Mobile Tech & Gadgets

Fewer and fewer teachers want to go on trips with their students. So in Galicia they are entrusting it to companies

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For students it is usually the best moment of the course, but if we talk about teachers, excursions are something else: a extra burden of responsibility and headaches. So much responsibility and so many headaches in fact that there are teachers who directly renounce participating in them. At the end of the day, a trip to the Prado, a few days visiting Barcelona or even a week in Rome is experienced differently if you are a kid willing to burn the night away than a teacher with the mission of taking care of twenty teenagers. For some faculty, this panorama is so demotivating that are turning to companies specialized. The objective: ‘outsource’ school trips. One trip, two ways to live it. Each student is a world. There are those in science and literature, extroverted and shy, responsible and brainless… but what the vast majority agree on is what is the best moment of the course: the excursions. Especially those that culminate ESO or high school, getaways of several days that involve spending nights away from home, leaving your region (maybe even the country) and savoring a dose of freedom that you normally don’t have in your daily life. It sounds exciting… unless you are not the student, but the teacher. Not given away. A few years ago Laura Gómez (Lauri Math Teacher), teacher and tiktoker, published a video which accumulates almost 145,000 likes and 2,000 comments in which he told what it is like to go on a school trip when you have to do it from the other side, that of the teachers who for a few days act as tutors-night watchmen. And its message is curious to say the least: these getaways are usually free for teachers, but even so, despite the opportunity to spend a few days of tourism in another country, many flee from that responsibility as from fire. “We’re going on a free trip” You know what? There are no teachers who want to go on study trips. In fact, many trips have had to be canceled because there were no teachers who wanted to go with them and, of course, if there are no teachers there is no trip,” the teacher reveals. The next question is obvious: Why? Why are there teachers who prefer to continue with the classroom routine rather than spend a few days in Paris, Tenerife, London, Rome… with a group of students? “You sleep between little and none.” The answer Laura’s story is quite simple: where kids see days and days of fun, freedom and more or less supervised revelry, teachers often see something else: “It’s a tremendous responsibility to go abroad with a group of teenagers, each with their father and mother. They get sick, anything happens to them… You sleep little to nothing and on top of that you have to be running around all day from one place to another.” The influencer She is not the only one who has spoken publicly about the issue. In 2024 I did it too through the pages of The Voice of Galicia José Ramón Alonso de la Torre, retired teacher from Vilagarcía de Arousa. In an article on the subject, he explained that it is one thing to accompany students on one-day cultural trips and quite another to go with them on trips of several days, often hundreds of kilometers from their homes. “The teachers back down, as has happened in some Arousa high schools, because they know they are at risk,” recognize. @laurimathteacher Would you go on a study trip?👩🏼‍🏫✌🏼🥵 ♬ original sound – ➗LauriMathTeacher➗ “What are they going to do?” “In the press there are often news stories about teachers legally accused of abandonment and abandonment because a student, while going down a slide into a pool, twisted his arm. Or because another was mugged on Paseo de Palma and had his phone stolen. And what are the poor teachers going to do, prohibit them from bathing, accompany each walker?” he was wondering Alonzo. “No, it is not easy to go on an excursion in front of 50 boys and girls ready to take on the world, especially the world at night.” Alcohol, scares, unforeseen events, nights guarding nightclubs and hotel hallways, run-ins with students from other schools… Seen that way, who would want to shoulder that enormous burden of extra responsibility? Outsourcing trips. So far nothing surprising. What is curious is what I revealed yesterday Vigo Lighthouse in a chronicle that explains how some teachers in the region are refusing to go on trips with their students. Given this scenario and to prevent kids from being left without the experience, there are centers in which the function is being outsourced directly. What does that mean? That trips are celebrated, but with teachers, but with other professionals. “Two years ago we had to call a company to travel with the children because no teacher wanted to go. This year we preferred to keep only the 4th year ESO excursions. In third year we would have to count on the company and we decided to stop doing it,” comment to Lighthouse Malores Villanueva, director of an institute in Vigo. Yours is not the only center that has covered the lack of volunteer teachers by resorting to a specialized company. “Pretty strict rules”. One of these businesses, Divertos, assures that it is not an exceptional practice, especially since the pandemic. “There are years when the same center calls us for several outings and other courses for nothing; and they call us again years later. There are promotions that are more complex than others,” comment to Lighthouse its manager, Marivíc García. The service provided not only relieves teachers of responsibility. It also marks the focus of travel. “We have quite strict rules and although at first they protest, they later get along well. They know that if they don’t comply the consequence is losing the trip,” explains Garcia before citing some guidelines they give to young people, such as not … Read more

