dismiss sellers to hire other expert sellers in AI

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In July, Microsoft proved to have radically changed strategy as its investment in AI. The Batacazo were The 9,000 layoffs that affected several of their departments, but there was also a change of sight: their approach to corporate sales. After having fired thousands of commercials traditional, the firm opted for replace them with solution engineers Specialized in artificial intelligence. A transformation that seems to be marking trend in the technological sector and that responds to the new demands of the business market. A change in the sales model. Microsoft’s strategy is to eliminate the figure of the general seller, that profile focused on commercial relationships but with limited technical knowledge. Instead, the company is committed to professionals who can make technical demonstrations from the first contact with the client. Judson Althoff, commercial director of Microsoft, It has reorganized completely its division with the aim of turning the company into “the firm of the avant -garde”. Why Microsoft makes this decision. According to Business Insider sources Near to the company, some business clients transferred their frustration to Microsoft for having to go through several vendors before reaching the technical aspects of the product. “The client wants Microsoft to present their people technically,” according to internal sources of the company. Artificial intelligence has raised expectations, as there are more and more companies that prefer to have first hand a deep understanding of the product from the first meeting, not superficial commercial talks. The competition presses. Microsoft faces a fierce battle with OpenAi and Google for the business market. Although it has the advantage that many large companies already use their tools, Your employees prefer chatgpt for being better known. This competitive pressure has accelerated the reorganization of the six areas of previous solutions in only three: business solutions, Cloud and IA platforms, and security. The domino effect on the sector. Microsoft’s strategy is not an isolated case. Salesforce has already applied a similar approachreducing your support staff from 9,000 to 5,000 employees thanks to AI agents. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, explained that “I managed to rebalance the number of support personnel because I need less.” This restructuring has allowed it to redirect resources towards R&D departments and more specialized sales. Eliminating layers. What is really happening is a redefinition of commercial value in the AI ​​era. Sector investors and analysts interpret These movements as a sign of technological maturity. And it is that companies such as Microsoft are showing that sales teams that do not understand the complexity of their products can no longer allow. Jason Lemkin, Specialized Software Startup Investor, esteem that “between 30% and 40% of sales representatives of one or two calls will be replaced by AI”. Cover image | Simon Ray In Xataka | “I’m afraid we’re going to be more busy”: Jensen Huang Discrepa from Musk and sees at AF a deep labor transformation

More than half come from four Chinese manufacturers

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In the aspirating robots segment, THE ROOM They seemed to dominate everything with iron hand. However, in recent times the situation has changed radically, and the protagonist of that revolution is China, which does not stop conquering more and more segments that seemed untouchable before. What happened. The Last data From the IDC consultant they reveal that in the first quarter of the year, the first four world vacuum robots manufacturers come from China. All of them have ended up unseating the traditional market leader, Irobot, a company known for developing the Robot Roba Robots Family. Chinese robots conquer the world. Chinese manufacturers who have broken the market are Beijing Roborock Technology (19.3%market share), Ecovacs Robotics (13.6%), Dreame Technology (11.3%) and Xiaomi (9.9%). Together those four companies managed to monopolize 54.1% of the total units distributed in that period, when the previous quarter that percentage had been 47.2%. Source: IDC Irobot sinks. Meanwhile, the Roomba falls significantly. A year ago they were in the first position in number of distributed units, but their current market share is only 9.3%, and their global sales have fallen 30.6% compared to the same period of 2024. Recall that Amazon was about to buy Irobot for 1.4 billion dollars, when the company today It is worth seven times less. Source: IDC. The aspiring robot are fashionable. Chinese firms have benefited in addition to a positive trend in this segment. At the global level they were distributed (not necessarily the same as “sold”) 5.09 million units in the first quarter, 11.9% more than in the same quarter of 2024. And the commercial war, what? China benefited especially from a curious fact: its best client is none other than the United States, and it seems that commercial war and tariffs are not significantly affecting this market. As indicated In Nikkeiexport tariffs of this type of products have been reduced to 30, although both countries must continue to negotiate since this tariff truce has the expiration date on November 10. In China the competition is fierce. Claire Zhao, an analyst at IDC, highlighted how these Chinese manufacturers face “fierce” competition in China, and there they barely manage to get benefits. New competitors also appear everywhere. DJI, known for his drones, has entered this segment with his family of Romo aspiring robots that adapt technologies of their air navigation systems. Meanwhile, Narkal Robotics, a Shenzhen startup, built 100 million dollars in April with investors such as Tencent. There were few … Roborock, for all. The market leader, Roborock, indicated that he has achieved “a significant increase in income in our business abroad” thanks to the development of new sales channels and expansion to new markets. The company’s revenues in the first half of 2025 are 79% higher than those of the same period last year, and have reached 1,100 million dollars. Ecovacs follows closely. Second is ecovacs, whose sales have grown by 86.5% in the second quarter with respect to the same period of 2024. Again the reason is in the Sales of your robots Outside China, in addition to the opening of new production lines to meet the growing demand that comes from the United States. China does not stop innovating. Chinese manufacturers do not stop launching new models and innovations, such as vacuum robots with arms and pier. The new X11 ecovacs have a new mop and new elements to clean corners more effectively. The model, which in Shanghai costs $ 840, costs $ 1,500 in the US, a price clearly affected by the sarancels. Roborock is, like its competitors, insatiable in terms of innovationalready end of June had increased the template of its R&D division by 73.5% compared to the previous year: it has 1,364 employees thinking how to improve its devices. In Xataka | Mopa is one of the skinny points of vacuum robots. Dreame’s proposal: change it for a roller

