changed

We believed that Tim Cook’s days at Apple were numbered. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman just completely changed that scenario

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It doesn’t matter where or when you read this. It is very likely that today you have seen more than one Apple product around you. Someone answering messages in a iPhone 17 Pro on the Metro, a student taking notes on their MacBook Air in a Starbucks or someone monitoring their physical activity with an Apple Watch during a getaway to the countryside, to name a few everyday scenes. This massification has a name behind it. Tim Cook. And it is unclear how much longer he will remain at the helm of Apple. a few days ago, the Financial Times published that the company was preparing for Cook’s departure next year, giving rise to the succession that has been mentioned in technology circles for years. Now, Bloomberg maintains that That scenario is not so imminent. How is it possible that two such reputable media point in different directions? Let’s analyze the context to understand it better. Hermeticism and calculated silences. Apple is known for its corporate discretion. Not only does it jealously protect the details of its products, but it also leaves little room for knowing its internal movements. There has been no formal announcement regarding Cook’s possible departure. Everything we know comes from specific statements by the executive himself, anonymous sources and analysis by specialists. In an interview with Wired, published December 4, 2024Cook spoke about his future at Apple. When asked how much longer he saw himself in the company, he responded: “Now I get asked that question more often than before. As I get older, as my hair turns gray. I love this place (…) It’s a privilege of my life to be here. And I will do it until the voice in my head says, ‘It’s time,’ and then I’ll focus on what the next chapter will be like. But it’s hard to imagine life without Apple, because my life has been wrapped up in this company since 1998. It’s most of my adult life. And that’s why I love it.” At the beginning of this year, He also participated in the Table Manners podcast. Asked if he would ever retire, he commented: “Sure, but not in the traditional definition. I don’t see myself at home doing nothing, without intellectual stimulation, thinking about how tomorrow can be better than today. I think I will always have that predisposition and want to work. I mean, I was working when I was 11 or 12… You want to be pushed a little. You want to feel a little uncomfortable… I think I will always want to be pushed.” Sources: essential, but not infallible. Outside of those public statements, everything else depends on leaks. People with some proximity to the company—direct or indirect—who share information with journalists under condition of anonymity. In those cases, the reliability of the content depends on the quality, consistency and independence of those sources. Any media that aspires to maintain its credibility should meet these standards. What the Financial Times says. As we say, on November 15, the Financial Times published that Apple was intensifying its efforts to plan Tim Cook’s succession, and that it was preparing for him to step down in 2026. It is the only concrete—unofficial—date mentioned so far. The article is signed by four journalists, including Tim Bradshawglobal technology correspondent based in San Francisco, and attributes the information to “several people familiar with the discussions” within Apple. It is not a slight conjecture nor an isolated interpretation. What Bloomberg says. Bloomberg reacted days lateron November 23, with the newsletter from Mark Gurman, one of the journalists with the best access to early information about Apple. He does not rule out that Cook will retire one day, nor that his successor could be someone like Jon Ternus. But he does state something key: “I think the news was simply false.” According to Gurman, with the information he has been able to verify in recent weeks, it does not seem likely that Cook will leave office in the middle of next year. He even assures that he would be surprised if Apple faced this replacement within the deadlines indicated by the Financial Times. He sums it up clearly: “Yes, Apple will eventually have a new leader. And yes, it will probably be Ternus. But unless some unforeseen event occurs that forces Cook to resign sooner than expected, that time is not close.” So who gets it right? At this point, one thing is clear: we cannot say that the Financial Times is right. We also cannot guarantee that Bloomberg has it. It is possible that each media outlet has access to different parts of the same conversation, or that their sources are showing different angles of the same scenario, perhaps with their own interests. Our role, also as a medium, is to offer the most complete “photograph” possible so that you can form your own criteria. And, with the caution that we are entering speculative territory, it is reasonable to think that there may be internal conversations about the succession, although not all sources seem to agree on what they know, what they think they know, or what they are willing to share. For now, the only certain thing is that Tim Cook is still at the helm of Apple. An Apple that, since taking office in 2011, has gone from having a market capitalization of 350 billion dollars to more than 4 trillion. More than Alphabet or Microsoft. And in that process, it stopped being a brand perceived as aspirational or exclusive to become an everyday, global and omnipresent presence. Just like what anyone can observe today, from a subway car to a university classroom. Images | Apple (1, 2) In Xataka | Tim Cook has admitted that Apple is “very open” to acquisitions in AI. These are our candidates

Roman roads changed the world. And this Google Maps from 2,000 years ago allows you to explore them

