free multiplayer, according to Windows Central

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We may be facing the biggest twist in the history of Xbox since its birth almost 25 years ago. The classic concept of the home console, which has shared prominence with PlayStation throughout this time, seems set to be diluted to get closer than ever to that of the PC. A profound transformation that even calls into question the need to pay for multiplayer. That is, at least, what Microsoft’s latest movements, the statements of some of its main executives and what was published by Windows Central. If this strategy becomes consolidated, it could open a new stage of opportunities for the platform, although it would also mark the beginning of new challenges. A new Xbox experience. Everything indicates that Xbox’s next step will be to leave behind the limits that always separated consoles from the PC. The aforementioned media points out that the next generation will be built on a Windows base, with an interface designed for the living room, but with the freedom of being able to jump to the desktop whenever we want. The idea is simple but ambitious: a machine that turns on like a console, feels like a console, but can behave like a full computer if the player wants it. The clues are not few. Phil Spencer had already anticipated a long time ago that the future of Xbox would involve more open experiences, and in his last speech he insisted on it again. He said that those who want to imagine what the next generation will be like only have to look at the Xbox Ally. For her part, Sarah Bond, president of the division, confirmed that they are already working on the new hardware with AMD. “We are totally focused on creating products for the future,” he assured. The ASUS laboratory. In the practical field, the ASUS ROG Ally —and its improved version, the Ally— represent the best experiment yet of the future Microsoft imagines. Both devices run Windows and allow you to use launchers such as Steam or Epic, offering almost total freedom. However, they still do not achieve the essential thing: natively accessing the Xbox catalog. This limitation explains why the company wants to go further, looking for a console that unites both worlds without the player feeling like they are giving up anything. Xbox without tolls. According to the sources consulted, Microsoft would be preparing a historic change: eliminating payment for multiplayer on its next console. The reasoning is simple. If the new hardware will behave like a PC, it would make no sense to charge for something that is free on other platforms. In that more open model, the player could choose where and how to play, without feeling obligated to pay to connect with others. Catalog and backward compatibility. One of the great attractions of this new stage will be being able to play practically everything. According to Windows CentralMicrosoft plans for the next Xbox to support the entire Series X|S library, in addition to backwards compatible titles from previous generations. And not only that: it will also allow you to access PC games through platforms such as Steam or Epic. A system that promises to erase the borders between generations and formats. The challenge of execution. The theory is brilliant, but we’ll have to wait to see how it will turn out in practice. On the ROG Ally, the experience between the Xbox layer and the Windows environment is not always seamless. Windows Central notes that Microsoft is aware of these problems and is working on the next console to eliminate those frictions. If he succeeds, the jump could be as big as he promises. Everything indicates that Microsoft is willing to rewrite what we understand by a console. If it manages to integrate the openness of the PC with the simplicity of the Xbox, it could mark a before and after in its history. But there are still questions in the air: price, calendar and, above all, the response of the players. After a quarter of a century, Xbox seems willing to reinvent itself, and this time the leap promises to be as risky as it is necessary. Images | Microsoft In Xataka | The new record of 40,000 games purchased by a Chinese player on Steam blurs the line between collecting and obsession

Spain no longer knows what to do with its surplus of renewables. So he is going to build a huge electric bridge with Ireland

