”, which leaves these companies in a difficult defensive position. What ProtonVPN says. A company spokesperson has indicated in comments to Xataka Móvil that they were “not aware of any proceedings that may be underway” before the information came out. Likewise, it states that any court order issued “without due notification to the affected parties” would be “invalid from a procedural point of view.” They want the opportunity to present their case before a binding ruling is made. What NordVPN says. At Xataka we have contacted those responsible for NordVPN to clarify the matter. At the moment we have not received a response, but we will expand this information if we obtain new information. AND the tests, what? LaLiga also indicates that the orders oblige LaLiga and Telefónica to “preserve sufficient digital evidence of the illicit broadcast of the protected content” to notify the defendants. This requirement is a measure to legally ensure that the IPs that are ordered to be blocked were actually being used for these illegal broadcasts. They are not Spanish companies. There is some uncertainty here about whether these companies, which have headquarters outside the EU (like Panama in the case of NordVPN), will comply with an order from a Spanish court of first instance. If they don’t, national operators could be forced to block those VPN providers’ own nodes, but this is an even more drastic and terrible scenario: under the current announcement, users can continue using NordVPN and ProtonVPN normally for everything, but they will be just as affected by the blocks as if they were not using those VPNs. If this other measure were applied, it would not be possible to access these providers conventionally in Spain. VPNs filtering content? If they have to comply with these regulations, VPNs could become dangerous intermediaries for all the content that is transferred through their services. Many users take advantage of the layer of privacy these VPNs offer for teleworking and secure connections, but if VPNs agree to filter content, users could lose critical network access tools. What LaLiga says is one thing, what NordVPN and ProtonVPN do is another.. This entire process is still at an uncertain moment, because no matter how much LaLiga has achieved such privileges, it remains to be seen whether these suppliers will comply with these decisions. So, we will see how these suppliers respond to these demands. In Xataka | Football has become the anchor of operator subscriptions. And LaLiga is making more money than ever