Surfshark is a top tool to protect your privacy on the Internet

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With news of massive hacks almost every week, it is logical that we want to add an extra layer of security while browsing the Internet. Of all the ways there are to do this, the most useful and easy to use is a VPN. If we are actively searching for one of them, we have one of the best VPN available at a discounted price: it is surfsharkavailable now for 1.99 euros per month. Surfshark Starter Subscription – monthly The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A secure, fast VPN that you can use on all the devices you want As we always tell you, a VPN It is one of those tools that does not get in the way and that is always good to have installed on our devices. Yes, there are free options on the Internet that, for specific use, are not bad. The problem is that most of them They are not as safe as they say they are.hence It is advisable to invest a little and get a payment one that is safeas is the case with Surfshark. How can a VPN help us be safer on the Internet? By activating it, what we will be doing is passing our traffic through an encrypted and secure tunnelin such a way that no one will be able to see what we are doing. This is ideal in any scenario, but especially recommended if we are going to use a WiFi network that is not ours, such as that of a hotel. Another thing that a VPN also allows us to do is keep our IP address hidden. By using it, we will be preventing it from being registered anywhere or that no one will be able to intercept it, something ideal, since with it they can even impersonate our identity. Let’s now talk about Surfshark’s offer. This company offers three different plans, the Starter being the cheapest of them. Right now we have it available for 1.99 euros per month if we go for their two-year plan. In this way, in total we will be paying 53.73 euros and we will take three extra monthsso we will enjoy the tool for 27 months in total. And be careful, because you can use it on as many devices as you want without paying more. If we don’t mind investing a little more and are looking for a more complete tool, we can automatically go to your plan Surfshark Onereduced right now to 2.49 euros per month. This, in addition to including the VPN, comes with more additional tools, such as an antivirus or a tool that warns you in case your data is leaked on the Internet. Surfshark One Subscription – monthly The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The improved version of the previous plan, called Surfshark One+is also on sale: it goes for 4.19 euros per month. This includes, essentially, everything from the previous plan, along with a very interesting tool called Incogni. It allows us to delete our data from people’s company databases, which is very useful. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Image | Nathan Fertig on Unsplash,Surfshark In Xataka | Why it is dangerous to connect to public Wi-Fi and what you should do to protect yourself In Xataka | Free VPN and security: what’s the problem, why you should be careful

It’s called AlphaGenome and it looks for the ‘flaws’ in DNA that no one else sees

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Historically, genetics has had a big problem with our body and the instruction manual that we have in each of the cells and that gives us the possibility of living: DNA. Until now, We could only understand well 2% of all our genetic materialleaving the rest of the information in a mess drawer that came to be called “junk DNA” because we did not understand what function it had in our body. But this has changed thanks to technology. The solution. Google has wanted to collaborate with science to understand much better what 98% of our DNA does that it does not encode proteins and that we did not know its reason for being. But evolutionarily, if it has not been lost over the generations, it is because it must have had some relevant function. In order to shed light on this ‘dark’ region we now have AlphaGenome, an AI model that is capable of reading massive fragments of our DNA and predicting with great precision how small mutations can alter cellular machinery and cause diseases. Like a cancer. What we know. As we have said before, genetics knows that only 2% of the human genome contains instructions for making proteins. The rest of the DNA was a mystery for a long time until it was recently discovered that “switches”, known as enhancerswho decide when, where and how much a specific gene is expressed. The problem arose when the genetic variations in these areas were difficult to interpret due to the great diversity of molecular consequences that it can cause. Until now, computational tools had to choose: either they analyzed very short sequences in great detail or they looked at long sequences in little detail. AlphaGenome has broken that barrier. A million letters. In a very colloquial way, we can understand that human DNA is made up of letters (which are the different nitrogenous bases) and their combination literally generate a language. In this case, AlphaGenome’s great technical innovation is its ability to “zoom” and “pan” at the same time. The model takes as input 1 megabase (1 Mb) of DNA sequence, which is one million letters, and predicts thousands of functional genomic clues at single base pair resolution. And this is a vital range, since genetic regulation occurs at a distance. And although in our minds we can imagine that the ‘switches’ of the different genes are right next to or above their targets, the reality is that they can be very far from it. In fact, 99% of validated enhancer-gene pairs fall within this 1 Mb range. Its importance. It may sound like technical science fiction, but the impact of an AI understanding our “junk code” has very real consequences for patients and medicine in the near future. And AlphaGenome is not just a tool for biologists; It is a key to unblock personalized medicine. One of the most important points is in what are known as ‘rare diseases’ where dedicating a research team is unfortunately not worth it due to the few people who have a disease. In this case, AI, by interpreting all the genetic material, can show many answers ‘hidden’ in that non-coding dark matter to offer new diagnostic avenues. Computer drug. The tool promises to accelerate the design of advanced therapies. By predicting how a DNA sequence affects splicing (splicing) or expression, can be used to design drugs that act on the products generated by the genetic machinery of our cells. In this way, the door is opened to these precise and very non-invasive treatments by acting on a specific protein, which reduces its side effects. Decrypt cancer. As has been demonstrated with leukemia, the model allows us to understand the most complex genetic mechanisms of this disease in which we are facing a constant struggle. It doesn’t just say “there is a mutation,” but explains how that mutation breaks cellular rules to activate an oncogene that is the precursor to future cancer. This is vital to develop drugs that attack the root of the problem and not just the symptoms. Your availability. True to the philosophy of “open science” (with nuances), DeepMind has released the model code and weights for research, in addition to provide an online API for non-commercial use. Although logically AlphaGenome is not the end of the road, it does represent the most detailed map that we have ever woven of that “dark matter” that makes us human. Images | digitale.de In Xataka | Your DNA predicts whether you are going to use cannabis (and how often): the culprit genes have already been identified

