Mobile Tech & Gadgets

The biggest geopolitical risk on the planet is not Greenland. It’s a smaller island with a disturbing neighbor: Taiwan

by

Throughout the cold warthere were points on the map whose real value was not measured by their size, but by what could be triggered if someone tried to force the situation. Today, one of those places once again concentrates gazes, calculations and uncomfortable silences among the great powers. and it is not in Greenlandbut on a smaller island. The global risk enclave. The tension between United States and China is concentrating increasingly evident in Taiwan, a territory small in size but enormous in strategic consequences. While Washington allows itself dramatize scenarios secondary in the Arctic, Chinese military maneuvers around the island they have been become routineincreasingly aggressive and similar to real blocking or maximum pressure tests. The absence of clear and quick responses from the White House projects a dangerous sign in a context where deterrence depends less on formal declarations than on immediate political reflections. The deterrence that is called into question. The contrast between Trump’s political lukewarmness and the warnings of the US military apparatus itself has opened a visible crack. The Telegraph said that Pentagon commanders have been warning for some time that China is preparing to be able to fight and win a conflict over Taiwan before the end of the decade, although that diagnosis does not always translate into credible public messages. This dissonance reduces the perceived cost of a Chinese action and leaves open the possibility of a calculation error on Xi Jinping’s part, especially if he interprets American caution as a lack of will. Taiwan as a key piece. Taiwan’s importance to the United States is not symbolic, but rather structural. We are talking about an advanced democracy in a region dominated by authoritarian regimes, one that houses the core of world production advanced semiconductor and is part of the first island chain that limits military projection China in the Pacific. From that perspective, the fall would be a direct blow to the global economy, Western technological superiority and Washington’s strategic credibility in Asia. Taiwan Navy It’s not 1996 anymore. Unlike previous crises, when American naval and air superiority was overwhelming, today the balance is much tighter. China has built a navy larger than the American in number of ships, an air force with hundreds of fifth generation fighters and, above all, a massive arsenal conventional missiles capable of hitting bases, ports and fleets at great distances. Although the United States continues to spend more on defense, lower Chinese industrial costs and its geographic proximity to the theater of operations significantly erode that advantage. The “logistics” weapon. The New York Times recalled in a column that one of the factors that moderated Beijing’s behavior for years was its dependence on critical raw materials from countries aligned with the West, especially Australian iron ore. That brake is weakening as China secure supplies alternatives from Africa, reducing their vulnerability to sanctions or blockades in the event of conflict. The result: an environment in which the economic costs of a war over Taiwan, while enormous, are already They are not so deterrent for Beijing as they were in the past. No clear winner. The open simulations and internal leaks From Washington they agree on a most uncomfortable diagnosis: if necessary, a war over Taiwan it would be devastating even for those who managed to impose their immediate objective. China could fail in invasion, but the United States and its allies would pay a military price not seen since World War II, with massive losses of aircraft, ships and personnel. Taiwan, even if it managed to resist, would be deeply damaged as a country and as a global economic engine, dragging the world into a prolonged crisis. The island that weighs the most. All this explains why Taiwan is, by far, the increased geopolitical risk of the planet at this time and a strategic priority, surely far above scenarios like greenland. It is not about territory, or not only, but about credibility, balance of power and stability of the international system between two superpowers. And, on that board, every gesture of ambiguity counts, and every sign of weakness can bring closer a conflict that no one would win on paperbut whose consequences would affect everyone. Image | Pexels, 總統府 In Xataka | China has just shown the world that it “plays” in another league: it only needs one soldier to control 200 drones in combat In Xataka | China’s best weapon doesn’t fire a single bullet: 300km ‘moving wall’ to close sea routes instantly

Moeve has a turnover of 1.8 billion euros. The Prosecutor’s Office asks to dissolve the company because, they claim, they did not pay 7.7 million in taxes