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Spain shines with sun and wind, but is drowning in its own green electricity. Solar and wind farms break generation recordsbut a good part of that energy is wasted due to lack of network, storage and connections with Europe. While the country operates in “reinforced mode”has found a possible solution to dispose of its renewable surplus. An electric bridge. On this path of releasing its excess energy, Spain has found in Ireland the best matches to connect. Irish Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment, Darragh O’Brien, advertisement After a meeting with the Spanish Secretary of State Joan Groizard, both countries are working on the construction of an underwater electrical interconnector between Ireland and Spain. Speaking to RTÉ NewsIrish Minister Darragh O’Brien announced that the project will seek to be co-financed with European funds and be completed in the mid-2030s. It will not be a minor project: the cable, he explained, will allow the buying and selling of electricity between both countries, balancing generation peaks. O’Brien acknowledged that, for now, “Spain is more likely to export energy to Ireland,” because the country usually has a surplus of renewable power that it cannot always take advantage of. We’re going to a wedding. The idea of ​​joining Spain and Ireland with an electric cable may sound eccentric, but it responds to continental logic: countries that produce green energy need to sell it, and those that are isolated need to receive it. In this context, our country is a clear example of the first group. The country has one of the largest renewable capacities in Europe —more than 40GW new since 2019—, but its level of international interconnection it barely reaches 2.8%well below the European target of 15% set for 2030. On the other hand, Ireland belongs to the second group. Its system depends almost entirely on the United Kingdom and France, and the country is, along with Spain and Finland, among the most exposed to blackouts due to lack of interconnections. according to a study by the consulting firm Ember. The analysis warns that 55% of the European electricity system has limits on importing electricity, which increases the risk of supply failures. How will the new cable work? It will be a high-voltage underwater interconnector (HVDC), the same system already used to move clean electricity over long distances between countries. The project is inspired by the Celtic Interconnectorthe Ireland-France link that will open in 2027, and will allow gigawatts of renewable energy to be transported under the Atlantic. There is still no closed route, but the Bay of Biscay appears as the most likely option: there it is already another cable advances between Spain and France, co-financed by the European Investment Bank. The political objective is clear: integrate the networks of the European periphery into an interconnected continental system, less vulnerable to blackouts and more efficient in the use of green energy. Furthermore, both countries recently led a meeting in Luxembourg of the “Friends of Renewables” group, together with 15 Member States and the European Commission. At that meeting, the new European Electricity Grids Package was presented, considered “one of the key pillars to facilitate affordable, safe and clean renewable energy.” Everything starts from the cables. The challenge is not only in producing more, but in transporting and storing energy. Spain invest only 30 cents in the network For every euro allocated to renewables, half of the European average. In this way, the cable with Ireland would fit into a map of projects that aims to break the energy isolation of the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to the Bay of Biscay link, are underway the Navarra–Landes and Aragón–Marsillón connections with France, a third interconnection with Morocco and new links between islands and the continent. If all these cables materialize, Spain will go from being “an energy island” to becoming an energy node between Europe and Africa, capable of exporting its renewable surpluses at competitive prices. The next great leap in European energy could start here: an electrical wire under the sea that connects the Spanish sun with Irish houses. Image | Jules Verne Times Two Xataka | When an undersea cable breaks in Africa, there is only one solution: call the only ship that has been repairing them for more than a decade

Fed up with excessive luxury, social media users turn to normality: creators with everyday lives

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A recent television controversy with the content creator @supaa97 has put on the table a series of issues that are perhaps at the opposite end of the topics we always talk about in reference to the influencers (fortunesluxuries, excesses): can content be created from absolute normality? Is that close to normalizing precariousness? And if it does, is it a problem? The Suyapa case. The controversy started, just as Suyapa says (which is his real name), when he agreed to do an interview for ‘Public Mirror’ to comment a video of your profile in which she told how she lived in a single room with her husband and son, and was classified as a “Poverty Influencer”, along with users who make videos with unboxings of government aid. Suyapa has stated that she is far from that type of content, and although it is true that she lives in very modest conditions in a single room, she earns her living by working as a cleaner and without resorting to aid, so she could not be included in a category of poverty. The appeal of normality. Suyapa makes a type of content closer to normcore (which is still a label created from top to bottom): these types of profiles share ordinary activities (from choosing simple and functional clothing to routines such as making a coffee, taking care of a pet or sharing morning tasks) moving away from the cult of luxury or drama that predominates in other digital spheres. They embrace simplicity and naturalness in both fashion and lifestyle: basic garments, discreet brands, homey environments and a staging that is not aspirational but friendly and accessible. He normcore as a label. This type of content is sometimes, as we say, a reaction to more luxurious and frivolous creators. If it arises spontaneously, because the creator does not ascend the social scale even if he wants to (as happens with Suyapa), or as a voluntary limitation, it is another question where you can talk about posture. That is to say, sometimes normcore is a false normality that arises as a reaction to luxury saturation. A more relaxed visual narrative is artificially sought, where the emotional connection is based on trust, identification and everyday honesty, but sometimes it is also a pose that seeks, paradoxically, to convey an image of coherence and credibility. What did they think it was? What ‘Espejo Público’ alluded to and where it mistakenly included @suyapaa97 was in a different type of phenomenon that we know as “pornomiseria” or “poverty porn”, which has two aspects: on the one hand, influencers on social networks that viralize acts of charity towards people in poverty to monetize these contents through likes, views and donations. One of the best known cases is that of Jimmy Dartswho with more than 12 million followers on TikTok, makes videos with homeless people, testing their honesty or proposing challenges. It is a controversial format that has a large number of ethical implications, even though influencers reward the people they portray with a large amount of money, as detailed this article. Something similar happens with amateur journalists who, under the pretext of portraying poverty and misery, create sensationalist content, a format whose origins date back to the seventies and that again has very complex moral connotations. Yonfluencers: from normality to luxury, and back again. Recentlythe rejection of social media consumers to the exaggerated and elitist display of luxury into which many have fallen influencers has made me think in how the perception we have of this type of content creators has changed. Many of them began as a daily reflection of our lives and as they earned money and followers, they distanced themselves from reality, generating a certain aversion from those who followed them for being a close and identifiable replica. That’s why content creators like Suyapa work, who have to overcome obstacles that are easy to identify with: tightening their belts to make ends meet, juggling time off from work or looking for affordable forms of leisure are some of the problems that the vast majority of people face. In Xataka | The influencer María Pombo defends her right not to read. And by the way, it raises an interesting controversy about habits