Sanderson finally signs the Cosmere adaptations after years of fighting, and Apple gives him more control than George RR Martin has

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Brandon Sanderson has closed an unprecedented agreement with Apple TV to adapt the literary universe of Cosmere. The platform will develop films based on the ‘Mistborn’ saga and a series of ‘The Storm File’, the author’s two main franchises. The pact gives Sanderson a level of creative control higher than even that enjoyed by JK Rowling or George RR Martin with their respective adaptations: he will be the architect of the universe, he will produce, he will be consulted and he will have the power of approval over creative decisions. Several attempts. The announcement comes after years of deals that did not come together. In 2016, DMG Entertainment acquired the rights to the Cosmere for $270 million for three films, but the project never moved forward. own Sanderson recognized in December 2024, in your annual updatebeing “back at square one” after the collapse of negotiations for a film adaptation of ‘Mistborn’ that had reached very advanced stages of development. The project had taken five years of work, had a finished script and linked actors whose identities he could not reveal. Sanderson later detailed on Reddit that the plan contemplated a hybrid model: a first big-budget film followed by a television season covering the period between books one and two of the original trilogy. A second film would adapt the second book, followed by another transitional season. The main actors would have signed contracts for both film and television. An unusual success. The new agreement with Apple represents the culmination of the publishing phenomenon led by Sanderson: his books have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide, a figure that includes both his solo works and his contributions to ‘The Wheel of Time’ by Robert Jordan, which he completed after his death in 2007. In 2022 he established the record for Most successful literary Kickstarter in history by raising 41.7 million to self-publish four secret novels written during the pandemic. But what is the Cosmere? The Cosmere is a shared universe that interconnects multiple fantasy sagas through a common cosmology and interlocking systems of magic. The model resembles Isaac Asimov’s approach with his universe of robots and foundations, although Sanderson planned the connections from the beginning to avoid the need to reconcile items later. The Cosmere encompasses different planets with distinct civilizations, histories and magical systems but based on a shared mythology: the being Adonalsium, whose power fragmented into sixteen shards distributed throughout the cosmos. The agreement. Apple closed the deal after a competitive process in which Sanderson met with most of the top studio executives in Hollywood. In this way, the company is left with a fictional universe that has similarities with another franchise it also owns, ‘Foundation’ (and, in part, with ‘Silo’), which allows it to compete in the field of fantasy and science fiction adaptations with Amazon (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Wheel of Time), HBO (Game of Thrones) and Netflix (The Witcher). It is not the first time that Apple has reached agreements with prestigious creators, such as Alfonso Cuarón (‘Disclaimer’) or Martin Scorsese (‘The Moon Killers’), but none had been given as much creative control as Sanderson. The challenges of the Cosmere. The technical and narrative complexity of the Cosmere poses notable obstacles. For example, magic systems: Allomancy in ‘Mistborn’ allows users to “burn” ingested metals to obtain supernatural abilities differentiated according to each metal. Sanderson expressed on Reddit his concern about a possible oversimplification that denaturalizes these systems, designed with coherent internal rules that structure entire plots. The length of the works is another problem: the books often easily exceed a thousand pages. For example, the five Stormlight Archive books add up to nearly two and a half million words, and Sanderson plans ten volumes in total. The expectation. The announcement made by the author on Reddit generated thousands of comments analyzing the implications of the level of creative control guaranteed to the author. The closest precedent to this model could be Peter Jackson with ‘The Lord of the Rings’, although in that case the author of the original work was absent. Meanwhile, Sanderson asks for patience: film development requires years of prior work, usually between two and three, before reaching the production phase. What is clear is that although Sanderson’s presence provides guarantees and Apple is potentially a great option for adaptation, the process is not going to be easy. In Xataka | Brandon Sanderson eviscerates the Cosmere, his narrative technique, which includes an Excel sheet, and the moment that made him a writer