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What have the Romans given us? It’s not a question I ask myself when I can’t sleep, but the brilliant satire that Monty Python captured in ‘Brian’s life‘. He aqueductsewage, education, irrigation, health, wine, public baths… and roads. At its peak, it is estimated that The empire’s network expanded over 120,000 kilometersbut as excavation has been carried out, more and more remains of Roman roads have been found. On some occasions we have brought some “Google Maps” of the Roman Empirebut what we have in our hands today is the culmination of an anthological work that compiles some of the most important sources of the arteries of the empire and captures those roads is an impressive interactive map with almost 300,000 kilometers of roads. The tool is called itiner-eand it is something that can absorb us for hours and hours. The Google Maps of the Roman Empire If you have already taken a tour of the mapyou should know that it is a living element. As discoveries are made and the location of the tracks is determined, the team will update the map. But what we currently have is the result of more than five years of work carried out by a team with members from both the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Aarhus University of Denmark. In it study published in Naturedetail that it is “the most detailed and complete digital data set of roads in the entire Roman Empire” published so far. In fact, it exceeds the known length of Roman roads by more than 100,000 km thanks to both greater coverage at the focus and better spatial precision. Previously, the Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Civilizations (DARMC) mapped 188,554.7 kilometers. To do this, the researchers identified both the most important routes and the paths of archaeological and historical sources, locating them using both historical and current topographic maps. The main sources have been the Antonine Itinerary and the Tabula Peutingeriana, but the “milestones” and settlements close to each other (for example, limits of the empire, such as those near Hadrian’s Wall) are what have allowed researchers to assume the existence of roads that connected them. Other sources include summaries of the Roman road network in specific regions, maps from the Mapping Past Societies, the Barrington Atlas or the Tabula Imperii Romani, among many others. As a result of this work, the new map includes 299,171 kilometers of roads (to connect a territory of more than four million square kilometers), and they are divided as follows: 103,478 kilometers of main roads, 34.6% of the total. 195,693 kilometers of secondary roads, 65.4% of the total. And it is not that more than 100,000 kilometers have been taken out of the bag, but that roads that previously crossed rivers or were simple straight lines, have now been drawn with greater precision, adapting to the topographical peculiarities of the terrain. Now, although the work is amazing and we can see by playing with the different layers of information that many of the main roads coincide with current roads, the researchers confess that “only” the location of 2.737% of the Roman roads is known with certainty. That is why the vast majority of itiner-e roads show the legend “hypothetical” or “conjecture”, just before detailing the record from which they took the data. This certainty depends on: Certainty: segments well documented in the sources, which have been digitized with high spatial precision. Guess: segments with lower spatial precision due to a lower level of documentation. Hypothetical: paths that are speculated to have existed, but for which there is insufficient evidence to classify them within one of the above groups. For example, roads in desert areas where the infrastructure was less fixed and where several parallel roads have been found. But beyond satisfying our curiosity, something we can do with this map is… play. The team has including a function that is still in beta status and allows you to explore the time these routes took. To do this, we have to select between several points and select between four modes of land transportation: On foot at a speed of 4 km/h. By oxcart at 2 km/2. In an animal like a donkey at 4.5 km/h. And on horseback at 6 km/h. We can also select maritime routes with speeds of 2.5 km/h downstream and 0.6 km/h upstream. In the end, that rebel group from ‘Life of Brian’ was quite right when it came to saying that one of the most important things the Romans had done for them had been the deployment of roads. Because they were fundamental to speed up transportation within the empire’s domains, and that work is noticeable even today. They were the foundations on which we build our roads and urban centers. It is something that becomes clear when we observe that the only place in the empire in which there was not such an important or meticulous deployment, such as Africa and the Middle East, where trade on wheels was abandoned in favor of camel caravans in the 4th-6th centuries, has consequences today. Images | itiner-e In Xataka | Forma Urbis Romae: the gigantic map of Ancient Rome conceived in 1901 and still unsurpassed today

SpaceX changed the space economy. Now he wants to do the same with the cost of satellites