by

Now Cepsa is Moeve. And now it is Moeve who has to fight against an accusation from the Public Prosecutor’s Office for fraud in the payment of taxes. The court case has been dragging on since 2022 but has its origins almost a decade ago. Now, the Prosecutor’s Office is asking for 28 years in prison for its board, targeting three senior officials of the Canary Islands Tax Agency and, in addition, the dissolution of the company. What has happened? In short, the Prosecutor’s Office accuses Moeve of tax fraud in the Canary Islands. According to their investigations, the company would have stopped paying 7.7 million euros to the Treasury by passing off diesel fuel as fuel oil when paying taxes between 2016 and 2021. The change is substantial because the tax rate on fuel oil (€0.56/tonne) is much lower than that on diesel (€222/1,000 liters). They stand out in Motorpassion that diesel has a tax 400 times higher than the change of units and, from there, would come the 7.7 million euros that the company would have omitted when presenting its taxes. What does the Prosecutor’s Office ask for? The Prosecutor’s request is harsh: That criminal proceedings be opened against the company The dissolution of the company Fine of 13 million euros for the company 28 years in prison and more than 25 million euros in fines for the board Two-year disqualification for three senior officials of the Canary Islands Tax Agency How did the events happen? As described in Fuerteventura Diarythe Prosecutor’s Office maintains that between January 2016 and October 2021, the then Cepsa, through its subsidiary Petróleo de Canarias (Petrocan), settled the taxes by passing off diesel fuel as fuel oil with “a clear intention of defrauding” the regional Public Treasury. According to their calculations, the company would have stopped paying the following amounts: 2016: 781,295 euros 2017: 404,134 euros 2018: 1.4 million euros 2019: 2.3 million euros 2020: 1.6 million euros 2021: 1.2 million euros In all that time, the Prosecutor’s Office accuses the Canary Islands Tax Agency of ignoring the complaints that came to it from the oil company. And the company IR Maxoinversiones, which manages various local gas stations, already reported the events in 2019, repeated it, expanding the complaint in 2020, and some time later filed a third complaint. The officials indicated by the Prosecutor’s Office, however, did not file any measures to investigate the events. What does Moeve say? Company sources point to Xataka that “the case is appealed. We reject the accusation and we hope that the actions of justice confirm the correct application of the taxation carried out by Moeve to the product called Diesel Oil, for industrial use and not linked to the activity of service stations.” They explain that Diesel Oil is a much heavier product than the diesel that we can consume for the car, so its use can only be industrial to start a machine or power a heater. That is, the usual use given to fuel oil. Thus, they point out that their taxation has always adjusted to what the Treasury has demanded at all times and that they are not trying to pass the product off as what it is not in their accounts. Disproportionate? Although the Prosecutor’s accusations are on the table and they say they can support them with data, it remains to be seen what the resolution of the case is. The claims refer to an alleged evasion of 7.7 million euros over six years, a very small figure for a company that only in the first nine months of the year 2025 (latest data published) earned 472 million euros in net profits and invoiced more than 1.8 billion euros in 2024. Therefore, beyond proving that Moeve did not pay the taxes due, it will have to be demonstrated that this omission was made with the intention of enriching himself and not because of a mistake when filing taxes, an element that seems essential for a judge to order the dissolution of the company. a company with more than 11,000 employees. Photo | moeve In Xataka | There is a hidden war to sell us the cheapest possible gasoline. One that Ballenoil and Plenergy already dominate

OpenAI is very clear that ads on ChatGPT are going to work. So much so that they are going to charge more than TV for them, according to The Information

by

A few days ago we knew that OpenAI was going to draw up a plan to insert advertising in ChatGPT. Now, according to they point Sources from The Information, the company is already establishing the rates that it is going to start charging advertisers, and the truth is that they are going to give something to talk about. The media shares that OpenAI asks for approximately $60 per 1,000 impressions (CPM), a very high figure when compared to other media, including television. The problem is that OpenAI does not yet offer anywhere near the same measurement tools as Google or Meta. The price thing. The figure of 60 dollars is at NFL levels, according to reflects Gennaro Cuofano, founder of The Business Enquineer. OpenAI has not yet specified what data it will provide to advertisers, only that it will be “high level”, so there is some skepticism if we take into account that companies like Meta and Google allow us to track very specific and detailed metrics when we see an ad through their platforms. Vender access, without results. The company is betting for capitalizing on its audience of more than 400 million users before building the necessary infrastructure to offer this type of service. As Cuofano details, it’s about “selling reach now, building attribution later,” similar to what Facebook did in 2010, when it had a massive, fast-growing audience and opted for ads without yet an advanced metrics infrastructure. Time has ended up proving Zuckerberg’s platform right, but we will have to wait to see if the move is worth the same to OpenAI. Nfinancial need. The strategy can also be seen as an attempt by OpenAI to reverse the economic situation through which it passes. And as we knew through internal documents, the company projects operating losses of $74 billion by 2028, driven largely by AI operational costs. The idea is that the ads appear in the coming weeks only for free and download users. Go plan in the United States, while Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise subscriptions will be free of advertising. OpenAI affirms that the ads will not influence the chatbot’s responses and that it will never sell conversation data to advertisers, in addition to avoiding sensitive topics such as mental health or politics. And now what. OpenAI will now have to demonstrate that it can scale this model beyond experimental budgets. And to scale a platform towards revenues that exceed tens of billions of dollars in advertising, it will be necessary to build a very solid measurement infrastructure and establish relationships with advertising agencies that it does not have now. It remains to be seen if the same promises that feed your ecosystem of products also allow them to build an advertising ecosystem as large as Google, Meta or Amazon have demonstrated in recent years. Cover image | OpenAI In Xataka | “The assemblies are not going to be done by AI”: we talk to the kids who have become carpenters, truck drivers and tinkerers