Three Russians surrender on camera. A normal scene from wars, but science fiction in Ukraine because of the “soldier” who points guns at them

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From dug trenches rush to heaven buzzing without restthe war in Ukraine has become a testing ground where the classic rules of combat have long since lost the battle. Every month scenes appear that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago and that force us to rethink what it means today to fight, resist or survive in a front dominated by unexpected technologies. The last example shows a surrender. The first time before a machine. Three Russian soldiers emerge from a building, one of them bloody, raise their hands and obey orders while a camera records everything. The scene would be routine in any war conflict in history, but in Ukraine it marks a breaking point: The one who points the gun at them is not an infant, but an armed robot. It’s not the first time we see such a surrenderbut it is the first to be documented on video and in front of an unmanned land vehicle, a scenario that symbolizes the extent to which the line between science fiction and real combat has been definitively erased in this conflict. From marginal experiment to centerpiece. It we have counted before. Ukrainian ground robots, known as robotic ground complexes, began the war as imported rarities and today are an industrial and military mainstay of their own. 99% of UGVs in use They are already manufactured in Ukrainewith more than 200 different models produced by dozens of local companies in ultra-fast design cycles, fine-tuned directly with feedback from the front. Small, cheap and assembled from commercial components, these robots have moved from transportation and evacuation to carry heavy machine gunslead assaults, hold defensive positions for weeks, and now, accept prisoners without any human soldiers having to expose themselves. Machines that do not bleed. The tactical value of these systems goes beyond firepower. Accepting a surrender with a robot eliminates the risk of ambushes, false capitulations or instant decisions between life and death, a recurring problem on the Ukrainian front. At the same time, the psychological impact It’s huge: fighting an enemy who doesn’t feel paindoes not die and can be replaced quickly erodes morale and makes the option of surrender more rational. Hence the image of confused soldierss surrendering to a machine summarizes that moral and human imbalance. Some of the varieties of Ukrainian ground drones The sky as a weapon. This qualitative leap on the ground fits with an even more overwhelming reality in the air. According to Zelenskymore than 80% of effective strikes against Russian forces are already carried out with drones, the vast majority manufactured locally. In 2025, Ukraine claims to have attacked about 820,000 targets with these systems, recording each impact on video within a points system that rewards units for each confirmed casualty and accelerates the acquisition of new material. In other words, war has become a closed loop of sensors, cameras, algorithms and rewards. An unprecedented cost. Almost four years after the invasion, Russia’s human toll in Ukraine reaches unprecedented figures since World War II: around 1.2 million soldiers dead, wounded or missing, according to the latest report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This massive attrition contrasts with very limited territorial advances, barely 12% more territory controlled since 2022, with daily progress that in some sectors is measured in meters and is even lower than that recorded in battles of the First World War. The Ukrainian defense-in-depth strategy, combining trenches, mines, obstacles, artillery and drones, has tipped the balance of casualties by a proportion clearly unfavorable for Moscow and questions the idea of ​​an inevitable Russian victory. The Russian rearguard. The impact of the conflict goes far beyond the front and is degrading Russia’s economic and strategic capacity, the same as the SCIS report already described as a second or third order power. The combination of inflation, labor shortages, industrial weakness and technological stagnation has left growth stunted and a committed futurewhile human losses exceed the recruitment and replacement capacity. In fact, compared to past conflicts, the figures are devastating. The war future. In short, between swarms of FPV drones, armed ground robots and electronic warfare systems, the war in Ukraine has advanced decades of military development in just a few years, while much more expensive and slow Western programs they stalled or were canceled. Therefore, the filmed surrender facing a robot is not an isolated anecdote, but a sign that modern combat no longer revolves only around the human soldier, but rather cheap, disposable and omnipresent machines. In Ukraine, the war of the future is no longer being imagined: it is being recorded in the first person. Image | UKRAINE MOD In Xataka | “They are under our feet”: Ukraine has entered an inexplicable phase, that of its drones attacking Russians at absurd distances In Xataka | We had seen everything in Ukraine. Until Russia sent a soldier to the front that we had only seen in the movies

requirements, price, how often you have to renew it and how to make an appointment