Toledo has proposed to change mass tourism for another “quality”. And it is clear where to look for it: in China

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With the flow of foreign visitors at record levels and the touristry converted into Hot debate themeToledo has proposed to rethink its tourism. The city lasts a ordinance that regulates the sector and He has recognized openly that he wants his flow of travelers to be more compatible with the day -to -day life of his neighbors, enhancing “quality tourism against mass.” Given that challenge, your City Council It is very clear Where you should look: China. That is why he has decided to go to the Asian giant has promoted himself. To the hunt for tourists. Toledo wants more Chinese tourists. And is willing to travel thousands of kilometers to achieve it. The city has just launched a commercial mission Headed by its mayor, Carlos Velázquez, to sell the benefits of the Castillanomanchega town in the Asian market. The delegation, in which local representatives and representatives of the hoteliers and the Toledo business fabric will participate, part today with a clear purpose: “reinforce tourism promotion” in China and (an important nuance) “attract quality tourism.” And what exactly will they do? In The statement In which he reports the campaign, the City Council does not give too many details, but it does advance that it will include “commercial meetings”, aspires to “consolidate” the image of Toledo as “quality tourism destination” and contemplates meetings with representatives of Chinese provinces. The team also wants to start the procedures for The twinning From Toledo with Xi´an, the city of the celebration Terracota warriors. What … and when. The initiative is interesting both for its content and (especially) for its context. After all, it is not any time for Toledo tourism. The City Council expects to approve This same month a New Ordinance which aspires to “make coexistence easier” between visitors and residents of their historic center and above all, In words of Carlos Velázquez himself, “to enhance quality tourism against mass.” That expression (“quality tourism”) is repeated half a dozen in The statement in which the City Council informs of the commercial mission. The New standard which will regulate the tourism of Toledo contemplates the declaration of certain streets of the Historic Center as saturated areas, in which special rules will be applied that facilitate the passage of visitors and neighbors. It also foresees that broad groups (formed by more than 30 people) must use individual audio systems, prohibit the use of megaphones at night and establishes that the guides Free Tours They will not be able to use colored umbrellas to capture customers. Why Chinese tourists? For several reasons. The main (and obvious) is the size of the Chinese market, a country of 1.4 billion of potential visitors. The Toledo Consistory himself remembers that only in the Xi´an metropolitan region, a territory with which he wants Portugal. And although the flow of travelers of the Asian giant is in a way conditioned By the war in Ukraine (the conflict affects aerial connections), Europe remains a Popular destination For the Chinese, whose tourism sector He recovers After the pandemic sake. In fact Toledo is not the only city that seeks to cut its visitors. Others locations and companies Spanish have already traveled to the Asian giant to strengthen ties. Carlos Velázquez himself has shown in other occasions His interest in China as the engine of a “quality tourism.” A figure: 3,150 euros. The Chinese visitor usually highlights for another reason, especially interesting for the tourism industry in its broader spectrum: the portfolio. According to the UNChina leads the ranking of international tourism spending, standing well above the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, which complete the ‘Top 5’. And the United Nations is not the only source that points in that direction. In July Visa published A report on expenses of foreign visitors in Spain that places the Chinese in first position. “Each international tourist plans to spend on their trip to Spain up to € 3,150, which reinforces the positive impact of the sector on the national economy. For markets, Chinese tourists lead the average expenditure (€ 3,150), followed by Americans (€ 2,850) and Mexicans (€ 2,435)”, collect the reportwhich recalls that those who visit Spain do it above all for their cultural wealth, their attractiveness as a destination of sun and beach and the desire to know emblematic cities. The authors of the study They slide In addition, another interesting idea: as well as the British who arrive in Spain, they seek especially sun and beach and Mexican cultural experiences, the Chinese especially value purchases. Is there more data? Yes. And show the potential of the Chinese market that now hopes to conquer Toledo. While the flow of visitors to the Asian giant continues to be far from other countries such as the United Kingdom or Germany, The INE shows That last year Spain received just over 640,000 Chinese visitors, still below the 700,700 it reached before the pandemic. As for spending, the INE agrees that the average by Chinese visitor was around last year the € 2,900in front of the 1,300 of the Germans or 1,200 of the English. Statistics does not detail if it includes the value of flights. In any case, your half -day/person is also high: 406in front of the 165 of the Germans. Images | Daniel Velásquez (UNSPLASH), David Stanley (Flickr) and A Tourism (X) In Xataka | In San Juan de Luz they are discovering something: tourists are going from “picnic” to the beach before the prices of the bars