Your solution is Maia 200

by

Microsoft has presented the Maia 200, its second self-designed AI accelerator aimed at model inference, that is, executing them once trained. The chip, manufactured in TSMC’s 3 nanometer process, seeks to improve efficiency and reduce data center operating costs and the rest of the company’s AI-dependent services. Below these lines we tell you all the details. What makes this chip special. According to the company, the Maia 200 integrates more than 140,000 million transistors and is optimized to work with large language models. Microsoft promises 30% more performance per dollar than the previous generation, the Maia 100. The company also claims that it outperforms FP4 Trainium3 from Amazon and TPU Google’s seventh generation in FP8 precision. Image: Microsoft Why inference matters. Inference is the process of running an already trained model to generate answers, and it is becoming an increasingly important expense for AI companies. Unlike model training, which requires raw computing power over concentrated periods, inference is a process that must operate continuously and efficiently so as not to compromise the experience of millions of users. Highlighted technical features. The chip incorporates 216 GB of HBM3e memory with a bandwidth of 7 TB/s and 272 MB of integrated SRAM. According to the company, the chip can achieve more than 10 petaflops in 4-bit precision (FP4) and approximately 5 petaflops in 8-bit precision (FP8), all with a consumption of 750W. Just like has shared Microsoft has also designed a hierarchical memory system that promises to distribute workloads more intelligently between SRAM and HBM to keep models fed with data at all times. Where and what it will be used for. Microsoft has already begun deploying the Maia 200 in its Azure US Central data center near Des Moines, Iowa, with the US West 3 region in Phoenix as the next destination. The chip will be used to run models like GPT-5.2 of OpenAI in services such as Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Foundry. Microsoft’s Superintelligence team will also use it to generate synthetic data and reinforcement learning tasks. Less dependency. With the Maia 200, Microsoft joins a growing trend among large technology companies: designing its own accelerators to reduce dependence on NVIDIAwhose chips dominate the market and have a high cost. Google has its TPUs, Amazon has Trainium, and now Microsoft reinforces its hardware with this second chip after the Maia 100 launched in 2023. According to the specifications, the Maia 200 works at almost half the energy consumption of the NVIDIA Blackwell B300 Ultra (750W vs. 1400W), although the two chips are designed for different use cases (inference vs. training + inference). Between the lines. The launch of the Maia 200 is really late. According to they point from Tom’s Hardware, the chip known internally as Braga, was scheduled for 2025 and could have come out before NVIDIA’s B300. Microsoft’s messaging repeatedly emphasizes efficiency and performance per dollar, so it aligns with the company’s strategy to keep AI operating costs in check as much as possible. It also coincides with Satya Nadella’s recent statementsCEO of Microsoft, on the need for the industry to maintain “social permission” to continue expanding its data centers. And now what. Microsoft is already working on future generations of the Maia and, according to share According to Tom’s Hardware, the next chip could be manufactured with Intel Foundry’s 18A process. Meanwhile, the deployment of the Maia 200 will allow the company to test its ability to compete with Amazon and Google on its own infrastructure, while containing the operational costs of running its AI services at scale. Cover image | Microsoft In Xataka | The number of new apps coming to the App Store has skyrocketed. We have a culprit: “vibe coding”