He has already announced that he will split the payments

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Several Supreme Court rulings forced the Treasury to modify a law to prevent the thousands of pensioners who made contributions to the old labor mutual societies between 1968 and 1978 from being subjected to double taxation, paying more in your personal income tax. With the new Law 5/2025 approved, those affected can claim the refund of the personal income tax associated with the fiscal years from 2019 to 2022as well as non-prescribed exercises. The estimated number of affected pensioners exceeds 600,000 and with amounts of up to 4,000 euros in some cases, which is causing delays on the part of the Treasury in their refund and the splitting of the payment. Why is the Treasury returning personal income tax to mutual members? The return to the mutualists is not a voluntary gesture by the Government, but is due to Supreme Court rulings in which it is recognized that pensioners contributed to the Labor Mutual Insurance Funds more than they should have, and the right to enjoy a tax reduction of 25%, for their contributions between 1967 and December 31, 1978. The Supreme Court sentenced that contributions to mutual societies (such as MUFACE, MUGEJU or ISFAS, usually linked to police, military, judicial or banking bodies) were intended for benefits that were subsequently fully taxed, which generated double taxation for those taxpayers. That is, they paid more taxes than a worker who had contributed to INSS in the General Regime, for example, given that a deduction could be applied to them for their contributions. The new Law 5/2025of July 24, prepared to accommodate the rulings of the Supreme Court, included a provision for better channel complaints and accelerate the recognition of the return for the affected years. Treasury sets deadline to return personal income tax Last September, the Treasury began to settle the imbalance with thousands of affected pensioners, and to do so, it enabled a form on their website. Through it, those affected could claim their refund. These are: Pensioners from Social Security and the Social Institute of the Navy who contributed to labor mutual societies between 1967 and 1978 and suffered double taxation. Holders of complementary pensions paid by special funds of the INSS, MUFACE, MUGEJU or ISFAS, when the contributions are prior to 1979. Heirs of those affected mutual members, if the beneficiary died between 2019 and 2024 The Tax Agency has a deadline on December 31, 2025 to complete the refunds, since it must be done six months after the end of the general declaration period that ended on June 30. If the Treasury does not comply with that deadline, those affected may claim late payment interest of 4.0625%, as as they remember from the consumer organization OCU. However, according to what was published by The Newspaperthe Treasury would have confirmed that in some cases, this payment will not be made in a single payment, but in a fragmented manner. This fragmentation is due to the complexity of the process since, in some cases, the lack of documentation or calculation discrepancies have generated different special circumstances that require individualized reviews, so in these cases payments will be settled as they are resolved. Those affected who have not yet claimed their refunds can do so from the corresponding Tax Agency form until February 2, 2026, for the fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022; until February 2, 2027, for the fiscal years 2020, 2021; and until February 2, 2028 to claim the amounts for the 2022 financial year. In Xataka | The Treasury has increased the collection of the Wealth Tax: it is not that there are more millionaires in Spain, it is that they now pay it Image | Unsplash (Musemind UX Agency)

Iryo arrived in Spain with a very ambitious plan to tighten the screws on Renfe. It has just asked its Italian parent company for a ransom