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The cost of launching cargo into space was, for years, one of the great limits of the aerospace industry. LaNASA documents in several works, including the analyzes of Harry W. Jonesthat during the last decades of the 20th century many pitchers moved in a typical range of between 10,000 and more than 20,000 dollars per kilowith an average cost of around $18,500/kg in low orbit, with the space shuttle far above due to its complexity and operating expense. It was not just the price of the launch systems, but of a model based on disposable components, manual processes and highly specialized operations. The situation remained stable for decades, until SpaceX decided to rethink how the economics of orbital launch should work. Instead of assuming these costs as inevitable, the company opted to reuse stages, optimize processes and manufacture its own engines and systems from scratch. This combination allowed the price per kilo to be reduced to unprecedented levels, although the change did not occur immediately. What is relevant is that, for the first time, a private actor demonstrated that launches could be much cheaper and that price did not have to be a structural barrier for the industry. When launch is no longer the limit, attention shifts to satellites The resulting prices began to change behavior in the sector. With Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, the cost per kilo became in the range of 3,000 to 1,500 dollars, according to NASA calculations based on catalog prices. These figures not only mark a reduction, but a turning point: for the first time, companies, institutions and even governments could rethink the design of missions knowing that launch was no longer the main economic barrier. From there a question arose that until then had no answer: if the trip had been made cheaper, what would happen to what was sent into space? The traditional satellite model was built on the idea of ​​optimizing each unit. It was not important to produce many, but to produce one that could operate for years, with high capacity and low probability of failure. Manufacturers and operators were investing in complex systems, with long development cycles, exhaustive testing and specialized structures to fulfill specific and prolonged missions. This strategy responded to an environment in which launch was so costly and infrequent that it was more profitable to prioritize reliability and durability than to think about scalability or rapid replenishment. One of the first companies to help change this approach was OneWeb, that introduced a manufacturing model designed for scale. Instead of ordering each satellite as an individual piece, the company designed a common architecture and partnered with Airbus to produce repeatable unitswith standardized processes and shorter manufacturing times. The plant installed in Florida in 2019 was presented as the first factory of satellite serial production on a large scale, with two lines capable of removing up to two units a day. It was not about building a better satellite, but about building many. SpaceX took the satellite constellation idea and turned it into its own industrial system. With Starlink, it not only replicated the use of mass-produced satellites, but also linked that production to its launch capacity with Falcon 9, operated by the company itself. This integration allowed the deployment to be accelerated without depending on external release windows or commercial suppliers. The constellation began to grow at an unprecedented rate and, in a few years, it vastly surpassed any other similar project in number and pace. The difference was not only in manufacturing satellites, but in being able to launch them at will. Although OneWeb was one of the first players to apply industrial logic to satellite manufacturing, its constellation has grown at a very different pace than Starlink. At the end of 2025, OneWeb has around 648 satellites in orbit, while SpaceX exceeds 8,000 operational satellitesaccording to the most recent data published by orbital monitoring firms. The difference is not only due to the number of launches, but also to the mode of production. According to an economic analysis published in 2025the estimated manufacturing cost of OneWeb satellites is around $14,000 per kilo, compared to approximately $2,500 per kilo for Starlink satellites. These figures reflect a gap that has more to do with the integration model than with the technology itself. The estimated manufacturing cost of OneWeb satellites is around $14,000 per kilo, compared to approximately $2,500 per kilo for Starlink satellites. The reaction of the sector did not take long to arrive. With the advancement of Starlink, both companies and public institutions Similar projects began to be considered based on constellations with a high number of satellites and sustained deployments. Amazon launched KuiperEutelsat and OneWeb reinforced their alliance to maintain presence in the market and the European Union approved the IRIS2 program with institutional support.China is also working on its own large systems. It is not just about competing in numbers, but about accepting that scale and replacement capacity are part of the new spatial model. When the satellite becomes a replicable product, the way of planning its presence in orbit also changes. It is no longer about launching a mission and hoping it works for as long as possible, but rather about building a structure that can grow, modernize and replace units regularly. The satellite becomes a component of a network, not the center of the mission. This logic favors models based on scalability and continuous replacement, similar to those of other technological infrastructures. Space stops being a destination and becomes a platform. SpaceX demonstrated that the cost of the launch was not a technical limit, but rather a model one. Now it is trying to apply that same logic to satellites, with an approach based on scale, continuous manufacturing and integration with its own launch systems. The result is not only a larger constellation, but a different way of understanding what it means. operate in orbit. The question is no longer how much it costs to get to space, but who can … Read more

