Change

Calling without warning has gone from being normal to being rude. And in that change we have lost something

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“It seems rude to me to call the cell phone without warning. If it’s not an emergency (and it’s not my parents) don’t call me, we have WhatsApp for something.” This tweet from @thaissotillo It went viral a few days ago and generated responses of all colors, but with the feeling that it is a generational issue: at some point, for those born especially in the late 90s onwards, telephone calls – the most basic gesture of a telephone – have become a violation of social protocol. The generational issue does not explain much: the interesting thing is not what the girl prefers, but why an unannounced call now feels like an intrusion. A WhatsApp message gives you time. You read, you think, you decide, you write, you erase, you rewrite. You decide if it is better for you to sound warmer or more edge. Ten extra seconds to build a better version of yourself. A call takes that possibility away from you. It forces you to be youno editing, now. That’s why it’s uncomfortable. “It’s another way to avoid direct confrontation,” he explains. Alexandra de Pedrogeneral health psychologist. “An awkward conversation always becomes less awkward when I have time to process what I want to say and how.” we have built tode to a way of life about the right to edit ourselves before being seen. De Pedro says that many people pass their important conversations through the AI ​​filter: “Write this to me, but in a more assertive way.” We lose the ability for direct communication while we gain resources to avoid it. But there is something else. The call doesn’t just demand that you be yourself. Demand that you be now. We live in an asynchronous world. We work with people in four time zones, we watch series when we want, we answer emails between meetings. Everything can wait for me to be ready. The call shatters that illusion. It is a demand for synchronicity. It is a way of telling us “we speak now or we don’t speak.” And that, in a culture where procrastination is an earned right, feels obscene. That’s why voicemails have taken over: They transfer the call experience to something asynchronous, to have time to think about the answers. “Young people have understood that being accessible is not the same as being available,” says De Pedro. “They practice setting limits more. But you can also go overboard and We are moving towards a society that is a little more individualistic.“. Exceptions tell part of the story. Your parents may call you without warning. Not because they are from another generation, but because the family still operates under a previous code: that of automatic availability. You can interrupt me because you are my father. The rest of the world lost that privilege. Now you have to write first, raise the issue, wait for confirmation. Only then, perhaps, call. The direct call is read as arrogance. We have changed the semantics of what it means to respect others. Before it was “I give you my attention when you ask for it.” Now it’s “don’t ask me for attention without prior permission.” We say that we gain efficiency, that WhatsApp avoids unnecessary interruptions. But what we have really done is build a wall around our emotional availability. “It has to do with postponing everything uncomfortable,” says the psychologist. “Much lower tolerance for frustration, for uncomfortable sensations. If I find it uncomfortable to answer a friend, it’s annoying, because it costs me more and I put it off.” The phone call was the last vestige of an ancient social contract: we accepted that others might need us in real time, without warning, without the possibility of postponement. That contract was broken. Now we all live behind a perpetual mailbox. We respond when it suits us, not when they need us. We feel freer, more owners of our time, more protected. What we do not feel is what we have lost: the habit of tolerating the discomfort of appearing unprepared, of improvising closeness, of accepting that the other has the right to alter our day. The phone is still in our pocket. But it’s not to talk anymore. It is to decide when, how and with whom we want to appear to be speaking. In Xataka | AI is transforming the relationship we have with our own ideas: we no longer create, we just “edit” ourselves Featured image | Xataka