Steam Deck is out of stock, and PS6 and Switch 2 are already shaking

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Considerable tension in the video game industry at a point in which it is perhaps not going through its healthiest moment. The last slap that shakes a sector that already balances in a moment of perfect storm is the shortage of DRAM chips, driven primarily by the demands of the artificial intelligence industry and its demands regarding data centers. Valve has already announced that hard times are coming for its warehouses and stocks, and rumors about changes in stock, prices and launches of Switch 2 and Playstation 6 are constant. The first, the Steam Deck. If you tried to buy a Steam Deck from the United States last week, you would see the ‘Out of stock’ message. Was a disappearance without warning and that affected the 512 GB and 1 TB OLED models (the 256 LCD has not been available for several months). It is something that, at the moment, only affects to Valve’s home country and Canada: In most European countries and some Asian markets it is still available. With a brief note, Valve has confirmed it from the website: The component crisis due to the demands of the AI ​​market has left the console models that were still available out of stock. And remember that when the LCD 256GB stock runs out, that will be all for that model. At the moment there are no clues about when the missing consoles will be back on sale or if prices will increase. Delays at Valve. There is another consequence of this component crisis: the delay of the company’s next releases, the Steam Machine, the Steam Frame and the new Steam Controller. In it steam hardware blog The company acknowledged that it was not able to offer prices or launch dates, despite the initial intention to launch them in the first quarter of the year. The launch window was moved from “beginning of 2026″ to “first half of 2026”. As for the price, which remains unknown, the analysts’ first intuitions set it for the Steam Machine between 700 and 800 dollars. Since then, subsequent calculations have skyrocketed beyond a thousand dollars. Could be, As some analysts commentthat Valve is prioritizing the available memory stock towards the Steam Machine, leaving its laptop on a secondary level, and hence the lack of stock? In any case, the second-hand market rubs his ditto. The devastating DRAM crisis. The problem behind this shortage is the supply crisis of DRAM, a type of memory present in computers, consoles or smartphones. The three manufacturers that control 90% of production (Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron) have been overwhelmed by demand for artificial intelligence data centers. Some reports speak of something that goes beyond a conventional cyclical shortagewhich points to a necessary reformulation of needs and prices. The problem is that manufacturing HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), the high-density and extremely high-performance variant that powers the AI ​​centers, makes Samsung and company have to limit DRAM production, and LPDDR5 production, the standard used by devices like the Steam Deck, plummets. Consequence: DRAM prices increased by around 50% throughout 2025, with another 30% increase in the fourth quarter of the year, followed by a further increase of around 20% so far this year. The situation does not seem to be going well finish in the next few months. Collateral damage 1: PS6. Bloomberg was the one who gave the alarm voice: Citing sources close to Sony, he revealed that the company was thinking of delaying the launch of PS6 until 2028 or 2029. If this last possibility happens, we would be in the longest interval between Playstation generations in history: nine years. Beyond the wait it entails for the players, it also disrupts developers’ plans and projects which, according to most sources, would have planned their launches around 2027. Technically, and although with PS6 we are in rumor territorythe console would arrive equipped with 30 GB of GDDR7 RAM, fourteen gigabytes more than PS5. At a time when Samsung has sold all its production capacity by 2026 and Micron has confirmed which does not have the capacity for new contracts until 2027, mass manufacturing PS6 is unfeasible. At least with PS5 there is no need to worry: Sony has confirmed which has enough memory to cover its needs for 2026 and 2027, which also guarantees that there will be no price increases. Collateral Damage 2: Switch 2. The ballot that Nintendo has in its hands is even more problematic, because Switch 2 It is already on the market, but it may have no choice but to raise the price in 2026. Bloomberg reported it in the same PS6 article, also citing people familiar with the crisis. Significantly, Nintendo was one of those responsible for the memory supply during 2025 being strained: its splendid launch and sales are, in part, responsible for the current situation. According to different sourcesNintendo would currently be paying 41% more for the 12 GB of RAM that is in each Switch 2 unit, compared to the cost anticipated in its original projections. Maintain current price would suppose a loss of $50 per unit sold during 2026: a drain (the console has already sold almost 18 million units) that not even the Japanese giant can afford. At the moment there are no official decisions, but the president of Nintendo recognized that “the current memory market is very volatile”: in the presentation of results admitted that the increase in component prices “exceeds our expectations”, although also that the company has accumulated inventory and closed long-term supply agreements. Nobody escapes. We have before us the three great sectors of the world gaming: PC, home console and hybrid consoles. All three have the same problem, and it cuts across the most powerful companies, which tells us not about a specific crisis, but about one that has structural overtones, and that goes beyond the video game sector. For example, PC users are already facing price increases or manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo considering reducing the RAM of your laptops mid-range. … Read more

In 2025, AI seemed to have hit a wall of progress. A volatilized wall in February 2026