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We are going to explain everything you need to know to renew your passport. Because just like your DNI, your passport has an expiration date, and when it expires you will have to renew it to travel outside the European Union. We are going to start this article by telling you what the renewal process is like and how often you have to renew your passport. Then, we will tell you the requirements you must meet and what you must bring, including the price of the renewal. And we will finish by telling you how to make an appointment. How to renew your passport You are going to renew your passport at the National Policein the same offices where DNIs are made and renewed. You will have to go in person, bring what we will tell you later in the minimum requirements, and the renewal will be carried out there. You can renew your passport 180 days before it expiresso you have your back covered in case you are planning a trip. And if you lose your passport, then you will have to make an appointment to issue a new one. How often do you have to renew your passport? How often you should renew your passport depends on your age. These are the age ranges and how often you have to renew it depending on them: If you are under 5 years old: The passport is renewed every 2 years. If you are under 30 years old: The passport is renewed every 5 years. From 30 years old: The passport is renewed every 10 years. In any case, in your passport You will be informed of the expiration date in addition to the issuance date, so that with just a glance you can know the exact day on which you are going to have to renew it. Requirements to renew your passport To renew your passport you have to comply with a series of requirements. These are documents that you must present and payments to make. You must have all this and take it to the police station to have your passport renewed. Valid ID: You will have to present it to identify it. Recent photography: A recent passport-type photograph, with a size of 32×26 millimeters. It must be in color, with a uniform white background, and taken from the front. Your face must be seen clearly, without wearing glasses and without hair covering your face. This will only not be necessary if you renew your ID on the same day. Current passport: If you are going to request the renewal or a duplicate of a passport that is still valid and that you have not lost, you must present it as well. Pay fee: Renewing the passport costs 30 euros. This is the same price for the first shipment, but also for renewals, losses or deterioration. It will only be free if you belong to a large family. You can pay the fees at the shipping office or on the website when making an appointment. How to make an appointment for renewal To renew your passport, you will have to make an appointment at the National Police. You can do this by calling 060 or through the web portal citapreviadnie.es. In it, you have to choose how you want to accessit could be with you electronic ID and a reader or adding your ID data by hand. The easiest thing is to choose to enter with the option Access with DNI/NIE data. In this case you will go to a screen where you must write the document number, shipping equipment and other information. To the right of the website you will have a section where you can see where each of the data is located. Now you will enter a web page where you can choose the procedure for which you want to make an appointment. In this case, within the section Renewal choose the option Passport. Now, you will go to a screen where you can choose your autonomous community on a map, and when you do you will have to choose where you want to carry out the renewal. Once you choose this, you will go to a screen where you can choose the month, day and time where you want to request your appointment. When you do, you will only have to pay the subscription if you want, something for which you will need to have installed Self-signature. Remember that if you do not want to make the payment, you can do it directly at the police office. In Xataka Basics | How to securely share your ID and other documents with the Safelayer online tool

With the new Amazon pack you will not have to connect the Fire TV Stick to the power

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Fire TV Sticks work by connecting them to an HDMI port on your TV and a power outlet, but What if we skip this last step? There is an accessory that allows you to do this, and Amazon has now included it in a new pack that sells for 44.99 euros and that also includes a Fire TV Stick HD. Fire TV Stick HD + Mission Cables Adapter The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A new Fire TV Stick HD pack Mission Cables is a brand that manufactures accessories for some of Amazon’s devices, such as the portable battery for Echo Dot or, in this case, the adapter for the Fire TV Stick. This last accessory allows us to skip the step of connecting the dongle to a power outlet, and It does it through a USB-A port on the television. It is ideal if we have few power outlets nearby or if we simply have a power strip (or do not have one directly) occupied by other devices, something that can be common if we have the TV, a sound bar or the router connected. The adapter is Compatible with all Fire TV Sticks (although nothing is mentioned about the Fire TV Stick 4K Select), so if you are interested in buying it on Amazon it has a price of 24.99 euros. As for the Fire TV Stick HDthis is a model aimed at televisions that do not offer 4K resolution and are not compatible with Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmosalthough it can perfectly be used on any television that at least has an HDMI port. Integrate the voice assistant Alexa and it comes with a remote that has shortcut buttons to apps like YouTube or Netflix. You may also be interested Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, compatible with Wi-Fi 6, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and HDR10+ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition (latest generation) | With color screen, self-adjusting front light, wireless charging and long battery life | 32GB 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 | Enrique PerezAmazon In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best Amazon Fire TV. Which one to buy and recommended models to convert your TV into a smart TV depending on use

Tesla is pivoting to turn its cars into a side business. The reason: their income falls by 61%