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Iryo has a problem in Spain: it can’t get clients. Or, we should say, it does not get enough clients to start making its railway project profitable in our country. Its occupancy rate in each and every one of the corridors is better than that of Renfe or Ouigo. In some cases it is certainly worrying. This is leading it to lose tens of millions of euros. And they have already asked Italy for help. 32 million euros. They are the ones that Iryo has lost in 2024. The losses are added to the 79 million euros that the company already lost in 2023 and the occupancy rates of 2025 are not inviting optimism. Although the company defends that They aim to be profitable this yearthe truth is that they had to pick up the phone and dial a number that begins with +39. Help. The call for help has reached Italy. In November 2024Trenitalia has already increased its participation in the company to go from 45% of the capital to 51%. The objective was clear: to provide the Italian parent company with full control of the company and, in this way, have greater room for maneuver to provide it with funds. However, the process to achieve profitability has become complicated. Air Nostrum and Globalia, which are part of the company’s shareholders, committed to putting up 15 million euros more to face possible losses this year. This economic push is just one more within a package that provides aid which has already had contributions of 44.7 million euros in April of last year and almost 35 million euros in the summer of 2024. The occupation. One of the problems that Iryo has encountered is that it cannot fill its trains. If we go to the CNMC datathe Italian company has the worst occupancy data of all Spanish high speed. Madrid-Barcelona: Occupancy of 96.4% (Renfe 112%, Ouigo 99%) Madrid-Seville: Occupancy of 83.2% (Renfe 93.3%, Ouigo 86.4%) Madrid Málaga-Granada: Occupancy of 82.2% (Renfe 93.3%, Ouigo 93.9%) Madrid-Valencia: Occupancy of 70.2% (Renfe 73.3%, Ouigo 88.8%) Madrid Alicante: Occupancy of 66.6% (Renfe 75.9%, Ouigo 87.8%) Added to this is that its power to attract customers by price is much smaller than that of Ouigo since only in Madrid-Alicante does it offer cheaper tickets than those of the French company and for just a few cents. In the rest of the corridors, Iryo is more expensive than the services of Ouigo and AVLO (Renfe). The plans. Yet, Iryo continues defending who aspire for 2025 to become their turning point. They plan to balance their accounts this year and make the jump to profits in 2026 and 2027. To do this, they trust in the arrival of new trains that will expand their capacity and allow them to play on price, first by lowering the price of the ticket and, second, by amortizing Adif fees more easily. In the words of its CEO, the company hopes that Galicia can be another beta where it can make money. However, it must be taken into account that the line moves between the Iberian width and the international width. S106 trains that can “jump” between both tracks are committed to Renfe and the only way to operate would be with a transshipment, which is more costly in time and less attractive to the customer. But it is not the only case. Perhaps the most worrying thing about Iryo’s situation is that, at the moment, Renfe and Ouigo are also losing money with high speed in our country. Since the market opened, the benefits have been exceptional. In 2024, Ouigo received an additional 25 million from SCNF, its French parent company, to cover losses. The initial investment of 200 million had to be expanded given that the company plost more than 40 million euros only in 2024. It is one of the reasons why the Government alleged that from France they were doping the company economically to weaken rivals. Despite everything, Renfe has also suffered heavy losses with high speed. In 2023 they exceeded 120 million euros in losses although in 2024 profitability has already been closelosing in this case about three million euros. Of course, Renfe Viajeros (the part of the company that competes with Ouigo and Iryo) did achieve just over five million euros in profits. Photo | Trenduck In Xataka | Spain wanted to turn the train into the great alternative for traveling in summer. Renfe has never had so many dissatisfied customers

“Salaries above the sector average”

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A few days ago, Juan Roig, founder of Mercadona, took the floor before 1,500 businessmen from the mass consumption sector (AECOC) to claim the pride of making money leading a company, but also championing a message that has surprised many: the defense of employee well-being. “You need the worker to feel well treated as a human being, and well treated,” he said. Beyond the discursive epic of the moment, Mercadona supports the words of its founder with data: “We offer salaries above the sector average,” they assure in a corporate statement. That can be your best business strategy in the long term. Juan Roig: Richard Branson in the Spanish way. The millionaire founder of Virgin published in your X profile a memorable phrase: “Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business.” That is, in essence, the message that Juan Roig gave to the businessmen who gathered in his presentation within the framework of the 40th AECOC Congress in Valencia that was held in the new stadium that bears his name. “You can buy the hands, the heart and brain you need for the worker to feel well treated as a human being. And well treated is not doing what the worker wants, but what the worker needs,” said the businessman who claimed to be very proud of his staff. Well-being starts with your pocket: your salary. According to Roig in his presentation, “a Mercadona manager A earns 2,100 euros net per month,” the data provided by Mercadona they confirm it and they place their employees among the best paid in the large supermarket segment. According what was published by News Worka manager A (the largest category in Mercadona’s workforce) earns: Full time (40 hours/week) GROSS monthly salary (approx.) NET Salary (estimated) Manager A (less than 1 year) 1,686 euros/month 1,470 euros/month Manager A (less than 2 years) 1,851 euros/month 1,546 euros/month Manager A (less than 3 years) 2,054 euros/month 1,566 euros/month Manager A (4+ years) 2,280 euros/month 1,830 euros/month Annual bonus for objectives (Less than 5 years) 1 extra monthly payment Annual bonus for objectives (More than 5 years) 2 extra monthly payments Incentives. However, the most differential thing is in the bonuses and incentives for objectives, which can add one or two additional monthly payments to the set if they have been in the company for more than five years. Altogether, the data confirm Juan Roig’s statement. A category A manager with more than five years of seniority can receive a monthly net salary of around 2,100 euros, being between 27% and 72% above the SMI. How the rest of the supermarkets pay. If we compare these salaries with those of other supermarkets, we find that Lidl, its main competitor, offers base salaries slightly higher than those of Mercadona, with 1,539 euros net per month, according to comparative data by Skello. However, the bonuses and incentives are not as generous, so the total sum is slightly behind. The rest of the supermarkets, such as Carrefour, do distance themselves with base salaries of 1,387 euros for the majority of their store staff and few incentives that increase that salary. Playing attrition in an environment of labor shortage. As and as highlighted María Miralles, senior partner of the retail sector in Iberia at the consulting firm McKinsey, in statements to financial times, “Employee retention becomes an increasingly important business imperative. If a rival supermarket chain loses a qualified fishmonger or butcher, finding a replacement on the high street is almost impossible.” This analysis perfectly summarizes the “Mercadona Model“in which they bet on better salaries than their competition and encourage the long-term stability of the workforce to make it an attractive asset to attract talent and avoid let them go to their competition. Bet on training. With an inverted demographic pyramid, staff shortages are going to be a growing problem, so taking care of employees is no longer going to be an option, at least to remain competitive in a expansion scenario to Portugal like the one proposed by Mercadona. According what was published through the medium specialized in food retail Food, Retail & ServiceMercadona invested 128 million euros in training in 2024 with four million training hours for its staff. This implies an individual investment of 1,164 euros per employee and 1,894 people promoted to positions of greater responsibility. That is, Mercadona not only seeks recruit your qualified personnel with better salaries than its direct competition, but also establishes that talent by offering them training and an internal professional career. As Elena Orden, spokesperson for Merco in Spain, pointed out in the article in Financial Times: “In Spain, we have an inverted pyramid in terms of the active population. So, if you want to have the best workers, you need to offer them what others do not offer them and prioritize their well-being.” In Xataka | Juan Roig, Amancio Ortega and Ana Botín in contention for being the highest-rated leaders. Inditex does not find a rival as the best company Image | Mercadona