The world’s largest iceberg was about to turn 40. I was already lasting too much for experts

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Almost four decades after detaching themselves from Antarctica, the iceberg colossal known as A23aa Giant of one billion tonshe is fighting his final battle against the ocean. After an epic trip and decades stranded at the bottom of the sea, whatever The world’s largest iceberg They are breaking into pieces, and scientists predict that it could disappear completely in the coming weeks. The history of Iceberg. The A23A detached from the Philchner-Ronne Ice Platform of Antarctica in 1986 and was embedded at the bottom of the Weddell Sea for more than 30 years. A great formation that undoubtedly matters by overcoming the surface of the Community of Madrid twice or doubling the London Metropolitan Area. But it was not until 2020 when his epic trip beganbeing dragged by the ‘Icerbergs Highway’ to the South Atlantic. And although it was stranded for a while, He started his journey again in 2024. A threatening size. After its journey, earlier this year its immense size came to threaten the food areas of the penguins on a remote island of the South Atlantic, but the iceberg continued on its way. Now, according to an analysis of the Agite France-Presse and taking as a source the images of the satellite of the European Copernicus programthe A23a It has less than half of its original sizealthough it remains a large mass of 1,770 square kilometers. A dramatic disintegration. In recent weeks, huge pieces of ice, some of up to 400 square kilometers, have detached themselves from A23a. In addition, the sea around it is full of smaller fragments, many of which are large enough to suppose a risk for navigation. Andrew Meijers, physical oceographic of the British Antartic Survey (BAS)has told AFP that the iceberg is “disintegrating quite dramatic” as it moves north. “I would say that it is in the process of disappearance … Basically it is rotting below. Water is too warm for it to be maintained. It is constantly melting,” says Meijers. The scientist expects the A23a not to be “identifiable in a few weeks.” It has gone too far. The route that this iceberg has had, the truth is that it has surprised the scientific community. “Most icebergs do not get so far. This is very large, so it has lasted more and has come further than others,” adds Meijers. Climate change as a backdrop. Although Icebergs detachment is a natural process That we have documented, scientists affirm that the rhythm they are being lost is a problem. And behind this acceleration in the detachment is man and climate change. This is something that we have already seen as a serious problem in the ‘alley of the icerbergs’ where there are a greater number of these formations, further altering ecosystems in its path. Other icebergs have had the same fate. In the pastother specimens, such as A-68awith an extension similar to the area of ​​the province of Alicante, he broke down from the Ice Platform Larsen C in July 2017 and began a 2,500 km route that took him north. After four years of travel, he ended up disintegrating himself on the island of San Pedro, having previously generated great expectation from scientists. In this case, scientists could see how the ways of oceanic water are stratified were altered. In this way, there was an effect of displacement towards the depths of particular matter and phytoplankton, which alters the redistribution of nutrients in the water. Phytoplankton is the basis of tens of species, and right now It is found in great concentrations in Greenland by melbergs melts. And although it can be positive for marine life and Atmospheric co -capturethere is a paste: changes in temperature, chemical composition and salinity can alter ecosystems. Effects of A23a. A23A disintegration may have beneficial effects, according to researchers. And it is that the fact of releasing nutrients to the ocean can favor biological productivity. But above all, negative effects stand out, since fragmentation also raises challenges for navigation and fishing in the South Atlantic, since smaller fragments are more difficult to track than the main block. In Xataka | Terranova has seen how an iceberg colossal approaches its coast. The show is surprising; The phenomenon, no