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I fondly remember that time in which Intel and AMD fought to create the first CPU capable of reaching 1 GHz clock frequency. That race AMD won it (surprise!)but until that milestone occurred the pace was dizzying. Or so it seemed to us, because with AI the pace of launches is absolutely crazy. What a few weeks we’ve had, dear readers. Let’s see: January 27: Kimi.ai lance Kimi J2.5 February 5: Anthropic lance Claude Opus 4.6 February 5: Same day OpenAI lance GPT-5.3-Codex February 5: Kuaishou lance Kling 3.0 February 12: Z.ai lance GLM-5 February 12: ByteDance lance Seedance 2.0 February 12: MiniMax lance MiniMax 2.5 February 16: Alibaba lance Qwen3.5-397B-A17B Coming soon: DeepSeek v4, Does it call?, Gemini 3.1, … The pace is absolutely frenetic, and the LLMs that a few years ago months weeks seemed to be fantastic now they are not so much. The new versions of these language models do not stop evolving, and AI companies continue to constantly offer new developments. Almost dizzying. That, of course, has its good side and its bad side. We end 2025 with a certain boredom in the face of an AI that promised a lot but ended up changing hardly anything. Only at the end of the year was a palpable revolution seen with that spectacular combination formed by Claude Code and Opus 4.5. The Anthropic binomial amazed the developers, who for the first time seemed to agree when it came to declaring that with this type of platform they could ask the AI ​​for whatever they wanted, and that it would program it for you at once and almost always without problems. Of course there was some exaggeration in that speech, but certainly the capacity of Opus 4.5 and the degree of autonomy and Claude Code’s versatility They seemed to mark a turning point. Then OpenClaw arrived and that expectations for AI agents have once again skyrocketedbut in parallel we are seeing a real fever of launches of new generative AI models, both in video (Kling 3.0 and especially Seedance 2.0 They have been viral phenomena in themselves) as in text/code. And with each new model, the promise of performance surpassing the previous generation. At least, of course, in the benchmarks. On the left, Alibaba’s internal benchmarks for Qwen3.5. On the right, those from Anthropic for Opus 4.6. Each one compares himself with whoever he considers appropriate. Those bar graphs in the image above have become a constant, especially when the model is launched by a Chinese company. If the launcher is OpenAI, Google or Anthropic, tables are preferred. Be that as it may, the result always leads us to the same thing: each model is better than its predecessor and, normally, than many of the competition. AI Subscription Fatigue The problem with this is that this race never seems to end, and a model that seems fantastic today is not so great tomorrowwhen its competitor can barely outperform it, but it can also be considerably cheaper – Chinese models usually are – or offers other advantages such as larger context windows so that we can enter longer and longer texts – for example, large code repositories – as part of the prompt. And of course, that poses a problem for users. If Opus 4.5 was so good, one could sign up for the Pro or Max plan and pay a year in advance, but that is a priori risky, because although you will have access to new models when you release them, you will have dedicated your investment in AI subscriptions to the Anthropic model without having as much room to try those of rivals. Here short subscriptions are required: Subscribe to one model for one month so that I have some leeway in case I want to try another model the next month (or try two or three models in the same month, which is also a common case). The prices of subscriptions to AI services are also not facilitators of these multiple tests. The normal thing is to pay 20 euros for a one-month subscription, and although Chinese models are usually much cheaper, they are also usually one step behind in capacity if one needs maximum performance. But here the problem is repeated again and again: if I subscribe now to GPT-5.3-Codex, which everyone says is fantastic, how long do I pay for it, one month? Or do I also subscribe to GLM-5 to try, and next month I will try Opus 4.6 and MiniMax 2.5? All of these decisions are difficult because the perception of each model depends on each user. Each of them has their needs, their budget and their own experiences with each model, so as much as the benchmarks say one thing, With AI models it is happening to us like with wines: No matter how much they tell us that one is better than the other, we perceive them in a very personal way. And this frenetic advance also means that the expectation for models that really make a difference has been recovered. Vibe coding is not perfect, but it solves our needs better and better, and the same goes for AI agents like OpenClaw, which with their lights and shadows demonstrate that the future in which we have an AI employee—although at first they may be somewhat clumsy—working 24/7 does not seem to be that far away. These are dizzying and fascinating times for AI. Again. Image | Mohammad Rahmani In Xataka | China brought humanoid robots to the country’s biggest television show: it made them practice kung-fu with millimeter precision

What is this network traffic analyzer and how to use it to detect Internet problems or security flaws