Ukrainian troops need something much simpler and more urgent than Tomahawks missiles: cheap cars

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The month of October began with a trip from Ukraine to the United States and a very specific goal: Tomahawks. The request was as simple as it was dangerous: kyiv requested Washington’s long-range missile to counter Moscow’s attacks. The problem was that this implied crossing a red line that could raise the Russian war escalation. In the end there will be no Tomahawksat least for now, and the truth is that the Ukrainian army has other priorities right now. The visible and the decisive. He told in an extensive report the kyiv Independent that, in Western public debate, the war is projected around long range missileslegislative packages and iconic systemsbut at the level where the war decides the pace (the axes of infiltration, fine logistics and human replenishment) Ukraine is losing because of elementary things. Namely: cars that last only two weeks, drones that are lost faster than they are replaced, and units that are emptied of men before they are emptied of ammunition. In that tactical layer, the tomahawk It does not resolve that a company that must simultaneously transport personnel, food and ammunition has only one vehicle and must choose what to sacrifice each day. The priority: cars. The anecdote of the recruit Ihor in the middle summarized The pattern: three consecutive FPVs against the same vehicle until it is immobilized. The average life of a car in the front is about a monthsometimes two weeks, and each destruction not only takes away mobility but also room for maneuver: without redundancy, each rotation forces us to stretch positions and that exhausts men faster than the ammunition itself. That’s why what they ask they are carsas cheap as possible, but that work. Hence the heavy armor are not a solution (They become priority targets and are less agile than, for example, an old car that accelerates and disappears). In short, what is needed is not weight but number to absorb losses without collapsing the logistics cycle. Drones and sensors. Ukraine uses the order of 9,000 drones a daywith a devastating impact at low cost, but also loses at an industrial rate by electronic warfare and operational consumption. Without enough reconnaissance drones, the “line of sight” contracts to five kilometers and they are left blind to disrupting Russian flows. Some units have a surplus, but others lack the basics: the deficit is not only volume but of distributionand the structural deficiency is not being absorbed by the State but by decreasing donations and the pockets of the troops. Without spare part. The biggest deficiency is, of course, human: hardened brigades that are not refilled, rotations that do not rotate, training centers without means that even train with stones instead of real grenades. Mobilization is politically taboo. The national media recalled that 30% of those mobilized He is not fit and part of the rest are returns from absentees. Thus, even when there is a drone and platform, the pilot is missing. Russia, on the other hand, replenishes its human mass every month. Ukraine stretches the same bodies more weeks under greater drone saturation, and structural fatigue is cumulative and irreversible. System fails. If you also want, the photograph does not describe an army without technology but rather a system with “holes” in its redundancy layer: where there should be five vehicles there is oneand where there should be ten drones per section there is one too, and where there should be a wave of trained reserves arrives a tiny fraction. Plus: where the same men should be relieved every certain cycle, they are kept for months due to lack of substitutes. That is the plane where continuity is resolved: without those cars that are requested, without density of eyes in the air and without competent human replenishment, each meter becomes more expensive than each missile. Trivial lack. It ended media report emphasizing an idea. It is not that the Tomahawk don’t matter (they matter for the purposes of depth and possible future negotiation), is that its strategic effect is diluted if the lower network that supports the line is detached due to cheap shortcomings. Victory today is less like who introduces a miraculous system first than who can continue to move people, food, ammunition and sensors until the last kilometer without breaking the human machine that executes it. Therefore, for those in the trenches, the priority is not the long-range missile that will appear on the front page of all the media, but rather the unglamorous resources that keep alive the ability to continue fighting the next day. Starting with a car that simply works. Image | Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Pexels In Xataka | Russia’s biggest threat in Ukraine is not a drone or a missile. It is a film agency with 30 secret floors In Xataka | There is something more disturbing than “a Chernobyl”: it is a flying Chernobyl, it is in the hands of Russia and it is already testing it