100 million Tamagotchis in 30 years. The reason for being sold has a name: millennial nostalgia

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They have passed almost three decades since its creationbut the fever has not begun to turn off. With 100 million units soldthe Bandai machine is an artifact for natives of the nineties, yes, but also an object of desire for new collectors, as demonstrated by its last releases. And what demonstrates its current validity: the artifact that you have to take care of as a child with problems of incontinence and insomnia continues to generate amazing stories. Tamagotchi: modest origins. In 1996Aki Maita, a 31 -year -old game designer who worked for Bandai had the idea for Tamagotchi when he saw a television advertisement where a mother prevented her son from taking a turtle to school, which inspired her to create a digital pet that could fit in her pocket and require real care. He developed that concept with the help of Akihiro Yokoi: a virtual creature that should be fed, cared for and attended. Immediate success. With its international launch the following year, Tamagotchi quickly became a phenomenon. Soon began to arrive novelties and improvements for artifact. In 2004, different Tamagotchis communicated (and could get married) by infrared; In 2008 the Color screens; And already in this decade, the screen became Tactile LCD and Wi-Fi was implemented and different possibilities of connectivity. More than thirty different models of Tamagotchi have come to be created throughout their history. The nostalgia of the 90 works. Although the Tamagotchi never left at all, as it shows Tamaghotchi Paradisethat has reached stores this summer and that includes a zoom device to take care of creatures both from a cosmic perspective and from a microscopic, its outbreak of fame main fame took place in the nineties. He Kidult market segment which is making toy lines as never seen before handling two variables that the Tamagotchi cover wisely: on the one hand, they encourage and cover the needs of the nostalgic stimuli of Millennialconvinced that They won’t live such a happy time like that of his childhoods and young years. Port another, significantly, Tamagotchi are acquiring vicaria responsibilities taking care of a creature that demands constant attention. Perfect for a generation that, in many cases, is seen resigned, in many cases, not to have children. Know how to evolve. One of the great secrets of the success of the Tamagotchi has been to adapt to the new times, and we do not speak only of the incorporation of WiFi or touch screens, but of their mechanics, which have been going from a mere care and cleaning of an alien embryo to game mechanics clearly inspired by Pokémon (and we connect like this with Another fetish of nostalgia Millennial). In Tamagotchi Paradise we have fifty creatures that are divided into three environments (sky, earth and water), with three of them hidden at the beginning of the game, in curious parallelism with the legendary pokémon and other oddities. The possibility of making Tamagotchi muddle each other open the door to the birth of 50,000 different creatures, with characteristics inherited from their respective parents. Another mechanic that does not drink directly from Pokémon, but that does connect with the ideas of hunting, parenting and care of Nintendo creatures. History. The striking thing about Tamagotchi is that they have generated their own mythology and unique stories, often derived from the particular rupture of a taboo with respect to pets: despite being virtual, these encapsulated digital animals also die. For example, there are Funeral websites of the creatures Deaths, and Forums with hundreds of pages that they remember them and that they remain active. And a tremendous anecdote: in the year 97, A girl buried her Tamagotchi In a wooden coffin in a cemetery for real pets. Soon, the owner of the cemetery began to receive other Tamagotchis in his small coffins and had to convert and adapt the field. Image | Álex Alcolea In Xataka | A great mystery surrounded Tamagotchi 27 years after its launch. Now we have finally resolved

15 years later, Instagram arrives at the iPad. He does it with news that make differences to the mobile version