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Let’s explain to you what it is and how to take advantage wireshark from the point of view of an ordinary user. I say this because it is a very advanced tool that analyzes all the traffic on your network, and that of all the devices connected to it. When you run this appyou’ll see a series of lines of data that you may not understand. But by knowing a little about what information is going to appear, you can also find ways to diagnose failures in your connection or whether an application or device is spying on you by sending data when you are not using it, or to unknown servers. What is Wireshark Wireshark is a network protocol analyzerwhat in English is called packet sniffer. What it does is capture, isolate and transmit each of the packets that are sent and received through our Internet connection, whether we are connected via WiFi or Ethernet, and it does all this in real time. This is a free and open source programwhich means that any developer can look at how it works inside. This makes it reliable and safe, because if it did things that were not appropriate, users would have already reported it. It has versions for Windows, macOS and Ubuntubeing able to download them at wireshark.org. When it comes to giving you information about the traffic that passes through your network, shows you very important datasuch as the IP and Mac addresses of the person sending or receiving the data, the sending protocol, the content (showing text or images if they are not encrypted), and connection healthwith the exact time it takes to load each piece of information. The operation of this tool is based on three fundamental pillars. First the capture one, because it puts your network card in a mode where it can see all the traffic that reaches it. This includes both information that your operating system displays and information that it does not display. It also has a color code to help you distinguish the packages. As a general rule, green is usually standard TCP traffic, blue is DNS or UDP, and black and red usually indicate problems. That’s why, you can identify that you are having errors or problems quite visually, just by seeing that there are many red or black lines. The app also has a top bar where you can type commands to filter information. This is already quite advanced if you don’t know how networks work, but you can, for example, use “ip.addr == IP Address” changing the address to that of a specific device to see its movements, or type “http” to see only web traffic. In short, it is a fairly complex and advanced tool, so it is not for all users. It is more aimed at system administrators, to detect attacks or bottlenecks. However, If you know where to look you can also take advantage of it as a home user. How you can take advantage of it Although it is an advanced tool, it can be useful for normal users in some contexts as well. We are going to give you some ideas so that you know the type of information you can obtain: If your online games cause problems: A speed test may tell you that your Ping is good, but the experience is different when playing. Therefore, this application can tell you if packets are being lost along the way that are making everything slower. If you are concerned about privacy: You will be able to see what data your devices send to the cloud and the Internet, and if it is not encrypted you will see your content. This can help you be more aware of your privacy, and detect if a device is sending more data than it should. You will also be able to see if a device connects to servers of dubious origin. If you have technical problems: If a website does not load or a printer disappears from the network, this application can show you at what point communication is being cut off. If you want to do lag tests: If in this tool you filter by the appropriate protocol, such as UDP for games, you will be able to find if there are black lines that indicate that the information you send is “out of order” because it never arrived at the destination or did so late. With this you can see that if you have lag it is not a matter of your bandwidth, but perhaps of your network signal or a saturated node of your operator. If you want to know what the devices on your network are doing: As we have more and more connected devices at home, with this you can audit what each one does. You can even isolate the IP of a cell phone or a security camera to know if it is connecting, what data it is sending, or if, for example, it sends data to other servers from time to time. In any case, what you should know is that this tool is going to show you all the traffic that your home network has. It shows all the raw traffic, and doesn’t hide anything, meaning you can have a lot of fun looking at everything that’s happening on your network and learning how to take advantage of it to understand everything. In Xataka Basics | Internet does not work at home: five alternatives to connect without using your router

become the biggest fortune in Europe

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Amancio Ortega has been the greatest fortune in Spain. However, the founder of Inditex is getting closer to regaining the throne as the richest European according to the list of Forbes. In recent years, the Leonese magnate’s assets have grown thanks to the good stock market performance of Inditex but, above all, due to the profitable real estate investments of his second billion-dollar empire: Pontegadea. ​Race for the European throne. According to Forbes data, Bernard Arnault is currently the richest person in Europe and ranks seventh in the world. global ranking with an approximate fortune of $158.3 billion thanks to LVMH, the luxury fashion and beverage empire he founded. For his part, Amancio Ortega occupies tenth place on the Forbes list with a net worth of $148.9 billion, which leaves a difference of about $9.4 billion between both magnates. An increasingly smaller difference. $9.4 billion may seem like an insurmountable difference to anyone, but in reality a bad afternoon in the stock market can make the surprise possible. Ortega controls almost 60% of Inditex, which multiplies the impact of its rises in the stock market. In 2024, the gap between both millionaires was enormous. Bernard Arnault came from being the richest person in the worldand between both millionaires there was a difference of 130,000 million dollars in favor of the French magnate. However, Inditex’s growth and good stock market results contrasted with LVMH’s successive declines in sales in Asia. Weakness in luxury compared to the solidity of Inditex. Precisely those opposite trends of LVMH and Inditex are what increase Ortega’s chances of becoming the biggest fortune in Europe. LVMH registered a decrease 13.3% in its profits and 5% in turnover in its latest annual results, which caused a drop of more than 8% in the stock market in the first session and 19.4% in the last month. This instability in luxurywith brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon or Tiffany & Co., has weakened the equity of the company’s shareholders. Louis Vuitton matrix. On the other hand, Inditex charted an upward trajectory, reaching 58 euros per share last week, its all-time high, registering a capitalization of 177.8 billion euros. This divergence in the stock market explains why Ortega’s fortune is only one step from Arnault’s. Pontegadea: the key to growth. Beyond the fluctuations in Inditex’s prices, Pontegadea, Amancio Ortega’s investment holding company, is positioned as the most solid pillar of the Spanish tycoon’s assets. Your real estate investments, energy networks and logistics are not subject to fluctuations in the stock market, which is why they contribute to making Ortega’s fortune much more stable than that of the French millionaire. Recently, Pontegadea bought the Australian group Qube for 6,895 million euros together with Macquarie, adding more than 9,000 million in logistics investments from 2022. These operations in ports as PD Ports and assets in Vancouver or Miami diversify the portfolio of Ortega’s investment arm with stable incomes in consolidated sectors or growing. In Xataka | How much money Amancio Ortega has: how the fortune of the richest man in Spain is distributed Image | GTRES, Flickr (Trump White House Archived)