These three alternatives want to change the rules

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Artificial intelligence chatbots have crept into our daily lives without asking permission. We talk to them to work, resolve doubts or simply vent, but many times we overlook an important detail: services as popular as ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot They use these conversations by default to train their models. And there they end up ranging from personal issues to work issues that perhaps we would never share with a stranger. For anyone who values ​​privacy, this may be a cause for concern. Turning off training from the settings menu helps, but does not eliminate all risks. There is some possibility that a security breach could also expose conversations. So the question that we haven’t quite resolved returns again: are there alternatives that really put privacy first? And if there are, which ones work best? AI chatbots that better protect our privacy In a new video from Xataka’s YouTube channelFrancisco Franconi tries to shed light on this dilemma. He himself admits that he is not the best example of prudence: over the years he has turned sensitive information in ChatGPT. “He has my tax return, my medical history, he knows what time I walk my dog, how many days I have left on vacation,” he confesses. But this time he is determined to change the rules of the game. After testing several options, it has selected three alternatives that focus on privacy and that also have free versions. He acknowledges that there are more, but he preferred to focus on those that really convinced him. The first is Venice. “Your data is encrypted and are stored locally in your browser and not on its servers,” explains Franco, highlighting one of its big claims. The way Venice works is peculiar: it adopts a different mechanic than usual to manage messages, a process that he details step by step in the video and that helps to understand why it fits so well into a more secure approach. The second proposal is the work of an old privacy acquaintance. “If you are a freak privacy, you most likely know the DuckDuckGo search engine, an alternative to Google that became famous for not track your searches or your history,” says our colleague before presenting Duck.AI. The tool, he assures, has been very well received and its philosophy is clear: “It does not compete by offering its own model, but rather guarantees privacy in the use of commercial or third-party models,” he adds. In the video, Franco also shares practical recommendations for getting the most out of Duck.AI, which is useful if you are looking for a chatbot that fits into more intensive workflows. The third option is, perhaps, the least known, but also the one that makes the most forceful declaration of intentions: Okara. For Franco, this platform is “a declaration of war on the data business model.” Its proposal is supported by its own infrastructure, open source models and an encryption approach that gives full control to the user. “Although your history is stored on their servers, it is encrypted in such a way that only you can decrypt it using your key,” he explains. In addition to explaining how Okara works and what advantages it brings, Franco also talks about its limitations. For some users they will be minor details, but for others they can tip the balance towards one platform or another. Each of these alternatives offers a different approach, but a common goal: privacy. And you, which one would you choose? Have you tried any or are you tempted to take the leap? We read you in the comments. And remember that you can see the full video in the Xataka YouTube channel. Images | Xataka In Xataka | DeepSeek has launched its new reasoner model. It’s free and beats GPT-5

The POCO F8 Pro and F8 Ultra are a great change of direction for the brand. We spoke with POCO to find out what awaits us now