TCL is growing wildly in TVs while Samsung falls. The surprise that no one saw coming is about to happen

by

The global television market fell 1% year-on-year in November 2025, but behind that decline is the sign of a change in hierarchy: Samsung continues to be the leader with a 17% share, but TCL has boosted its sales by 20% compared to the previous year and is already close to first place. What seemed impossible two years ago (a Chinese brand that used to be seen as ‘cheap’ taking the throne from Samsung) is now a very real possibility. The data comes out of latest monthly report sales report published by the market analysis firm Counterpoint Research. The figures. Samsung has gone from 18% to 17% market share in one year, with a 3% decline in units sold. TCL, on the other hand, has climbed from 13% to 16% and continues to rise. Hisense, the third manufacturer, has fallen 13%, dragged down by the collapse of the Chinese market (-24%), where it is stronger than in the West. LG has grown by 7% and stands at 9%, while Walmart has strongly entered the top 5 after completing the purchase of Vizio in December 2024. Between the lines. TCL’s rise is neither coincidental nor ephemeral. The company has stopped being seen as a manufacturer of cheap TVs to position itself in premium technologies such as MiniLEDwhich sells at more competitive prices than Samsung. That combo has been lethal in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where demand for quality is growing but price remains decisive. And there is another key factor: TCL hardly depends on the Chinese market, which is in free fall. Hisense has collapsed due to its exposure to its country of origin (it accumulates almost a third of its sales there), but TCL has diversified its sales and is now reaping those fruits. The master stroke. TCL just signed a historic agreement with Sony to manufacture its televisions under a joint venture in which the Chinese will control 51% and the Japanese 49%. It is a move that changes everything: TCL gains instant credibility in the premium sector by associating with a brand synonymous with image quality, and also manages to penetrate Japan, a protectionist market where Chinese brands have a very difficult time. For Sony it is a way to survive in an increasingly competitive market where it does not manufacture its own panels and its premium prices leave it out of the game. For TCL it is the definitive boost: it stops being the cheap-Chinese manufacturer and starts managing one of the most respected brands in the sector. The joint venture will start in 2027, so the immediate effects will be less than anecdotal. But in the medium term, history may change. Yes, but. Samsung is not going to let itself be dethroned without going down into the mud. Although its share has fallen, it still has great financial muscle, a global distribution network full of alliances forged after many years of relationships with distributors, and an advantage in premium segments such as OLED and QD-OLED. Besides, Walmart’s acquisition of Vizio It marks the entry of a third major contender in North America that could make life difficult for both Samsung and TCL. What is clear is that 2026 will be the definitive year: TCL, Hisense and Xiaomi are going to continue putting pressure on MiniLED and medium-large screens, just where demand grows the most. And if Samsung does not react as it should, the surprise It may be a matter of quarters. He 2026 World Cup can alter all forecasts. It is one of the great incentives for millions of homes to renew their TVs, and whoever best positions themselves in price and technology will win the jackpot. And now what. The battle to lead TV sales is no longer just a technological issue, it is also a question of pricing strategy and geographical expansion. TCL has shown that it can grow with a lot of commercial aggressiveness without giving up the best technologies. Samsung is going to have to decide whether to lower its prices or take refuge in the most premium segment. The third option (staying still) does not seem viable for anyone’s sake. In Xataka | I also plugged the HDMI cables into the first port I found: I was wasting half my TV Featured image | TCL

The DGT ends the extension and anticipates mandatory insurance for 4 million vehicles