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The Tesla Model S and Model X are incredible cars. Get them while they’re still available! With these phrases, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has accompanied the company’s announcement in X in which they point out that during the next quarter they will reduce their production of the Tesla Model S and Model To its credit, the company will produce Optimus robots. by surprise. It was known that Elon Musk has been pushing for some time for Tesla to increase its investments in artificial intelligence and robots, either in humanoid form like Optimus or through its robotaxis for autonomous driving. But what we did not expect is that this bet would displace two of its most iconic models. And the company will stop producing its Tesla Model S, its first sedan, and the Model X, its first SUV, in Freemont (California) to make way for the production of Optimus robots. The company closes a chapter by recognizing that “Tesla would not be what it is today” without these cars. In Xataka Tesla wanted to make 20 million cars in 2030. The reality in 2025 is that Tesla has crashed and BYD is already leading A paradigm shift. The decision to invest in this factory to increase robot production is more than just a redistribution of its efforts, it is confirmation of a change in strategy in the company. Musk seeks invest $2 billion in xAIthe company dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence. Intertwining your companies is one of the obsessions from the CEO of Tesla so that some feed each other. xAI is key to power and improve Grok which, in turn, is already included in Tesla vehicles as an artificial intelligence assistant. At the same time, xAI is also decisive for the functioning of its robotaxisthe cabin without wheels or steering wheel that Tesla wants to put on the street to offer a completely autonomous taxi service. In Xataka Tesla can’t wait for us to take our hands off the wheel. We have tried it and we have opinions More than complicated numbers. Optimus has left many doubts and Musk himself has confirmed that he expects a slow deployment. However, dedicating a plant that only manufactured a handful of cars is not only confirmation that the company does not care in the least about killing a product if it understands that it is not profitable or that its future is much less interesting than a new bet. Changing the use of the factory is also a necessity. And the numbers presented by Tesla are something much more than complicated: Net profit has gone from 7.1 billion to 3.8 billion dollars, 45% less. In the last quarter, turnover has fallen from $2.1 billion last year to $840 million. It is a drop of 61%. The company has delivered 1.64 million cars in 2025 in what is its second year reducing its sales. In the United States the drop in sales is 7%, according to Cox Automotive, reported in The New York Times.  In the same period, it is estimated that BYD has sold 2.25 million cars Purely electric. In Xataka The Tesla Cybertruck is such a sales failure that Elon Musk has only found one solution: buy them from himself Loss of identity. The Tesla Model S and Model X have become residual cars for the company since the Model 3 and Model Y occupied the bulk of sales. Both are very expensive cars that cost around or exceed 100,000 euros. Both the saloon and the SUV served the brand to boost your image and personality as unique cars. Over the years, that has been lost. And the huge screens that previously surprised now do not stand out in a market that has turned to trying turn the cabin into a multimedia centerespecially in China. Your own assembly line has been forced to keep its design unchangedwhich has made them lose freshness. The popularization of its Tesla Model 3 and Model Y has popularized access to the company, making them lose part of that desirable car aura. {“videoId”:”x9tnvi4″,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”Why YOUR NEXT CAR WILL SURELY BE CHINESE”, “tag”:”Webedia-prod”, “duration”:”614″} A cut production. The decline in sales has led to declining production of both models. To give us an idea, nothing is better than the data provided by the company itself: 2022: 71,777 units produced and 66,705 deliveries 2023: 70,826 units produced and 68,874 deliveries 2024: 94,105 units produced and 85,133 deliveries* 2025: 53,900 units produced and 50,850 deliveries* Starting in 2024, Tesla accounts for the production and deliveries of the Tesla Model S, Model X and Cybertruck in the same item. That’s whyCybertruck sales are estimates outside of Tesla The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y Standard confirms a story. The story of what I want and I can’t of Tesla’s 25,000 euro car In Xataka The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y Standard confirms a story. The story of what I want and I can’t of Tesla’s 25,000 euro carThe limits . Tesla is in a stagnant situation with its electric cars. The company stepped on the accelerator in 2024 to remain the best-selling electric car brand in the world and improve the previous year’s data. But it did not succeed, going from 1.85 million cars produced and 1.81 million cars delivered in 2023 to 1.77 million units produced and 1.79 million cars deliveredin 2024 . Year in which, in addition, They increased their range with the Cybertruck which started at a very good pace. The company, therefore, needs to kill some very expensive cars that are barely generating a positive impact on its accounts no matter how high the profit margin obtained with each unit. To begin with, because the company needs a boost from its investors, who seem to support these decisions. And, second, because we have to see if the company has not already peaked in its vehicle sales. At leastwith its particular way of producing cars with huge presses that are only profitable by manufacturing millions and … Read more

“A generation that cannot stand boredom will be a generation of little value”