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POCO launched two new devices a few days ago that mark a change of direction in its strategy: the F8 Pro and the F8Ultra. The latter represents the Chinese brand’s most ambitious commitment to enter the premium segment, just eight months after the launch of the F7 Ultra in March. As we shared a few days ago, we had the opportunity to analyze it in depth, but we were also able to have a chat with Kang Lou, head of product marketing and spokesperson for POCO Global, and Stanley Yeh, chief audio engineer, at a press conference during the launch event in Bali. Both managers gave us very interesting clues about the future of the brand, which is at its best, proof that its strategy continues to work. A change of strategy. For seven years, POCO has focused exclusively on delivering the best performance at the most competitive price possible. “When POCO was created seven years ago we always focused on one thing: performance,” Lou explained. But now things have changed. “Since the beginning of this year, with the F7 Ultra in March, we started testing the premium market. To do so, we tried to elevate the overall user experience, not just the performance. We want our users to experience good features regardless of whether we are talking about camera, battery or any other feature.” POCO F8 Pro Collaboration with Bose. One of the great novelties of the F8 Ultra is its 2.1 audio system developed in collaboration with Bose. “In the past we usually ignored the audio area. This time we collaborated with Bose because we want a mobile phone to come close to producing the real sound that humans actually hear. We worked with Bose to redesign the entire audio system, both in software and hardware,” said Yeh. Why Bose and not another brand? Asked why they specifically chose Bose out of all the audio brands available, Yeh said, “Bass is quite important for what humans actually hear. Bose has experience in those areas and they also have a lot of patents and technology for small speakers to produce big or deep bass.” In addition, he noted that “Bose has a lot of experience in psychoacoustics, about what good sound is and what kind of sound small speakers can produce.” Qaggressive tough. One of the most recurring questions in the room was how POCO can maintain such competitive prices. Lou responded by explaining that “that’s our biggest strength as a brand. We try to reduce our price as much as possible while maintaining low margins because we really do work on low margins.” LITTLE F8 Ultra Lou further added that “POCO saves a lot of costs because we only focus on online. We don’t have the retail costs, which are a large proportion when we talk about those prices.” Furthermore, regarding the Pro model, he clarified that “we can save costs because we are using the chipset that was launched a year ago. And fortunately, we are in a market where a chipset from a year ago is still very, very capable for common use and for any type of game or intensive use.” Jeans on the back. The F8 Ultra stands out for its rear finish that imitates the texture of jeans, a design decision that especially caught our attention, as did the rest of the attendees. “We wanted something really outstanding, something that when you see it for the first time you fall in love. You feel, ‘oh, there’s something different, something quite cool, something memorable,’” Lou explained. Although he clarified that “it’s not actually denim, it’s not jeans at all. It’s a completely different material made of silicone. We chose it because it’s very durable and at the same time very comfortable to the touch.” In recent years, POCO has been characterized, in part, by targeting a more youthful audience and by devices with yellow finishes. The absence of this color in the F8 Ultra has also been noted. Lou clarified that “we don’t actually stick to the iconic yellow for every phone we make. We just change the overall design language a little bit depending on the product positioning.” Although Lou assured that there are no established plans to make denim a permanent distinctive element. “If it’s something our users want in the future on other devices or accessories, we’ll try to make the effort.” The POCOs have less battery than the Redmi K90. The POCO F8 family is based on the Redmi K90which are sold in Asia. The K90 and K90 Pro Max have batteries greater than 7,000 mAh, but this battery capacity does not carry over to the POCO in Europe. Lou explained that this is “mainly for transportation reasons, but not only that. Many of our third-party partners have warehouses in local markets and those warehouses have to be certified to store batteries up to a certain capacity. In order for everyone to partner with us and get our devices, we have a limit in place.” The camera, that great pending task. Regarding possible collaborations in the future, especially in the photographic section, Lou clarified that “we have a strong cooperation with Bose and some other leading technologies in terms of camera. We are always trying to improve the camera experience compared to what we have today. If we can have more collaborations in terms of camera to strengthen the entire future experience, of course we will. But at the moment we do not have any collaboration in that sense.” The firm also does not have a large arsenal of accessories under its POCO brand, and perhaps this can be a very lucrative aspect for the brand. At the moment they do not have a roadmap in mind, so we will have to wait to find out more details in this regard. What’s coming now. POCO is at a critical moment. After seven years building a solid reputation under the “value for money” label, the brand is now trying to … Read more