by

They wanted to launch it on January 2, 2026 but at the end of December last year They confirmed that it would not be possible. Now, the DGT returns to the fray to try to organize everything related to light personal vehicles. That is, the scooters and derivatives that circulate on our streets. This time yes, this time there will be registration. Start-up. The DGT has confirmed that users of personal mobility vehicles (VMP) will have to register in the electronic traffic headquarters their electric scooters if they want to circulate in accordance with the law. Traffic wanted to have this measure ready with the start of the new year but it was today that the Council of Ministers gave the green light to the measure. In its last meeting, the Government approved the royal decree that regulates the operation of the Registry of Light Personal Vehicles to “comply with the first additional provision of Law 5/2025 of July 24, which modified the law on civil liability and insurance in the circulation of motor vehicles to introduce the obligation to insure all personal mobility vehicles, which came into force on January 2 pending the launch of the registry.” What does this mean? In short, if you have an electric scooter you will have to register it with Traffic. The measure is taken to have control of, according to the DGT, the four million personal mobility vehicles that circulate on our streets. The procedure is slightly different, as we will see later, depending on the age of the electric scooter but it is key because it is the first step to force the user to have insurance for your vehicle. The DGT already warns that not having it will be grounds for a fine “According to the provisions of the law on civil liability and insurance, lacking it will be penalized with between 202 and 610 euros and driving with a VMP without insurance with between 250 and 800 euros depending on whether it is considered a light personal vehicle or motor vehicle (more than 25 kilograms in weight and more than 14 kilometers/hour) by the aforementioned Insurance Law. They already have a certificate. In addition to registration and insurance, electric scooters must have a certificate in which all the technical characteristics of the electric scooter are collected. This allows an agent check if a scooter is complying with regulations or, on the contrary, it has been tricked to circulate above the maximum authorized speed of 25 km/h. This certification is collected with a plate on the chassis of the vehicle and is present on all electric scooters sold in Spain since January 22, 2024. The DGT itself, as happens with the V-16 beaconshas on its website a list with all approved scooters to be sold in our country. In this case, if the electric scooter already has this certificate, in the electronic office it will be enough to fill in the certificate number and the serial number. Then a digital registration certificate is issued so that our vehicle is registered as registered. Does not have certificate. In this case, you have a problem. First because the DGT requires that these scooters also be registered although at the time of purchase it was not mandatory to have the certificate. To do this, it is mandatory to have an invoice or technical sheet from the VMP and a photograph. If you do not have an invoice, the only possible procedure is to homologate the vehicle by going through a laboratory certified by the DGT to obtain the technical sheet. Once the certificate is obtained, the DGT issues an identification sticker that must be affixed in a visible place, as is the case with environmental badges on cars. And keep in mind that if you want to keep your scooter it is worth it. Without a certificate registration is not possible and without registration it is not possible to insure the electric scooter. The DGT opens an extension to certify all these scooters until January 22, 2027. From then on it will not be possible to circulate with a VMP without a certificate. How do I do it? As we said, the DGT will enable a space in its electronic headquarters where the entire process can be carried out. At the moment, this space is not open but Traffic assures us that it will be available “in the coming days.” In addition, the DGT assures that they will enable a channel to register the electric scooter when contracting the insurance and that they are working to be able to register it at the time the scooter is purchased at the establishment. Will they fine me? According to the press release, yes. As we said above, with fines of between 200 and 800 euros. However, Traffic does not specify in its press release from what date it will be mandatory to have a registered vehicle and insurance to avoid receiving the fine. Right now, we only know that scooters without a certificate have until January 22, 2027 to obtain it. When asked about this, the DGT has not given us exact dates or deadlines either. Traffic limits itself to stating that it will be informed about this and that the platform will be available “in the coming days” but there is no date indicated on the calendar. Photo | Marek Rucinski In Xataka | $25,000 fine for driving a souped-up electric scooter: Toronto has decided to apply a heavy hand to them