features, price and technical sheet

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OPPO is back on track. After launching last year the OPPO Find X8 Proa terminal whose camera we loved, the Chinese firm did not want to let the month of October pass without renewing its catalog with the OPPO Find X9 and Find X9 Pro. They are, as it could not be otherwise, two devices that aspire to the throne of the most premium high-end Android and that, to no one’s surprise, bet everything on the camera. The biggest differences between both models are in the screen and in the photographic section. The most striking thing is, once again, the zoom and the battery. OPPO has been betting on the silicon-carbon batteries and in its new models it has not skimped on milliamp hours: both terminals exceed 7,000 mAh capacity. That being said, let’s get to know them a little better. Technical sheet of the OPPO Find X9 5G and Find X9 Pro 5G OPPO Find x9 5G OPPO find x9 pro 5G dimensions and weight 156.9 x 73.9 x 7.99mm 203 grams 161.2 x 76.4 x 8.25mm 224 grams screen 6.59-inch ProXDR AMOLED Resolution 1.5K (2,760 x 1,256 pixels) Screen to body ratio: 95.4% 20:9 format 460 DPI Refresh rate: 30/60/90/120 Hz Touch sampling: 240Hz 10bit color Typical brightness: 800 nits Maximum brightness: 1,800 nits Peak brightness: 3,600 nits 6.79-inch ProXDR AMOLED Resolution 1.5K (2,772 x 1,272 pixels) Screen to body ratio: 95.5% 20:9 format 450 DPI Refresh rate: 1-120Hz Touch sampling: 240Hz 10bit color Typical brightness: 800 nits Maximum brightness: 1,800 nits Peak brightness: 3,600 nits PWM Dimming: 2,160Hz Dolby Vision HDR10+ HDR Vivid processor MediaTek Dimensity 9500 Arm G1-Ultra GPU MediaTek Dimensity 9500 Arm G1-Ultra GPU ram memory 12GB LPDDR5x 16GB LPDDR5x internal storage 512GB UFS 4.1 512GB UFS 4.1 rear camera Wide 50 MP, f/1.6, OIS Wide angle 50 MP, f/2.0, OIS Telephoto 50 MP, f/2.6, 3x optical zoom, 120x digital zoom 4K@60 FPS Video Dolby Vision Wide 50 MP, f/1.5, OIS Wide angle 50 MP, f/2.0, OIS Periscope 200 MP, f/2.1, 3x optical zoom, 120x digital zoom True Color Camera 4K Video@120 FPS Dolby Vision front camera 32MP, f/2.4 50MP, f/2.0 4K@60 FPS Video Dolby Vision battery 7,025mAh SuperVOOC 80W fast charging AirVOOC 50W Wireless Fast Charging 7,500 mAh SuperVOOC 80W fast charging AirVOOC 50W Wireless Fast Charging 10W reverse wireless charging operating system ColorOS 16 with Android 16 ColorOS 16 with Android 16 connectivity Wi-Fi 7 5G NSA/SA Bluetooth 5.0 NFC GPS Dual SIM eSIM USB Type C (USB 3.2) Wi-Fi 7 5G NSA/SA Bluetooth 5.0 NFC GPS Dual SIM eSIM USB Type C (USB 3.2) others Ultrasonic on-screen fingerprint reader IP66, IP68 and IP69 resistance AI Mind Space Connectivity with Apple devices Google Gemini Connected Apps Ultrasonic on-screen fingerprint reader IP66, IP68 and IP69 resistance AI Mind Space Connectivity with Apple devices Google Gemini Connected Apps steam chamber price 999 euros 1,299 euros A renewed design, although equally striking OPPO Find X9 | Image: OPPO If last year we had a huge circular module at the back and flat edges, the OPPO Find X9 returns to the origins with a rectangular module in the corner and straighter framessimilar to what we see in other smartphones. The module protrudes noticeably from the chassis, as does the new Snap Key (equivalent to the action button on iPhones and OnePlus terminals). On the right side we once again have the Quick Button to quickly launch the camera and zoom. Both devices are relatively similar in size, although the Pro model is somewhat thicker and noticeably heavier. However, the fact that the weight is around 200-220 grams and the thickness is eight millimeters is a more bearable sacrifice if we take into account the batteries of more than 7,000 mAh. All this accompanied by a resistance that leaves no loose end: IP66, IP68 and IP69. OPPO Find X9 Pro | Image: OPPO Regarding the screen, both devices incorporate ProXDR AMOLED panels about seven inches with 20:9 format. They share a large part of the technical specifications, namely resolution, maximum brightness and refresh rate, although that of the Pro model is slightly higher. While the OPPO Find OPPO has only confirmed that the Pro model is the one that has compatibility with HDR technologies, but it is expected that, although it is not expressly mentioned in the information shared with the media, the OPPO Find X9 will also have it. Another note that should be made is that, in the end, the fingerprint sensor under the screen is ultrasonicnot sonic. In short: more speed, more precision and no more needing to light up the sensor area to unlock the phone. MediaTek returns to the engine OPPO Find X9 Pro | Image: OPPO OPPO and MediaTek join hands again to sign the engine of the new OPPO Find X9. On this occasion, the SoC chosen is the MediaTek Dimensity 9500a chip made in three nanometers capable of reaching 4.21 GHz with its most powerful core. However, the most striking thing is the OPPO Trinity Engine, a system co-developed with MediaTek that, in essence, improves performance and the distribution of tasks between the CPU, GPU and DSU to optimize performance. According to OPPO, this system manages, for example, to reduce battery consumption by 16.1% during video recording by delegating tasks that would normally be done by the ISP to the processor. It also improves performance in high-stress scenarios (for example, when gaming) by up to 37%. To prevent the terminal from heating up, OPPO has implemented a vapor chamber in the Pro that is 33.7% larger than the last generation, so that it covers all critical components. OPPO Find X9 | Image: OPPO The system is accompanied by 12 gigabytes of RAM in the OPPO Find X9, a figure that rises to 16 gigabytes in the Pro model. Storage is 512 GB in both cases and it should be noted that the technologies chosen are the fastest available right now: LPPDR5x RAM and UFS 4.1 storage. Another interesting aspect, … Read more