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Instagram and the iPhone have always gone hand in hand. The first version of the social network landed on Apple’s mobile In October 2010marking the beginning of a relationship that soon became iconic. Android users, meanwhile, They had to wait until April 2012 To be able to join the experience. The iPad, on the other hand, was out of the equation from the beginning. When Instagram reached the market, Apple’s tablet had already been available for half a yearbut never received an application designed for its screen. They have spent almost 15 years without that changing. Until now: This Wednesday the company has finally taken the step. The official Instagram application for iPad is now available Instagram has finally premiered an app designed for iPad, something that many users had time to ask. It is not a simple adaptation: the interface has been rethink for Take advantage of the big screenimproving access to messages and notifications, which can now be seen simultaneously. Even when reproducing Reels Comments can be expanded while watching the video full screen. The change is noticed as soon as the app. Stories are still visible at the top, reels can be seen in a big way and the tab Following It is divided into three views to better organize content: All: recommended publications and reels of all accounts in a row Friends: Accounts that follow the user and those that this also follows The latest: Chronologically ordered publications, prioritizing the most recent The messages also gain prominence: you can consult the entrance tray while a conversation is followed, and the system to read comments in Reels allows you not to lose detail of the video. Instagram has adapted its app to the most advanced functions of iPados. There is support for multitasking and floating windows in Ipados 26 (Available in Beta and that should arrive generally next week), full screen mode both vertically and horizontally and keyboard, trackpad and Apple Pencil compatibility. The application is now available in the App Store for any iPad with ipados 15.1 or higher. If you had the iPhone version installed, just update it: A second app will not appearbut the existing will automatically adopt this new specific design for tablets. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, He had admitted That the number of users interested in an app for iPad was never large enough to justify development. That excuse is already part of the past: Instagram finally has an official presence on Apple’s big screens. Images | Goal/Apple | Xataka screen capture In Xataka | Send files among all my devices was a roll. Then I found this free application, Open Source and Multiplatform

The influencer María Pombo defends her right to not read. And incidentally, raises an interesting controversy about habits

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The latest statements by María Pombo (influencer pioneer With great impact on the fashion world and more than three million followers on Instagram, where its empire of family spin-offs to kardashian and ramifications of all kinds) have made half the Internet Hispano Clame: “influencer To your influences“. Some unexpected and reckless reflections on reading habits have put it in the eye of the hurricane, but they have also placed an important issue on the table: is it so necessary to cultivate the reading habit? María Pombo does not read (almost). That has recognized in A video on Tiktiok To respond to a user who criticized the bookcase he had shown in a previous video. “The bookstore is precious. But if it were full of books that have been read, it would be much more. Now I see only,” said the commentator. Pombo has tried to defend himself with a “I will say it: I think you have to start overcoming that there are people who do not like to read. And you are not better because you like to read” And he adds: “They all instilled the reading at some point in our lives, and we all had to try, but there are people who like and people who do not.” And he puts his two sisters as an example: “I have one that is also influencer and devours books; And yet my other sister, That is a pilotone has not read in his life, I believe. ”Of course, the criticisms that have multiplied in successive videoswhere Pombo has taught, to exculp Influencers His friends. The inheritance chases her, but she is faster. Paradoxically, and this is a detail without more importance than underlining the irony of the situation, María Pombo is a great -great -grandson of the novelist, journalist and translator Santanderina Concha Espinawhich in 1926 was about to win the Nobel. And it is also familiar (distant, yes) of the Cervantes 2024 AwardÁlvaro Pombo, grandson of Maria Pombo’s great -grandson, The designer Ana de Pombo. Without a doubt, a singular and respectable lineage for someone who has generated a controversy right in the opposite direction. María Pombo is the symptom. Without a doubt, the most conflictive statement of María Pombo is one that says that “you are not better because you like to read.” It gives off a anti-intellectual thinking that engages perfectly with the current era: We live counter-cilestized timesthat foster a vision in which each cultural or social group claims its own “truth” exclusive, which makes it difficult to dialogue and critical thinking. The Emotions -based policy and post -truththat normalize the lie, manipulation and extreme polarization, make communication less truthful and the least valued rigorous thinking. All this encourages Simplist and conspiracy speeches derived from … people read less. Force or respect. The important thing is that the attitude of María Pombo puts on the table a conflictive issue: should we force the taste for reading or respect the variety of interests? An issue that has generated academic positions of all kinds. For example, A 2024 study It emphasizes that reading habits, influenced by the interests and self -efficacy of the student, are positively related to the development of cognitive skills. However, Another 2023 study That reviews the relationship between reading habits, study skills and academic success, indicates that intrinsic preference and motivation are key, and that imposing rigid readings can be counterproductive. In general, we all agree (even María Pombo, even if he does not express it with total clarity): Reading is an intellectual activity of positive effects. But it is also true that the creation of environments rich in reading stimuli are necessary to develop the reading habit. A 2020 study He talked about the fact that the variety and freedom in the choice foster the interest than the imposition, and that position seems to defend Pombo. Let each one do what they want is important, but you don’t have to lose sight of what results objectively more beneficial. Header | Prime video In Xataka | Alatriste’s new book revalidates a throne that remains empty: Pérez-Reverte has created our most popular franchise