AEG’s Winter Sales are perfect for renewing appliances

by

Renewing appliances (no matter if they are large or small) is less drama when we have offers or discounts. The brand is in that right now AEGwhich has active Winter Sales with discounts of up to 60% in ovens, hobs, washing machines, dryers, vacuum cleaners and more. These discounts can also be combined with the code “AEGEXTRA15”, thanks to which we will have an additional 15% discount. In addition to the promo, available until next March 1It is important to note that the AEG store has delivery in 48/72 hours, interest-free financing in up to 12 installments, free installation and even includes the removal and recycling of the old appliance that we are going to replace. There are several AEG appliances that have very interesting prices, but below we leave you a selection of the most powerful offers: Multifunction pyrolytic oven Series 5,000 by 424.15 euroswith thermal probe and WiFi connectivity. American refrigerator Series 9,000 by 1,129.65 euroswith touch display and very good capacity. 6,000 Series Dishwasher by 370.60 euroswith satellite sprinkler arm and clamping system to avoid damage to glassware. Cordless vacuum cleaner Series 8,000 by 381.65 euroswith autonomy for up to 90 minutes and emptying station. 5,000 Series Induction Hob by 289.85 euroswith individual timer and pause function. 6,000 series washing machine by 362.95 euroswith 8 kg capacity and spin speed up to 1,600 rpm. Multifunction pyrolytic oven Series 5,000 As a first option we have this multifunction oven from the 5,000 Series, with a capacity of 71 liters. It has a 4-glass door and WiFi connectivity, which is ideal so that we can control cooking from our mobile phone. In addition, it has 9 functions, 45 automatic programs and a thermal probe that is perfect so that we can control our dishes more precisely. It is reduced to 499 euros (its price is 699), but it remains at 424.15 euros with the code “AEGEXTRA15“. Series 5,000 multifunction oven The price could vary. We earn commission from these links American refrigerator 9,000 series If we are looking for a refrigerator with large capacity, we have this American Series 9,000 available for 1,129.65 euros with the code “AEGEXTRA15” (its RRP is 1,849 euros). It has a system that allows you to adjust the independent temperature of its Multichill drawer, which allows you to better preserve certain foods. It also has touch controls and a total capacity of 593 liters. American refrigerator Series 9,000 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 6,000 Series Dishwasher The Series 6,000 dishwasher is a very interesting option in terms of quality-price: it is available right now for 370.60 euros with the code “AEGEXTRA15“. This uses a satellite spray arm that allows the cleaning to reach every corner of the interior of the appliance, which will ensure that we obtain very good results. In addition, it has a fastening system to prevent the glassware from breaking. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Cordless vacuum cleaner Series 8,000 AEG also has top options to help us clean our home, like this Series 8,000 cordless vacuum cleaner. It has very good suction power and an automatic emptying station that is very convenient to use. It offers up to 90 minutes of suction per charge, more than enough for a medium-sized home. Plus, it comes with several different accessories. It is available for 381.65 euros if we use the code “AEGEXTRA15“. Cordless vacuum cleaner Series 8,000 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 5,000 Series Induction Hob We continue with more kitchen appliances with this Series 5,000 induction hob, available for 289.85 euros (its RRP is 499 euros). It has 4 different cooking zones and a system called Powerboost that makes them heat up faster than normal. It has independent and responsive touch controls, offering a very fluid user experience. 5,000 Series Induction Hob The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 6,000 series washing machine Finally, we have this 6,000 series washing machine, available for 362.95 euros if we use the code “AEGEXTRA15“. This one, which has 8 kg capacity, automatically adjusts the time, water and even energy consumption depending on the volume of the load. In addition, it has a program called Extra-Quick that allows us to have a wash of up to 3 kg of clothes ready in 20 minutes. 6,000 series washing machine 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 | AEG In Xataka | What to take into account before buying a refrigerator In Xataka | Best cordless upright vacuum cleaners. Which one to buy and seven recommended broom vacuum cleaners from 139 euros

The US hamburger has found an unexpected rival that arrives en masse from Japan: sushi

by