change house doors

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Changing the doors of the house, a seemingly minor and routine renovation, has become one of the most expensive household items in recent years. To the point that many carpenters are already talking about a “new era of prices” in the sector. As a professional said interviewed by El Español: “Before I charged 120 euros per unit; now they go over 250 without a problem.” And it is not an isolated case: specialized platforms confirm that renewing a single interior door can today cost between 150 and 600 euros. This price increase responds to a combination of factors that has strained the entire production chain. A climb from the forest to the factory. Wood, the base of most interior doors, is primarily responsible. As Maderea explainsa reference platform in the sector, species such as radiata pine or oak have recorded increases of up to 20% in Spain. This variation is not punctual: the market is experiencing a period of volatility marked by international demand, the supply crisis, energy costs and the rise of the bioeconomy. The Basoa reports show high values in the radiata pine in all its categories. Although they are prices at origin, they serve as a thermometer: the cost of raw materials continues to be stressed, with no signs of falling. However, not only does the tree go up: everything around it also goes up, from electricity necessary for manufacturing to transportation. A minor reform that is no longer cheap. The result of these increases is evident for the consumer: changing a door no longer costs what it used to. According to Habitissimothe average price of replacing an interior door is around 350 euros, within a range that can go from 150 to 600 euros depending on the material, type of opening or complexity. The Idealista platform offers similar figures In terms of prices, MDF and solid wood are the cheapest, reaching €600. For its part, the Cronoshare portal raises the national average at 300 and 900 euros, depending on the type of door and installation. On the other hand, if we talk about an exterior door, the figure multiplies. Both Idealista and Habitissimo point out that an armored door usually costs between 600 and 1,500 euros; an armored one can go up to 4,800 euros, and those made of aluminum or PVC range between 200 and 900 euros. That’s not all. Added to the increase in materials is that of professionals. According to Idealistaa carpenter can charge between 25 and 50 euros per hour, and removing an old door plus installing the new one can cost between 200 and 300 euros. For its part, from Habitissimo agrees that The installation adds between 60 and 140 euros per unit. The professionals themselves say it clearly. The carpenter interviewed by El Español He explained that today they do not only charge for assembly: “The client believes that it is ‘just hanging a door’, but behind it there are expensive materials, transportation, higher quality hardware and much finer work than before.” In addition, interior design trends—such as lacquered, sliding, large-format or flush doors—also raise the final price. And what will happen from now on? For now, no indicators suggest that prices will decline. According to Madereathe wood market continues to be highly volatile, driven by energy and logistics costs that are pushing upwards. The Basoa reportsfor their part, show high rates and no significant declines in the price of standing timber during 2025. Neither do the reform platforms they foresee reductions in material or labor costs. The conclusion is clear: unless an unexpected economic turn occurs, changing the doors in your home will continue to be an expensive renovation for years to come. Is there a cheaper way to change my doors? What all the consulted guides do agree on is a series of recommendations to contain spending. On the one hand, request several quotes to compare prices and avoid excessive differences between professionals. Also can be useful Take advantage of seasonal offers, such as Black Friday campaigns or sales of discontinued models, where some stores apply relevant discounts. Another strategy for those who want to renovate without completely replacing is to restore or lacquer the existing doors. And it suits avoid special measuressince ordering doors outside of standard sizes can multiply the final cost. We’ll have to think twice. What was once an affordable domestic intervention—changing an interior door for just over a hundred euros—has become a renovation that can easily exceed 300, 400 or even 600 euros per unit, depending on the material and installation. The rise in the price of wood, the impact of energy on manufacturing, logistics and the growing demand for higher quality designs have pushed this item to unprecedented levels. Image | Unsplash and Pexels Xataka | Even when Spain does it well, it goes wrong: becoming the third most forested country in Europe has become a problem