It is the symptom of a saturated sector

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You are waiting for an important order and you have verified that it was in delivery, but hours pass and no one calls. You go to see the tracking of the package once again and you find the dreaded “package not delivered due to absentee recipient” even though you have not left home nor have you received any calls. What is happening? A common problem. It has happened to all of us at some point and it is very annoying. Not delivering a package on time is understandable to a certain extent, but lying and saying you weren’t home really turns us on. Just do a search on social networks like reddit either x to find users very angry about this situation. Consumer organizations have also detected it: “It is a problem that worries us. It is quite common for them to not deliver a package and say that you have not picked up the phone or have not opened the door for them,” Manuel Vivas, OCU press officer, tells us. In the last two months they have received 14 complaints about this issue and Correos Express is the company that users most often mention in their complaints, but it is not the only one. A search on their website returns similar results in the case of Mail, SEUR, M.R.W., GLS and many more. Online commerce. It is the main cause of the increase in package deliveries. There was a boom during the pandemic, but since then the numbers have not stopped growing. According to CNMC dataIn the first quarter of the year alone, the online commerce business has grown by 18.2% compared to the previous year, exceeding a turnover of 25.7 billion euros and more than 474 million transactions. Packages. Many of these purchases translate into home deliveries that have caused the volume of parcel shipments to reach record figures. According to the CNMC Annual Report of the Postal Sector 2024in 2024, 1,216.6 million packages were sent, most of them less than 2kg. Almost half of the packages managed by large online platforms were delivered within 24 hours. According to the DBK observatory reportthe billing of the courier and parcel sector grew by 5% in 2024, exceeding 10,000 million in revenue. The delivery men. The growth of the sector has caused a boom in delivery job offers. However, conditions are not always good. According to the ETT Synergiethe average salary of a delivery driver ranges between 1,200 and 1,750 euros gross per month. This is if they have a contract and work for a large company, many other delivery drivers They are forced to become autonomous and use your own vehicle. In April of this year, El Confidencial published a report where several delivery people claimed to charge between 0.75 and 1.50 euros per package delivered. Other delivery drivers denounce endless days and more than 100 daily deliveries to get a decent salary. There is a lot of pressure to deliver the maximum number of packages per day and there are penalties if they fail. The trap. In a report from El Faro De Vigo Several delivery drivers talk about the “trap” of saying that you were absent. Many times delivery drivers resort to marking an incident to save travel, especially those who receive commission per delivery. “If you have an urgent delivery, but due to the area you are in, you can take away several deliveriesyou put “incidence”, for example, and deliver it later,” confesses a delivery man. Courier companies that receive a complaint about this issue have an easy time knowing whether or not the delivery person passed through the area, since the apps they use have a geolocator. The penalties for mismanagement of a delivery can be up to 40 euros, which for many of these delivery drivers means losing half or more of what they earn in a day. Claim. If we are marked as absent, in most cases we have to go to the branch of the delivery company to pick up the package. It is possible to claim the costs involved in going to the warehouse where the package was left, especially if we live far away and do not have a vehicle. The OCU receives many of these complaints. “We collect the complaint and transfer it to the company, we do mediation work (…) The client has the right to complain, but for most people it is not worth claiming the 10 euros for the taxi because it involves more effort than going to pick up the package,” Manuel Vivas tells us. In addition, it must be taken into account that many times the person making the delivery simply acts as an intermediary. According to Manuel, “The customer does not have a contractual relationship with the delivery company (…) the claim must be addressed to the company where the purchase was made.” That is, if we have made the purchase on Amazon, even if it was Seur who made the “non-delivery”, we must complain to Amazon. Image | Kampus Production on Pexels In Xataka | In China they believe they have solved the saturation of delivery people: robots traveling by subway to deliver packages