When they arrived in the US, back in the 60ssushi restaurants were true extravagances, establishments with a diverse audience in which immigrants and businessmen eager to try new flavors mixed. The oldest business in Chicago, for example, Kamehachi, was dedicated to prepare nigiris and makis traditional for the people who came to the Buddhist Temple of the Midwest. Today things are different. Sushi has permeated US culinary culture and has become so popular that it is even in demand at children’s parties. From a gastronomic rarity it has become a rival to the hamburger. Sushi eats the US. We don’t say it. I said it in September The New York Times in a report which started with a headline that made things clear from the first line: “Sushi is more fashionable than ever in the US.” The data managed by the industry certainly show growing popularity and, above all, enviable business expectations. The Kroger chainwhich operates stores in most of the US and has been selling sushi since the early 90s, says its sales they have shot up 50% since 2019. In practice that is equivalent to selling a million rolls a day. Arrivals from Japan. The Blue Ribbon restaurant chain assures that in just a few years takeout sushi has gone from representing 6% of all your sales at 30%. Probably encouraged by this context, the Japanese firm Chiyoda Sushi has decided to bet big on the US market. A few weeks ago Nikkei revealed that in spring the operator will begin to market its trays of frozen sushi rolls in the US, where it has already achieved the support of a Japanese supermarket chain, Mitsuwa Marketplace. A millionaire business. Beyond the income statements and decisions of specific companies, the sector conducts market studies that reveal that sushi is not doing badly in its expansion to the other side of the Pacific. The research firm Circana estimates that in 2024 the so-called sushi deli (sushi sold through retail channels, such as supermarkets) represented a business of 2.8 billion dollars7% more than the previous year. All this after experiencing a notable sales increase since the pandemic. In general, according to data from the Government of Japan, in North America there are between 29,000 and 30,000 ramen restaurants and other Japanese specialties. If compared to data from a decade ago, it represents a growth of 17%. And there is no reason to think that it has peaked. a year ago Technavio estimated that the global market (not just in the US) for sushi restaurants will continue to expand in the remainder of the decade, with a growth rate of 3.5%. Beyond the numbers. The popularity of sushi in the US is not measured only in market reports and growth percentages. Much of their success is based on a more qualitative and abstract factor: nigiris and makis succeed simply because they are no longer seen as something extravagant and alien. It explained well in The New York Times the owner of Kamehachi, the oldest sushi restaurant in Chicago: after almost six decades of history, the business has seen an increase in demand for increasingly “creative” rolls, made with new ingredients, such as mango, cheese or jalapenos. Opportunity… And risk? This trend is a sign of the interest that the dish arouses, but also a risk. “The more we explore different types of rolls, the more I worry about moving away from the origins of sushi,” recognizes Giulia Sindlergranddaughter of the founder of the business, who admits in any case that she is delighted to see how Japanese cuisine is no longer something exclusive to the fooders more daring to be a pleasure shared by several generations. In a way, this assimilation into North American gastronomic culture can be traced back to the 1970s, when the California roll was invented in an attempt to hide raw fish and make the dish more palatable to Americans. Goodbye Happy Meal, hello nigiri. Perhaps the clearest proof of the extent to which sushi has penetrated the gastronomic heritage of the USA was given a few days ago. The Wall Street Journal in an article in which he revealed something surprising: in the US it is no longer strange to find children’s parties in which Japanese food has replaced ‘orthodox’ options, such as pizza or hamburgers. The reason? Probably a combination of factors that combine its growing popularity, but also the presentation of the sushi, the aesthetics of the premises or even the content of the rolls. “The more sugar we put in rice, the more it is eaten,” recognize Trevor Corson, author of ‘The Story of Sushi’. Your consumption level may be far from the huge intake of hamburgers that the US registers each year, but the trend led by sushi is surprising to say the least. Especially in a context marked (at least in Spain) by the fall in consumption of fish. “He doesn’t want fries or chicken nuggets. He wants tropical shrimp tempura,” joke Laureano Escobar, a 40-year-old man, when he talks about the culinary tastes of his six-year-old daughter. Images | Daniel (Unsplash) and Only Seafood (Unsplash) In Xataka | Until the 90s, no one in Japan ate sushi with raw salmon. Until a marketing campaign changed everything