The digital kit promises to digitize SMEs and freelancers and “give them” a Macbook Air. There is a lot of small print

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On paper the Digital kit It doesn’t seem a bad idea. The government’s proposal, managed by Red.esgrants a series of subsidies to facilitate the “digital transformation” of SMEs and freelancers. Or what is the same: that small businesses and people “in self -employment” can for example have their website, their online store and even access the subsidy of a macbook air m4 that seems to leave “free”. Except that it does not go free. Not much less. Subsidies for digital transformation The program, promoted by Red.es and the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function, aims to “digitize” SMEs and adapt them to new times. Source: Red.es Financing comes from the Next Generation EU program of the European Union, and to start it up they were established different segments of beneficiaries that depended on the size of the SMEs or whether you were autonomous. The calls for almost all segments have been ending over the last months, but there is one that remains active: that of segment III, dedicated to SMEs from zero to three employees and also autonomous. The maximum amount of the subsidy for this segment is 3,000 euros, and is divided into two items. The first, with a subsidy of up to 2,000 euros can be used to commission the development of a web page (“basic internet presence”) or an online store (“Marketplace”). The second, which is becoming a claim on social networks, is a subsidy of up to 1,000 euros for the acquisition of a “safe job”which normally translates into a PC or portable. An important detail here: you can not ask for only the computer for the computer, and this can only be requested as a complement to the subsidy for the website or online store mentioned above. To access the program and get those “digital bonds” of up to 3,000 euros the process, explained in a PDFIt is theoretically simple. Just access the web accelerapyme.escomplete a “self -diagnosis test” and request help Digital kit through the form of the Red.es electronic headquarters. From there we will have to get in touch with a “digitizer agent”which will be the intermediary through which this “digital transformation” of our business is carried out. It is they who provide us with services (or manage that a third party provide them) and that they also take care of the acquisition of the famous portable of 1,000 euros. It is possible to become one of these digitalizing agents through the aforementioned Electronic Headquarters of Red.es, and In another guide in PDF It explains how to log in. A digitizer agent tells us the reality of the digital kit program As we say, on paper everything seems correct, but in practice the digital kit program has become a source of controversy that affects both parties, both those who have asked for those subsidies and to those who have managed them. To know from within what is happening we have talked to Pablo F. Iglesiasfounder of the consultant Cyberbainers that among other things achieved homologation for the digital kit. He has suffered the “small print” of this project as well as a service provider as a couple of a person who requested them. After this time offering their services, he tells us how his feeling is that there were “too many used who have seen in the program a quick business opportunity.” It is a message that others have shared such as Jaime Gómez-Obregón, which explained in x How a microenterprise “sold” hundreds of digital kit projects by subcontracting websites to freelancers in South America, which ended up promoting “Business models of using and throwing”. Iglesias also indicated how there have been large companies that They have taken advantage of the program to capture new customers as part of your service offer. In both cases the impact has been mostly negative. There are many the Complaints in social networks that They speak of Scams Related and how it has been seen that frequently the quality of the web pages or online stores created was very low, they were often “clones” of other web pages with minimal modifications that did not justify the 2,000 euros of the subsidy. For churches there is another additional problem: “Although they grant, for example, 6,000 euros to your company, the categories are limited to maximum expenses. Insufficient expenses to provide a service of twelve months, which encourages, by the structure of the subsidy itself, that the quality of the service is very but very low … or an economic agreement is reached outside the digital kit contract.” Iglesias himself explained that with 2,000 euros it is practically impossible for someone to “make you a professional website, give you basic services of backups, maintenance and monthly SEO work for 12 months.” Even so, he emphasizes, this program has caused the foam “alleged marketing agencies that They are dedicated to riding clonic WordPress With free templates in an afternoon, financing with the digital kit. “Although these pages do not position well in front of the competition, in the eyes of the program they have fulfilled the work,” and as the type client to which they van do not understand anything in the digital world, because it cooks. “ Free laptop myth In recent days we have started to see frequently on social networks like Tiktok Publications of accounts that They talked of The easy What was it get a macbook air m4 “free” subsidized by digital kit. But all these messages are misleading advertising, since although the digital kit program subsidizes these teams, who want to take advantage of this option will have to be very attentive to the small print. To start, because That subsidy does not cover VATand here Iglesias points to how “the state always wins.” To get the laptop we have to ask both the subsidy of 1,000 euros for the “safe job” and the 2,000 euros for the creation of a website or, as many of those ads sell, the start -up of … Read more