A Chinese driver rigged his car to drive alone while he was drunk. It wasn’t the best idea

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The Supreme People’s Court of China has had to come out to clarify what may have already seemed obvious: a driver cannot delegate all of his actions to a car with level 2 autonomy. Much less if that driver is traveling drunk and in the passenger seat, leaving the driver’s seat completely empty. As? Yes, you read that right. To Justice. History brings it CarNewsChinawhere they cover the case of a driver who was arrested for drunk driving… more or less. Because, really, he wasn’t the one driving. He was traveling in the passenger seat, with the small detail that no one sat in the driver’s seat. Wang Mouqun, a resident of Linping (a suburb of Hangzhou, a city with almost 12 million inhabitants), has been tried by the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China, the most important court in the country, in the first case dealing with behavior related to road safety. The detainee has been punished with 45 days in jail for testing positive in the alcohol test. The decision comes after the driver had also received another sanction for the same reason in less than two years, which has aggravated the punishment. Nobody at the wheel. The truly curious thing about the case is that Mouqun had rigged the car so that the driving assistance system worked even if there was no one at the wheel. Thus, the owner of the car was able to sit in the passenger seat and sleep peacefully while the vehicle was driving without anyone at the wheel. In the Chinese media They talk about “an accessory installed to fool the system” but it is not clear exactly how it did it. What is clear is that the vehicle, a Aito M9drove with adaptive cruise control down the road without ever detecting that there was no human at the wheel. It is not the first case that has occurred in China either. of a driver who activates the driving assistance assistants to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol. What is new is that the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China is in charge of handling the case. Level 2 autonomy. Cars like this Aito M9, with a autonomy level 2can circulate without human intervention but require a person to remain attentive to what is happening around them to take the reins at any time. In addition, they require keeping your hands on the wheel. Level 3 autonomy cars can drive without human intervention but, in Europe, only Mercedes is allowed to do so and in very specific circumstances. In fact, the system is so useless at the moment that the company has stopped offering it in the new Mercedes S Class. Between both levels there is an intermediate step known as autonomy level 2+, which does allow for some license. These systems are those that equip cars that, in addition to maintaining the adaptive cruise control system, can overtake cars on their own, just by activating the turn signal or even looking to the sides like BMW. Ford is the only company in Europe with which You can drive without hands on the wheel although the system monitors that the driver keeps his eyes forward. Responsible. What the Chinese Justice has decreed is that in any case, the driver is responsible, even if he was traveling in the co-pilot system and with the driving assistance systems activated. And although no risk situations derived from this way of acting were detected. In fact, the vehicle was kept in operation between 1:15 in the morning and 1:37 when the vehicle detected the trick and stopped the car by itself on the shoulder of the road. It was then that other drivers detected that something was happening and called emergency services. They tested the driver, who tested 114.5 mg/100 ml of alcohol in his blood. in Chinaexceeding 0.80 mg/100 ml of blood alcohol is punishable by a fine and exceeding 150 mg/100 ml is an aggravating circumstance. Above 180 mg/100 ml of blood alcohol is punishable by a prison sentence without parole, with exceptions. The Chinese court considers that Mouqun was ultimately responsible for what happened behind the wheel and that, therefore, he is guilty of both hacking the car and “driving” under the influence of alcohol. Added to a previous withdrawal of his driving license in 2024, the driver has received the aforementioned penalty of 45 days in jail and a fine of 4,000 yuan (about 490 euros at direct exchange rate). Photo | XHBY.NET In Xataka | Fine of up to 1,000 euros for a beer: the DGT prepares the definitive attack against alcohol and it is called rate 0.2