the last one caused a big change in their way of living

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For ten years, in Kibali National Park (Uganda), a silent and brutal war was fought. Its protagonists were not humans, but the community of Ngogo chimpanzees largest known, which maintained a constant conflict with its neighbors until they ended up exterminating them to keep their territory. Now science has wanted to find biological meaning in this, and it has succeeded. Something natural. From the outside, this conflict can be seen as something very bloody, like the one we see between humans themselves to dominate a specific territory. But science believed that there was something more behind it, and in the end it has been seen that these wars They are more natural than we think within nature itself. And it gives us a concrete idea of ​​how the minds of these animals work. The PNAS scientific journal just found the biological logic behind this massacre, and has not hesitated to confirm that we are facing an evolutionary strategy very profitable. After the victory, the females in the winning group not only doubled their fertility, but infant mortality plummeted. A spoil of war. The investigation, led by Brian Wood and veteran anthropologist John Mitani, puts numbers to this brutality. And in this lapse of time the Ngogo expanded their domains by 22% at the cost of eliminating the neighbors who were occupying it in that case. But just like humans, we often create wars. to get more resourcesanimals seem to do something similar. This territorial expansion brought with it a great abundance of food resources that completely transformed the demographics of the group. To get an idea, the researchers in this case compared data from the three years before the conquest with those from the three years after. In this case it was seen that before the victory there were only 15 births in the group, while after the victory there were 37 new offspring. And it is not something random, since it is the first time that cooperative killing between groups has been linked to “territorial gain and greater reproductive success.” The biological sense. But beyond the fact that more chimpanzees are born in this environment, it has also been seen that much more survive. And in the chimpanzee population, infant mortality is really high because they suffer from serious malnutrition at the beginning of their lives, as well as diseases or infanticide. The data is quite clear. Before winning the war, 41% of the offspring died before they were three years old. After annexing neighboring territory and eliminating border threats, that figure radically dropped to 8%. Because? The equation is quite simple: more food in the environment, less competition and greater security as there are not so many enemy incursions that kill their young. Josep Call, a primatologist at the University of St Andrews, defines it as “biological rationality”. It is not a moral decision, it is pure natural selection: the genes of those who successfully apply this violence are much more likely to perpetuate themselves. Death patrols. A question that we can ask ourselves in this case is how an animal with these characteristics can be organized to go to war. And although we may think that they do it without thinking about it first, the reality is that they organize very well calculated border patrols in their territory. Upon reaching the border, these animals completely change their behavior, as they become much quieter to maintain stealth, with a strategy that is quite similar to what we can see in a human military exercise. The moment they encounter a rival group, if they are outnumbered they know that they will not be able to win and the smartest thing to do is to retreat. But if the situation is contrary, it will be attacked without mercy. Attacks include hitting, biting and dismembering. It is a coordinated violence that, in the case of the Ngogo, was favored by an unusual demographic factor: they had a disproportionate number of males, which allowed them to form patrol “squads” that were more lethal than those of their neighbors who did not have this advantage. War? Although the parallel with human conflicts is inevitable, scientists prefer the term “intergroup violence.” The reasons that exist to defend this difference are that among chimpanzees there is no ideology, but rather they do it exclusively out of biological necessity, such as having food or providing for the smallest members of the community. And the truth is that annihilating the neighbors is one of the smartest ways to achieve this. Images | Satya deep In Xataka | These researchers are not only convinced that chimpanzees can talk, but that we have proof since 1962

This is the 3I/ATLAS photo that NASA was accused of hijacking. Of course it doesn’t change anything

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They are the most controversial astronomical photos of the last two months. And to no one’s surprise, speculation as to why NASA had not published them was exaggerated. This is what the space agency has seen. A little context. Since the ATLAS system detected a new interstellar object crossing our neighborhood, a very specific part of the scientific community has been carefully monitoring its trajectory to detect any anomalies. Especially since cosmologist Avi Loeb suggested it could be an artificial alien object. That NASA took a month and a half to release 3I/ATLAS images taken during its approach to Mars has not helped control such speculation. But the administrative silence, caused by the US government shutdown, has come to an end. NASA is back this week with a huge amount of data under the arm. “It’s a comet.” NASA has mobilized 12 of its spacecraft to observe the visitor from outside the solar system. And the official message is forceful, almost designed to nip any exotic speculation in the bud: “it looks like a comet and behaves like a comet, and all the evidence points to it being a comet,” said Amit Kshatriya, the agency’s highest-ranking official, in a press conference. Of course, it is a different comet from those in the solar system, which suggests that it was born in an environment with a different chemistry than ours, perhaps around a star much older than the Sun, because it is unusually rich in nickel and, instead of expelling water, it expels carbon dioxide. What’s new. What makes this new observation campaign special is the geometry. When 3I/ATLAS passed its closest point to the Sun in late October, Earth was on the “wrong side,” with the Sun blocking our direct view. Taking advantage of the fact that Mars had a privileged view, NASA forced the instruments of its ships beyond their original design. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured high-resolution images from 30 million kilometers away. The MAVEN mission analyzed its ultraviolet composition and the Perseverance rover, from the Martian surface, managed to capture a faint flash of the comet. Meanwhile, the Psyche and Lucy spacecraft, traveling to distant asteroids, managed to capture the comet against the light, revealing details of its tail and coma that would be invisible from Earth. And the SOHO and STEREO solar observatories followed suit when it was too close to the Sun for other telescopes. What does Loeb say? The controversial Harvard astrophysicist and techno-signature hunter has published an immediate response showing his disappointment. For Loeb, the NASA press conference has been an exercise in bureaucracy to confirm the “expected and boring.” His main arguments for maintaining skepticism are: The striking thing about the mass: 3I/ATLAS is a million times more massive than ‘Oumuamua. Statistically, we should have seen millions of small objects before seeing one this big, unless it was intentionally “sent”, according to the cosmologist. The camouflage theory: Loeb argues that an interstellar probe that has traveled through the cold interstellar medium could have accumulated a layer of ice and dust on its surface. As it approaches the Sun, this layer would sublimate, making it look like a natural comet. The resolution of the images: The photos shown by NASA are blurry (due to the limitations of the probes), so Loeb is pinning his hopes on images taken by amateur astronomers as the comet approaches Earth. And now what. NASA has not found any technosignatures: no radio signals, no impossible maneuvers outside of gravity, nothing that indicates intelligence on this comet. However, the show is not over. On December 19, 2025, 3I/ATLAS will have its closest approach to Earth (about 270 million kilometers). It will be then when the James Webb space telescope and the large terrestrial observatories will be able to perform the definitive autopsy. Image | POT In Xataka | 3I/ATLAS shows signs of non-gravitational acceleration: something has pushed it, and we think we know what