The problem is that almost everything is in the hands of Indonesia and China

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“Making An American Nickel Costs More than to Nickel,” the United States Mint recently admitted. Although the phrase looks like a tongue twenty, what is happening is that manufacturing a five cents – known in English like Nickel – is already more expensive than its own nominal value. And yet the international price of metal has collapsed, According to Financial Times. The nickel lives its most disconcerting moment. It is a key material to make batteries, stainless steel, turbines, missiles and satellites, so demand should have driven prices. However, the offer has expanded so fast that the quotes have sunk. In a report for the Financial Times They have pointed out That the price in the London metal bag (LME) is around $ 15,000 a ton, less than a third of what was reached in 2022. At the same time, production in referent countries, such as Australia or New Caledonia, was strongly reduced. BHP, the Australian giant, announced that it is reviewing the sale of its nickel assets in Western Australia. Even Tsingshan, one of the largest Chinese operators, suspended stainless steel lines to adjust the offer. A new emerging superpower. In this context, Indonesia emerges as a great winner. After prohibiting the export of mineral in 2020, he forced the installation of foundations and attracted billions of Chinese investment. Today controls about 60–65% of global production, According to Bloomberg. In the same medium They have pointed out That the jump is so great that, for the first time in history, Nickel export revenues exceeded those of coal: 16.5 billion dollars compared to 14,400 million in the first semester of 2025. The problems that lurk to the market. The Indonesian domain raises strategic vulnerability for the West, which considers the nickel a critical mineral. The Financial Times Talk about a “Nickel OPEC” Controlled by Yakarta and Beijing. At the same time, western mines become unfeasible: Australia and Nueva Caledonia already reduce operations and Anglo American seeks to sell assets in Brazil. The operation with MMG, backed by Chinese capital, is being investigated by the Brazilian competition authority after the Turkish Corex Holding complaint, How have they explained in another FT report. The result is an unbalanced map: Indonesia and China concentrate low cost capacity, while in the West the large mining companies are replicated or directly leave the business. There is an even greater cost. Indonesia’s competitive advantage rests on coal. Four large companies in the sector issued 15.3 million tons of greenhouse gases, and those emissions could double around 2028, according to IEEFA calculations and create collected by The Diplomat. This model collides with the arrival of regulations such as the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism, which will penalize materials with great carbon footprint. To this is added social risk: A report cited by The Guardian alert that a large part of the farms of transition minerals overlap with indigenous territories or fragile ecosystems, with accusations of deforestation, labor abuses and conflicts with local communities. And the technological risk is added. The rise of lithium-cherrophosphate (LFP) batteries, that do not require nickelcan cut the planned demand. Although they have less energy density, these batteries are cheaper and more sustainable, and are gaining space in electric vehicles. West, between the sword and the wall. The great Western miners face a dilemma. On the one hand, high costs and social pressures: the Resolution Copper project in Arizona, promoted by Rio Tinto and BHP, It has been delayed by the opposition for years of the Apache tribe of San Carlos. On the other hand, the strategic need to reinforce local supply chains. Washington has described nickel as critical metal, but its reserves are limited. Mining companies do not want to lose their best client: China. In 2024, 57% of Rio Tinto’s income came from sales to China, compared to only 16.7% in the United States, According to data cited in Xataka. The export controls of minerals imposed by Donald Trump’s government – and Beijing’s response with restrictions on Galio, Germanio, Scandio or Disposio – show how metal trade has become a geopolitical weapon. China: The pan by the handle. If Indonesia puts resources, China puts money and knowledge. The clearest example is Gem, a Chinese producer of battery materials that in the first half of 2025 doubled its nickel production in Indonesia up to 43,977 tons, reaching a record benefit of almost 800 million yuan, According to Bloomberg. In addition, Gem signed a 1,420 million dollar agreement with the Indonesian Sovereign Danantara fund to build a battery grade nickel plant. China also ensures its position outside Asia. In Africa, As we have explained in Xatakahas invested more than 10,000 million dollars in cobalt, copper and nickel mines, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, and accompanies those investments with infrastructure, bilateral agreements and, even, the export of armament and private security to protect mining interests. In macro terms, China is becoming what some call the first “electrostate“. As my partner Matías has pointed outunder the plan Made in China 2025 It has managed to integrate the entire clean technologies supply chain: solar panels, batteries and electric cars. The country already generates more than a quarter of its electricity with renewables and de facto controls the global prices of electrification technologies. Forecasts: what comes on the horizon. Nickel’s future seems written at several speeds. Indonesia will continue to consolidate its role as an epicenter of the global offer. The prohibition of exporting mineral, added to the avalanche of Chinese capital, has turned the country into the great refining of the world and the Yakarta government wants to take another step: not to settle for producing nickel nicing or chemicals, but also becoming a manufacturer of batteries and electric vehicles, How Financial Times points out. In parallel, the demand for stainless steel will continue to absorb most of the nickel, but the battery market is emerging as the great engine of change in this decade. The problem is that this forecast … Read more