All viewers believe that the trailers spoil the movies too much. But there is a reason: fear of lawsuits

by

The paradox of trailers: they serve to encourage the public to see upcoming releases, but more and more people decide to literally cover their eyes or start talking to their neighbor, because the feeling that the trailers reveal too much is widespread: plot twists, climatic scenes that should be a surprise. There is a more or less intuitive reason: the market is increasingly competitive and it is important to show the public what each film offers that the others do not. But there are more prosaic reasons why trailers reveal more and more about movies. The trailer as a marketing tool.For decades, trailers were considered pieces with their own narrative: small works that condensed the spirit of a film, not mere advertisements. That premise was shaken in December 2022, when a court ruling questioned the legal limits of film marketing. The case pitted Universal Pictures against two viewers who claimed to have been misled by the ‘Yesterday’ trailer. The ‘Yesterday’ case.Two viewers had rented the film after seeing the trailer, in which Ana de Armas appeared in an apparently relevant role; but in the film he had disappeared: his character had been completely eliminated after test screenings. The plaintiffs alleged that they would never have paid for the film if they had known that de Armas was not in it. In Xataka The AI ​​trailers for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ are indistinguishable from the real thing. In the end, Scorsese was right Universal Pictures requested the case be dismissed, arguing that the trailer conveyed the film’s theme in three minutes, but the judge rejected this line of defense. Although trailers involve creativity and editorial decisions, these elements do not nullify their fundamentally commercial nature: they must be treated as advertisements, and the sample they show of the film must correspond to the final product. The judge specified that his resolution was limited to the presence or absence of interpreters, excluding subjective assessments of tone, quality or generic expectations, but set a precedent. It’s not the first. The friction between what the trailers promise and what the movies deliver has generated some attempted litigation. None went so far as to establish firm jurisprudence, but all illustrate a recurring tension between public expectations and studio marketing practices. {“videoId”:”x88pexn”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”Yesterday Trailer”, “tag”:””, “duration”:”180″} Drive (2011).a spectator sued the distributor claiming that the trailer presented the film as an action film in the style of ‘Fast & Furious’, when in reality it was an atmospheric drama with few chases and a practically mute protagonist. The case dragged on for years without success for the plaintiff: the film did contain driving scenes, but the discrepancy lay in the tone and pacing, not in objective matters. Suicide Squad (2016).The trailers had highlighted Jared Leto as Joker, but his presence in the final cut turned out to be less than fifteen minutes. a scottish fan announced his intention to sue Warner Bros. for false advertising. Leto himself fueled the controversy by confirming that the deleted material It was so extensive. what would make for an independent film. The lawsuit was unsuccessful, but it highlighted the problem of trailers edited before final editing. Dune (2021).Zendaya featured prominently in promotional material: posters, trailers, and a press tour placed her on the same level as Timothée Chalamet. However, his screen time barely exceeded seven minutes of a total footage of 155and most of his appearances were dream sequences. There were no legal repercussions: Zendaya had previously warned that her presence was reduced and that she had only filmed for four days. {“videoId”:”x88q6ut”,”autoplay”:true,”title”:”Dune Trailer”, “tag”:””, “duration”:”208″} The Castaway case.Robert Zemeckis, with his usual ability to anticipate the rest of the industry, had already traveled this path years before. The trailer for ‘Castaway’ (2000) was criticized at the time because it revealed the eventual rescue of the protagonist. Zemeckis defended himself with an argument that is still valid in the industry, beyond the current legal precautions: market studies indicate that the public wants to know exactly what they are going to see before paying for a ticket. The problem of outsourcing.Trailer production rarely falls to the films’ creative teams. Studios hire specialized agencies (Buddha Jones, Trailer Park or Mark Woolen & Associates, only in Los Angeles) that work with raw material, often months before there is a final assembly. These agencies operate fromdailieseitherrushesthe raw footage that comes directly from filming. The process of creating a trailer can take up to a year, a calendar that forces you to work without knowing the final cut. The case of ‘Yesterday’ is a direct consequence of this dynamic. In Xataka Good series are a journey that no spoiler can ruin The pressure for difference.When a franchise accumulates multiple installments, marketing teams face an additional dilemma: how to convince the public that this film offers something different from the previous ones? The answer often involves revealing the differentiating element. The trailer for ‘Terminator: Genesis’ (2015) told that John Connor, traditionally the leader of the human resistance, had been turned into a machine, a twist that constituted the dramatic core of the film. Director Alan Taylor acknowledged that the decision responded to a complex calculation: how to signal to the public that this installment was not a mere repetition of the previous ones? A dilemma that promises to continue giving us headaches for a long time. In Xataka | Disney is looking for a successor to Bob Iger as CEO and has only one condition: that he does not look like Bob Iger’s previous successor as CEO (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news All viewers believe that the trailers spoil the movies too much. But there is a reason: fear of lawsuits was originally published in Xataka by John Tones .

Your VPN is half price for a year

by

One of the most useful tools we can have to browse the Internet safely is, without a doubt, a VPN. There are those that they are free and that, for specific use, they fulfill their function. Now, in the long run, They are not the best option: They are usually unsafe and its operation may involve slow Internet traffic. There are payment options that work very well and that we can purchase at very competitive prices, such as the Kaspersky VPN: right now it is on sale and a full year costs only 19.99 euros. Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection (1 year) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A very configurable and easy-to-use VPN A VPN, regardless of whether we use it on a mobile phone, a tablet or any other compatible device, will allow us to pass all our Internet traffic through an encrypted and secure tunnel. In this way, no one will be able to see what we are doingso we will have a greater degree of privacy even if we browse a public WiFi network. In addition, of course, we will also protect our IP address. This Kaspersky VPN includes several interesting features. For example, it has what is called a kill switchso if the VPN disconnects, our Internet traffic will automatically be interrupted so that our data is not in danger. In addition, it can be configured to only work, automatically, with certain applications or with a specific browserFor example. Another interesting point is that it is compatible with both Windows and MacOS, Android or iOS, so we will be able to install it on almost any device. It also has more than 6,000 servers distributed in more than 85 locations, which means that we will always have a server available to connect to. As we said at the beginning, this usually has a price of 39.99 euros per year, so it is a quite interesting discount. This promo includes this tool for one device, although if we want to use it on more simultaneously, We also have a discounted plan that includes the VPN for 5 devices for one year for 26.99 euros (its normal price is 45.99 euros). Once the year ends, any of these plans will return to their usual price, but we can unsubscribe whenever we want, since there is no no type of permanence. It is also worth mentioning that it has a period of 30 days where we can test this VPN and, if it does not convince us, request a full refund. 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 | Domenico Loia on Unsplash 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

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.