It is the most important change to the app and it is already underway

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WhatsApp has begun to implement in Europe a function that marks a before and after in the use of its application: the possibility of other third-party messaging apps integrate with the platform. Users will be able to receive and send messages from WhatsApp to people who use other messaging apps, maintaining the end to end encryption. It is the first step towards something unthinkable until now: using WhatsApp without actually being inside WhatsApp. Regulation. This change is not really an altruistic decision that came from Meta, but rather an obligation imposed by the Digital Markets Law (DMA) of the European Union. According to explains WhatsApp on its official blog, “in light of changing laws in Europe, Meta now offers the option to chat with other people using third-party messaging applications.” The deployment is progressive and will arrive “over the next few months.” For now, the function will only land for users with phone numbers registered in the Member States of the European Union. How to activate and configure the function. Users who meet the requirements will soon receive a notification in WhatsApp settings inviting them to enable the function. The process is simple: you have to go to Settings > Account > Third Party Chats and activate the option. From there, you can select which external applications you want to enable and choose between two display modes: a combined inbox, where third-party messages are mixed with those from WhatsApp, or a separate inbox that keeps these chats isolated. WhatsApp assures that “you can update this setting at any time.” What is shared and what is not. When chats with third-party apps are activated and a conversation is started, the user’s phone number is shared with the person they choose to chat with. However, according to clarify WhatsApp, “your name and profile photo are not shared.” This means that to start a chat with someone using an external app, you need to know their user ID on that platform, which can be an email, phone number, or username, depending on the app. The first compatible apps and current limitations. BirdyChat vs Haiket They are the first two applications messaging services that have implemented this interoperability. WhatsApp promise that users will be able to “send messages, photos, videos, voice messages and documents to end users of supported third-party messaging services.” For now, the feature only allows one-on-one conversations; Future updates will include cross-platform group chats. In addition, certain native WhatsApp features such as stickers, statuses or disappearing messages will not be available in conversations with third parties. The encryption is maintained, but with nuances. WhatsApp assures that “messages or other content you send from WhatsApp to third-party users are encrypted during transit, and WhatsApp cannot see them.” The company also specifies that third-party messaging apps must use the same level of end-to-end encryption. However, Meta warns that “third-party apps have their own policies and may handle your data differently than WhatsApp.” The platform recommends reviewing the privacy policies of each external application before using it. Locks. There is one aspect that may be uncomfortable for some users. And people blocked on WhatsApp could continue to contact you through these third-party apps. According to explains WhatsApp in its FAQ, “anyone who has your phone number will be able to send you messages from third-party apps, including people you’ve blocked on WhatsApp.” If you receive an unwanted message in a third-party chat, you can block the sender specifically from that app, but WhatsApp blocking is not automatically extended. Limited availability and technical requirements. The function is limited at the moment in WhatsApp for iPhone and Android, so not yet WhatsApp Web, nor desktop, nor tablets. Furthermore, the company also remember that if a user changes their phone number to another registered in a region that is not covered by the DMA, they will lose access to third-party chats. In this sense, previous messages will remain in the chat list, but in read-only mode. Because it’s so important. It’s a big shift precisely because it has operated as a closed ecosystem for years. The possibility of interacting with users of other platforms without leaving WhatsApp, and vice versa, breaks a series of barriers which can end up being very attractive to many users. It is, in essence, the first step towards a scenario where the app you use to send messages could no longer be as relevant. Now all that remains is for Telegram to also implement this function. Cover image | Dimitri Karastelev In Xataka | It’s a matter of time before WhatsApp ends up filling your phone’s memory, unless you do these three things