Science says the real danger is in how we do it

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A very typical gesture in our daily lives is to reuse the bottles we use to drink water or any other beverage. Something that is usually done to reduce the carbon footprint that can be caused by using a bottle only once and throwing it away. But at a time when microplastics are the order of the day, the truth is that it makes us think If reusing a bottle is harmful to us. But we are not only talking about the plastic bottles that we buy in the supermarket with water or any other liquid such as a soft drink, but also the classic bottles that we are used to seeing in many places that They promise to keep you warm or cold inside.. Its plastic construction can set off alarm bells after seeing how microplastics have been found in the testiclesthe breast milk and other parts of the bodyit is logical to think that if we use the same bottle twenty or thirty times in the end we are consuming this type of substance. The fear of microplastics. Little by little they get to know each other details about the effect that the consumption of microplastics has about our health, especially fertility. This means that we basically have to question the containers from which we consume food in order to ‘protect ourselves’ from its bad effects, as can occur in these bottles in container containers. The problem. Popular belief states that reusing bottles could pose a significant risk due to the alleged accumulation of bisphenol A (BPA) and the proliferation of dangerous bacteria if they are not cleaned daily. However, current scientific evidence intensely qualifies these statements, distinguishing between real risk factors and unfounded precautions. The release of bisphenols. Several studies have evaluated the migration of BPA and phthalates from reused bottles. under real use conditions. A recent experiment from 2021 simulating daily use in more than 20 types of bottles concluded that no migration of bisphenol A was detected in the stored water, even after several weeks of reasonable reuse. And the most interesting thing is that the classic aluminum bottles used as thermoses were also included. Other scientific articles agree: the release of BPA depends fundamentally on the type of material, exposure to high temperatures and extreme wear, not on the mere fact of filling them with tap or refrigerator water. Bottles suitable for food use, well maintained and not subjected to excessive heatdo not dangerously increase exposure to BPA. This logically changes radically if liquids are poured at high temperatures, which can cause more microplastics to be released. This is why you must always take into account the temperature of the liquids that are stored, so that it is the same as the original liquid that was stored. But there are also different opinions. In this case, food technologist Luis Ribera, director of the Saia food safety consultancy, has warned of the risk of reusing bottles manufactured for single use, as reported by El Confidencial. ​Although he goes further by stating that the real danger lies in the microorganisms that can appear in these bottles. Bacteria and bottles. Precisely, it is also a recurring theme, since logically on the surface of the bottle you can accumulate different common microorganisms like for example Escherichia coli either Staphylococcus. This is something that can be common, especially when a sugary drink has been stored, which leaves a substrate on the plastic walls, as if it were a Petri dish. But the key in this case to avoid the accumulation of bacteria logically lies in hygiene. Recent studies show that regular cleaning Soap and water is enough to keep the bottles safe. In cases in which high levels of bacteria have been reported, the analyzes always point to the lack of frequent washing or the use of cracked containers, rather than the rational reuse for drinking water as many of us do at home to avoid having to buy more bottles. Is it dangerous to reuse bottles? With this evidence, we can have several clear conclusions. The first of them is that there is no health prohibition when it comes to using bottles that are reusable and that have been manufactured to contain water. The second is that the associated health risks are almost exclusively due to poor hygiene habits or extreme wear and tear of the packaging. And the third is that if a bottle has not been manufactured to give it more than one use, Yes, we must be careful with its reuse.. In this way, neither the migration of bisphenol A nor the “bacteriological danger” justify throwing away your bottle after a single use, as long as it is used sensibly and basic hygiene is maintained. Science supports responsible use and regular cleaning, debunking some of the alarmist discourse around reusing plastic bottles for tap water. Images | charlesdeluvio Nigel Msipa In Xataka | The true size of the microplastics that populate our lives, exposed in this disturbing graph ​

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