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Before we get into philosophical matters, let me ask you a personal question: When was the last time you got on a train, no matter if it was an AVE or the subway that takes you from home to the office? And what did you do during that trip? What were the rest of the passengers doing? I don’t know the first answer. Regarding the other two… it is quite likely that I will be right because they will coincide with what I myself do when I travel: I take out my phone, read the news, open Instagram, browse TikTok, X… Anything to distract myself. Is the most normal No? The same thing happens when we are in the dentist’s waiting room, we wait our turn at the butcher shop, we wait for our son to get out of the pool or we are simply in the elevator that takes us from the hall to the floor where we live. We look for stimuli, a quick way to fill our attention. The opposite would be almost counterintuitive because, after all, who would choose to be bored when they have unlimited distractions in the palm of the hand? Who wants to be bored? Networks and cell phones may be relatively modern inventions, but the ‘allergy’ to boredom is not. Neither the debate about the place it occupies (or should occupy) in our lives. In fact, a few decades ago, one of the most prominent and media thinkers of the 20th century, the British philosopher, logician, mathematician and writer, was already reflecting on this matter. Bertrand Russell. Throughout his prolific career Russell delved into the highest terrains of mathematical theorybut he also wrote a huge number of articles and essays on topics much closer to the asphalt, with titles as suggestive as ‘Why I’m not a Christian’ (1927) or ‘The conquest of happiness’ (1930). In one of his many memorable lines he left a phrase precisely about idleness and boredom that today sounds with a special force. So much in fact that every so often it sneaks in articles about psychology or in those proverb collections philosophical ones that then tend to populate the footers of the agendas. The phrase in question says: “A generation that cannot stand boredom will be a generation of little value.” A whole plea in favor of torpor that is reminiscent of the proclamation of another great intellectual of the 20th century, Miguel de Unamuno, who in his day also confessed to appreciating boredom. “something sweet and calming”. But… What the hell does Russell mean by a “low-value generation”? Is it so important to know how to be bored? At the end of the day, Europe at the beginning of the 20th century in which he lived is one thing and our hyperconnected world, that of TikTok, Spotify and Netflix, is another. What sense does it make to tolerate boredom in an era in which production, efficiency reign, and in which there is no pocket without a cell phone? Should we cross our arms on the subway instead of take out the smartphone and see how our cousin is doing on his vacation, read the latest Xataka posts or watch videos of kittens on TikTok abandoned to the pleasure of scroll infinite? Today we know that Russell I was not wrong. At least if we base ourselves on the observations carried out a few years ago by Dr Teresa Belton, from the University of East Anglia, who already in the 1990s began to explore how television was affecting the development of children. It wasn’t the first. Their work was supported in turn in other previous studiessuch as macro research conducted in the 1980s in Canada that found that children raised in communities without TV obtained higher scores in “divergent thinking skills,” an indicator of their imagination. That advantage disappeared as soon as the small screen came into their lives. What did Belton verify? Basically, despite the ‘bad press’ of boredom, there are certain professionals who claim that boredom has played a key role in their creative development, both in childhood and in adulthood. As an example, he quotes Meera SyalEnglish writer, playwright and actress. “Boredom led her to keep a diary, and this is what she attributes her career to,” explains the researcher. Another example he presents is that of the neuroscientist and writer Susan Greenfieldwho is also convinced that the time she spent as a child with no other occupation than writing and drawing laid the foundations for her career as a student of human behavior. “You don’t need to have a special talent. You just let the mind wander from time to time seems important for mental well-being and functioning. One study has even shown that if we do some simple, undemanding activity, the wandering mind is more likely to generate imaginative ideas and solutions to problems,” reflect in The Conversation. “It’s good to help children learn to simply enjoy leisure, and not grow up with the expectation that they should always be active or entertained.” “Children need time to stop and observe, time to imagine and develop their own thought processes or assimilate their experiences through play or simply observing the world around them,” comments Belton. before warning that screens can “short-circuit” that process and the development of creativity. In one of his articles he even remembers “flow” concept coined by the psychologist Mihalyi Csickzentmihalyi, something that can also be transferred to adults who like to escape by taking out their cell phone in the subway or elevator. “Paradoxically, this attempt to avoid boredom can result in a kind of dissatisfaction that is experienced as boredom,” comment. “He flow is the satisfying feeling of total absorption that we obtain when we concentrate on an enjoyable activity, over which we have control, but which tests our ability. Climb, write, solve equations or assemble furniture. But if our skills are greater than those needed for that activity, such as casual use of the Internet, the … Read more