The lack of generational change has opened a job opportunity for thousands of young people in Spain: bus driver

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The driver shortage In Spain and Europe it has generated an opportunity for those looking for a stable and well-paid job. Municipal companies are fighting to hire new talents who want to train as drivers of their city buses. The lack of generational change in passenger transportation is a problem that affects many local companies, which cannot fill the vacancies left by retiring drivers. The shortage of drivers in Spain and Europe. According to published data According to the European employment body EURES, in 2023 there were 105,000 vacancies for bus and coach drivers in Europe, which represents 10% of all positions in the sector and an increase in vacancies of 54% compared to the previous year. In Spain the situation is not better. The driver shortage already an officially recognized structural problem. The deficit affects both the freight and passenger transport sectors, and contrasts with the surplus in other professions such as administrative or technical personnel. The forecasts of the transport sector is that, by 2026, 37,000 new bus drivers and about 126,000 truck drivers will be needed. Why are there drivers missing? Among the structural factors that aggravate the shortage of drivers, the absence of a generational change. According to a report According to the Spanish Bus Transport Confederation (CONFEBUS), the aging of the workforce is one of the main reasons for this shortage. Data recorded by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) included in the EURES report indicated that, in many European countries, less than 5% of drivers are under 25 years old. Furthermore, the incorporation of women to the sector is very low, since only 12% of drivers in the EU are women. He sector It estimates that it will need about 24,000 new drivers per year to compensate for the rate of retirement of current staff. CONFEBUS also recognizes that working conditions in the sector Nor have they helped to attract young people: long hours, irregular shifts, temporary contracts and poor family conciliation. Access to training and certification is another obstacle, since the obtaining the CAP or the D permit entails a high cost, especially for young people or migrants who do not have sufficient economic resources and find there a barrier to accessing these jobs. Government aid for training. Precisely to alleviate this economic obstacle when obtaining permission to transport goods and passengers, the Government has promoted a Royal Decree which gives the green light to the Reconduce Plan, which offers aid of up to 3,000 euros to cover the costs of training and obtaining a bus or truck driver’s license. This helps is directed to people who want to train in the road transport sector and is available to cover the costs of the necessary courses and exams. The conditions to access this aid include being registered in the National Youth Guarantee System and meeting the age and training requirements demanded by the Ministry of Transport. Driverless buses. Faced with a prospect of constant staff shortages due to the progressive aging of the population, more and more city councils are deciding to start pilot tests with autonomous buses on their streets, not without some reluctance among the current driver templates. For example, in August the first test of this style was launched in Barcelona, ​​allowing a driverless bus to cover a short 10-minute stretch in open traffic. Our colleague Iván Linares tried it in first person. Madrid has just started a similar test autonomous bus, although in this case its scope of circulation is limited to Mercamadrid. These projects seek to modernize urban transportation and guarantee mobility, although they are still in the experimental phase, so they do not represent a short-term solution to the problem of driver shortages. In Xataka | Barcelona has grown tired of fining 80 cars a day for invading the bus lane. So he’s going to start monitoring them with AI Image | Wikimedia Commons (KingValid04)

The week starts with rains in Galicia. It is just the beginning of a change in the pattern throughout and we are going to notice it