make it so cheap that it is “invisible” to the user

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DeepSeek is the spearhead when we talk about artificial intelligence from China. Not only does it have a great performancebut the own Microsoft has raised the alarm by pointing out that its policy is allowing it to gain users in markets in which others such as OpenAI has it more difficult. Other companies like Tencent or Alibaba are taking giant steps in the fight for AI, and a few days ago ByteDance –TikTok– presented a Seedance 2.0 which is impressive… and now it’s giving you headaches. But the great ones are not the only ones, and with a China focused on the development of robotics and AIwe must talk about other smaller ‘players’. Zhipu AI and MiniMax are two of the “tigers“that, in just a few years, have raised hundreds of millions of dollars and that have models that have a radically different philosophy to that of OpenAI and other Western giants. Their models are sold as life companions, tools that people can use on a daily basis without worrying about the price. And, within that speech, MiniMax just launched the M2.5, a model that wants to become a “digital employee” and that its managers have classified as its first “frontier model” so cheap that it is not worth measuring the price. AI too cheap to worry about price M2.5 is now official and, as stated South China Morning PostMiniMax did not want to waste the opportunity to launch it in a hectic week for the AI ​​industry in China. Technically, M2.5 is an LLM – large language model – that can handle about 230 billion total parameters, but only uses 10 billion per token. Being a Mixture of Experts system, each call only involves the experts directly necessary to resolve the request. Bringing the figure down to earth, that means that it is a capable model, but by user request does not use its full potentialwhich implies low inference costs and very low prices for users. Those responsible for it claim that the price is just one dollar per hour of continuous operation, spending 100 tokens per second. This means that you can have an “agent” working continuously throughout that time at a price between 10 and 20 times lower than other models such as Opus, Gemini 3 Pro either GPT-5. Such an aggressive policy makes M2.5 a model “too cheap to quantify,” according to those responsible. facilitating that mass adoption because the user can stop optimizing each order he gives to the AI. That phrase “too cheap to put in” it’s a wink to the historic comment that electricity from nuclear energy would be too cheap to measure. Internal score in different tests | Image: MiniMax And something important is that M2.5 is not a simple chatbot. It is available on platforms such as Ollama, HuggingFace, ModelScope in China or GitHub, and MiniMax itself points out that 30% of the company’s internal tasks are already carried out by M2.5 itself. Furthermore, 80% of new code is generated by the model. That is, it is more optimized for working alone than for chatting. This code created by code thing is not unique to M2.5, and Codex and Opus is also in this boat. The model has already been put to the test and, although in some tasks it achieves notable results, especially compared to other models open-weightits score is far from that of the closed models. In the results internal from the company itself, managed to double the score of the previous model, the M2.1, but as SCMP points out, these internal benchmark scores are difficult to verify independently. Internal benchmark in coding | Image: MiniMax But, in the end, whether more or less capable compared to other models, MiniMax M2.5 is another example of the strategy that China is pushing with artificial intelligence. While the United States is striving to demonstrate that it has increasingly powerful and capable proprietary models, AI is in a narrative in which aims to promote cheaper and more useful models for the user. This implies not only that they have a good performance/price ratio, but also that they can run on everyday devices without enormous computing power. And now that, supposedly, certain Chinese companies You will be able to get your hands on some of the best GPUs of NVIDIA to train AI, the boost to that strategy may be notable. Images | MiniMax (edited) In Xataka | There is another race equally important as the one for chips to win AI and in that China takes the lead

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