the small print of the new PVPC and the end of volatility

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The January 2026 slope has come with a moderate surprise for millions of homes: the electricity bill is lower than last year, despite the fact that the structural costs of the electrical system have risen sharply. Behind this partial relief there is a significant change that marks a before and after in the regulated rate: the Voluntary Price for Small Consumers (PVPC) has entered its final phase. After the energy crisis of 2022 and the blackout of April 2025, the Spanish electricity system seek stability. The result is a less volatile, more predictable, but also more rigid rate. The underlying question is whether this new PVPC protects the consumer or prevents them from taking full advantage of the drop in prices when energy is abundant. A respite on the January slope. For an average household, the start of the year is being less suffocating than expected. According to the simulator of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), an average consumer will pay about 9% less than in the same period last year. As detailed The Information, The monthly bill is around 52.50 euros, compared to 56.40 euros in January 2025. This decline is not minor if we take into account that two winds are blowing against us. On the one hand, regulated costs have risen —tolls and charges—which represent between 35% and 45% of the bill. On the other hand, it remains the “reinforced operation” of the electrical system after the blackout, which forces the use of more expensive gas plants more frequently to guarantee the stability of the network. Even so, the receipt goes down. The key is in the reform of the PVPC. The metamorphosis of the PVPC. What the consumer sees on their bill today is the result of a transformation that began in 2023. For more than a decade, the PVPC was almost entirely linked to the daily wholesale market, the so-called poolwhere the price is set every 15 minutes. This design made it possible to take advantage of specific drops, but also exposed households to extreme increases during the gas crisis, with prices that in 2022 exceeded 200 euros per megawatt hour on average. To reduce this vulnerability, the Government designed a three-year transition that ended on January 1, 2026. Since then, the price of PVPC energy is calculated with a stable distribution: 45% depends on the daily and intraday market and the remaining 55% on the futures markets—annual, quarterly and monthly. As explained The Conversationthe objective is not to always make the bill cheaper, but to prevent it from behaving like a roller coaster again. This greater stability comes at a cost. The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) remember that in 2024 The new formula made the bill 5.2% more expensive compared to what would have been paid with the old system. In 2025, with calmer prices, its impact was almost neutral. In 2026, the model is already definitive. The abundance that does not reach the pocket. The new PVPC coincides with a paradoxical moment. During Christmas 2025, Spain and much of Europe experienced some of the lowest electricity prices in recent years. thanks to records of wind and solar production. However, many consumers hardly noticed this drop in their bill. The reason is structural since more than half of the PVPC price is linked to futures contracted months in advance, the sharp falls in the daily market they only partially move upon receipt. This effect is accentuated in moments of curtailmentwhen renewable energy is wasted because the grid cannot absorb it. In Spain, this problem has tripled due to the lack of investment in infrastructure, with especially stressed areas such as Asturias. The result is a contradictory situation: clean and cheap energy at source, but limited by saturated networks and a system that prioritizes stability over extreme savings. What the consumer can do. As he emphasizes The Conversationthe PVPC does not eliminate the user’s decision-making capacity, but it displaces it. The price of energy is no longer the only relevant factor. The bill is made up of several terms and only two are really manageable: the contracted power and the hourly distribution of consumption. In 2025, the power term represented around 20% of the average bill, and the energy bill, 56%. Adjusting the real power needed and taking advantage of off-peak hours—early mornings, weekends and solar periods—remains key to containing costs. The difference is that extreme micro-optimization, based on monitoring the market every hour, loses weight in the new system. So, is it worth staying? The PVPC maintains clear advantages because it remains the only way to access the social bonus and offers total transparency, with prices supervised by the Administration and acts as a cushion against sudden increases in gas in a context of geopolitical uncertainty. But it also loses appeal for very active profiles. Those who adapted their consumption to the cent can no longer fully benefit from the hours of almost free electricity that occur in spring or autumn with high renewable production. The free market, for its part, offers fixed rates that provide certainty, but are not free of risks. The OCU warns of automatic revisions linked to the CPI—3% year-on-year in November—which can make the bill more expensive even for regulated concepts. Comparing carefully is essential. Shadows on the horizon. Beyond the individual consumer, the electrical system faces a fundamental risk. The Government has calculated the 2026 charges assuming that electricity demand will grow by 4.5%. However, the CNMC has much more cautious forecasts, around 2.3%. If consumption does not grow enough, income will not be enough to cover regulated costs and premiums for historical renewables. It’s not a bargain hunter’s fare. The PVPC of 2026 will be more stable, more predictable and safer, but also less spectacular at times of minimum prices. The energy transition has managed to generate clean and abundant electricity, but the consumer continues to pay for obsolete networks, increasing fixed costs and a system designed to avoid blackouts rather than … Read more

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