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We have had a truce, but we already knew that: The first half of November was going to be mild, with some rain and occasional thermal drops. And, generally speaking, that’s how it has been. Now the good thing began. And “good” right now means “rain.” Specifically, as we speak, a very active Atlantic storm (which, if all goes according to plan, will probably be named ‘Claudia’) is opening a corridor of southerly winds that will bring heavy rain in the west of the peninsula, an unusual warm advection for the month of November and, incidentally, a more than considerable episode of haze. The worst part, however, will be the Canary Islands. Are we facing the third named storm of the season? Well, as I say, everything seems to indicate yes. But it is still too early to take it for granted: the peak will be between Wednesday and Thursday, to progress in the coming days in the form of fronts. What happens is that the low will suffer the ‘push’ of a warm flow from the south that will raise temperatures and introduce a stream of Saharan dust in the country. Why is this important? In Galicia and the Canary Islands it is important because almost 200 liters per square meter can fall. And, in some areas, the problems can be enormous. However, it is something that also matters for the rest of the country. And not only because the strong winds and rains can affect large areas of the northern half of the Peninsula. Above all, because it is an example of what is going to be one of the great challenges facing meteorology in the coming years: deciding what is a problem. When should a storm have a name? A few days ago, while a storm with subtropical characteristics It caused problems (many problems) In Huelva and Seville, meteorologists discussed whether that storm should have been named. In the end, the official list of named storms seeks to improve public perception and response; and that is not something as easy as giving a name when the notices go from orange to red. What we are going to see these days is something relatively common: omega blocks, undulating jets, storm trains and atmospheric rivers. The only new thing is that They are going to grow, they are going to get stronger and they are going to do it little by little. Almost imperceptibly. What is going to happen this week is a warning to sailors: it is a trailer of the future we are going into. Image | AEMET In Xataka | The “tropicalization” of the atmosphere is going to change Spain and not exactly for the better

Using free WiFi on airplanes almost never ends well. Iberia wants to change that with the help of Starlink

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IAG, the group to which Iberia belongs, has closed an agreement with Starlink to equip their planes with satellite connectivity. The Spanish airline promises that all its passengers They will be able to sail for free from 2026 with speeds comparable to those at home. Best free WiFi from the plane. Until now, wifi on airplanes It used to be slow, expensive or non-existent. With this agreement, Iberia ensures that it will offer free high-speed connection on all its flights, both short and long distance, regardless of the class in which the passenger travels. According to the company, Starlink technology It will allow download speeds of up to 450 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 70 Mbps, enough to watch streaming series, work in the cloud or play online while flying. How Starlink works. The SpaceX network is based on thousands of satellites located in low Earth orbit, which reduces latency and allows coverage even in remote areas or areas with poor accessibility. This infrastructure is what gives Starlink an advantage over other air connectivity providers, which rely on slower geostationary satellites or limited ground connections. Beyond Iberia. The agreement is not limited to the Spanish airline. IAG will implement the service on more than 500 aircraft of its companies: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Vueling and Level. According to the matrix, this will make the group the European operator with the most aircraft equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi. The first plane with Starlink will begin flying in early 2026, according to the airline in your press release. Part of a broader bet. This movement is part of the Iberia Flight Plan 2030which includes 6,000 million euros in investments. Part of that budget is allocated to digitalization, artificial intelligence and the creation of the so-called ‘Iberia City’, an aeronautical innovation center. Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, pointed out that “staying connected in flight is increasingly important for customers” and that this agreement demonstrates how the group works “together to drive innovation.” The Elon Musk factor. Starlink is owned by SpaceX, the aerospace company founded and run by Elon Musk. Although the technology has proven its effectiveness In other sectors, from rural areas without coverage to military operations in Ukraine, its integration into commercial aviation is still in the initial phase. IAG thus joins other airlines such as Qatar Airways or Hawaiian Airlines, which have already announced similar agreements with Starlink. Cover image | Alexander Schimmeck In Xataka | The inevitable increase in air travel is leading us to a reality: there are no places, no planes, no planet for so many tourists.

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