Ukraine has just opened the tanks used by Russia. The surprise is capital: West has manufactured them

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In the war there are also “unboxing”, but of combat drones. In fact, this is how they have been revealed from hidden messages of the troops of Moscow, until The origin of the vast majority of technology components (with big surprises). It was also revealed to what extent China is part of the war machinery, or even that the power of these unmanned combat planes has Nvidia as an engine major. What we did not know so far is what was inside the Russian tanks. Foreign dependence. Yeah, Revelation of Ukrainian intelligence on the massive use of Western and Asian teams in the production of Russian tanks has revealed to what extent Kremlin’s industrial self -sufficiency It is compromised. He Updated report Del Gur details more than 260 high precision machines employed by uralvagonzavodthe only great manufacturer of combat cars in Russia and responsible for the entire range of T-seriesfrom the V-72 veterans to him T-14 Armata. Made in the West. The majority of these teams, which include American vertical lathes, Italian folding German machining centers and presses, were acquired in the fifteen years prior to 2022during military modernization prior to the invasion of Ukraine. In other words, although they do not constitute violations of the most recent sanctions, their presence in Russian factories raises a continuity problem: Without spare parts or software updates, armored production runs the risk of degrading quickly. The central role of Uralvagonzavod. Based in the urales, Uralvagonzavod It concentrates the heart of the Russian capacity of armor, holding a production that is estimated at 20 to 30 new tanks per month, despite the pressure of the war. In 2024 he opened a equipped engines plant with European CNC machinesevidence of how even in the middle of the war campaign Russia continued to benefit from foreign technology through indirect routes and third countries. The gur warns That these deliveries, although more complicated and expensive due to the sanctions, have not stopped, which keeps alive the assembly line of the Russian armored ones. The paradox is that the Soviet industrial prestige, once a symbol of self -sufficiency, now rests largely on the legacy of foreign machinery. The strategic dimension. The Published list By Ukraine, which also collects 42 types of equipment from Austria, Japan, South Korea and China, points to a broader pattern: Russia uses a total of 1,396 foreign machines in 169 factories linked to the invasion. Each of these teams It is documented through contracts, recordings and files of state acquisitions, which gives the probative weight to the complaint. The Ukrainian message seems clear: when cutting access to spare parts, technical fluids and software licenses, the Russian military industrial base can be strangled. kyiv has proposed Reinforced diligence measures, such as adding GPS trackers to exported machines and demanding in situ inspections, in order to prevent their products from ending up holding the enemy war industry. Vulnerability mirrors. We have counted before. The finding of Western components and Chinese in drones long -range manufactured by Moscow, local versions of the Iranian Shahed, reinforces the thesis that the Russian military industry depends critically on foreign pieces. Kremlin can hide this weakness With propaganda On its technological autonomy, but in practice its war machine is based on gears manufactured in countries that are today part of the Block that sanctions it. Putin himself, aware of the limits of production, He publicly admitted In April that “there are not enough weapons”, reflecting the tensions between the self -sufficiency discourse and the reality of an industry that, without access to the West, runs the risk of being paralyzed. The industrial Achilles heel. If you want, the Ukrainian complaint converts the Russian dependence on a strategic Achilles heel: while its army spends armored in the front at a higher pace, the ability to manufacture new depends on Machines that do not control. If the sanctions manage to isolate Moscow with spare parts and services, the ability to sustain their war effort could deteriorate irreversibly. When exposing these vulnerabilities, kyiv not only seeks to weaken the enemy, but also directly involve To Western manufacturers and governments in the supervision of their export chains, remembering that another battle is fought in the Ural workshops: that of the industrial pulse that can decide war. Image | Вталий кзьин In Xataka | Ukraine has opened the most advanced Drone Kamikaze in Russia. Now they know what the key to their power is: nvidia In Xataka | Ukraine has hunted an “invisible” drone of Russia. The surprise has been capitalized when opening it: it is “made in USA”

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