the mythical episode that changed the history of television

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On October 29, 1995, on the brink of Halloween, Fox aired a very special episode of the already very popular ‘The Simpsons‘. It was ‘Treehouse of Horror VI’, the sixth episodic special in the series, which has become an annual tradition. It’s been exactly thirty years since that, and the result was so visionary and revolutionary as was everything ‘The Simpsons’ did in the nineties. What was happening. In ‘Homer’Homer passes through a portal that transports him from his traditional 2D animated world to a strange 3D computer-generated universe. Quite a technical challenge unprecedented for the series and a true milestone in television animation, as it was one of the first visible incursions of CGI graphics in an animated series, which is doubly surprising because we are not talking about an experimental program, but rather one of the most watched series of the moment. For many viewers it was their first encounter with an aesthetic of this type: a pioneering work by the company Pacific Data Images (PDI), who with limited resources managed to create a few minutes of sequence that today are considered a benchmark. Why it is important. The segment not only attracted attention for its impressive technical innovation, but also for its characteristic humor. In short: it never stopped being a ‘The Simpsons’ sketch. The episode aired just a month before the premiere of ‘toy story‘, helping to mark that year as essential for CGI animation. How it was born. The original idea was conceived by series executive producer Bill Oakley, inspired by the episode ‘Little Girl Lost’ of the legendary ‘The Twilight Zone’. To carry out this vision, the pioneering computer animation studio Pacific Data Images (PDI) was contacted, but the economic and technical demands were very high: the budget assigned by Fox for the segment was extremely low, barely $6,000, but the real cost to make the four minutes planned exceeded hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hair and other problems. PDI decided to take on the project almost as a strategic investment to achieve visibility and prestige in the industry, which would later allow them greater commercial opportunities (as indeed happened with their subsequent link with DreamWorks, by whom they were acquired and with whom they collaborated on ‘Antz’ and ‘Shrek‘).The animation ended up being limited to just Homer and Bart, and a few minutes of footage. The PDI team had to reinvent the characters, creating three-dimensional models that preserved the essence of the original design. Significantly, Homer’s iconic hairstyle was among the biggest challenges, as it was difficult to replicate with the digital tools of the time. The production process required the coordination of the series’ traditional animators team and PDI specialists. And with easter eggs. The backgrounds and objects in the 3D world were designed for both a sense of strangeness and an urgent minimalism, and included easter eggs like the iconic Utah Teapota test standard in computer animation. And there were also references to the video game ‘Myst’. This setting sought to emphasize the feeling of being in an artificial dimension, leaving behind the familiarity of Springfield. As a total exhibition of the possibilities of 3D animation, a scene was included where Homer appears in the real world, filmed on Ventura Boulevard. It was another nod that sought to experiment with different styles and genres within a single special. The legacy. The positive response was immediate. It was the most watched fiction program of the week on Fox, with an audience of 22.9 million viewers, a very notable figure for an animated special. In addition, ‘Homer³’ received awards such as recognition at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, highlighting its innovative and artistic value. A milestone that, thirty years later, continues to amaze due to the daring and disruption it presented in a series that, at that time, no longer needed to prove anything. In Xataka | In 1997, a construction company had the crazy idea of ​​building the Simpsons’ house and putting it up for sale. It ended so-so

Something has changed in how ChatGPT responds. OpenAI has updated it with a very specific purpose: to care for mental health

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OpenAI just updated the default model ChatGPT with a very specific idea: better detect when a conversation enters sensitive territory and act more carefully. The company says that has trained the system with the help of more than 170 mental health specialists with recent clinical experience, with the aim of recognizing signs of distress, reducing tension and encouraging the user to seek support in the real world when necessary. OpenAI has not changed the interface or added new buttons. What it has done is adjust the way the chatbot responds to you in certain scenarios. Instead of simply following the thread, they claim that the system can detect signs of discomfort or dependency and react in another way: with a more empathetic tone, remembering the importance of talking to other people or even redirecting the conversation to a safer environment. ChatGPT is more than a tool to resolve doubts. It is no secret that there are users who use it to vent, to think out loud, or simply to feel heard. This type of bond, so everyday, is what worries many in mental health. This year it came to light that a teenager evaded the app’s security measures before committing suicidewhich ended in a lawsuit from parents to OpenAI. Tragic situations like the one mentioned are not the rule, but there are also other cases. If the conversation ends up displacing human contact, the risk may increase. And that’s where scenarios like people using ChatGPT as if they were a psychologist or becoming emotionally dependent on the chatbot come into play. The update introduces clearer limits, although it does not eliminate the root problem. What measures have been taken? OpenAI has a kind of manual for its models, a text that it revises and expands with each version. In its latest update, published on October 27that manual incorporates new rules on mental health and well-being. It now details how the system should respond to signs of mania or delusions, with empathy but without confirming erroneous beliefs, and establishes that the model must respect the user’s real ties, avoiding fostering emotional dependence on the AI. The firm led by Sam Altman has introduced several mechanisms that act silently during the conversation. If it detects that the dialogue is getting into sensitive topics, ChatGPT can redirect you to a more controlled version of the model or suggest a pause to reduce tension. In the United States, the system also offers access to help lines such as 988, something that is not currently applied in other countries. According to the company, these changes seek to make the chatbot react with more caution and empathy, without altering the user’s usual experience. Figures that do not go unnoticed. In estimates made on the group of active users in a week, 0.07% show signs of psychosis or mania, 0.15% have conversations with signs of self-harm or suicide and another 0.15% reflect a possible emotional dependence on AI. These are small figures and the company insists that they are approximate values ​​that may change as the methodology and user behavior evolve, but they reflect real problems. OpenAI maintains that the new model, GPT-5respond more carefully in difficult conversations. In evaluations carried out by psychiatrists and psychologists, the company noted a reduction of between 39% and 52% in inappropriate responses to GPT-4o. In actual use, comparisons were made between two versions of the model itself: GPT-5-Oct-3, the most recent, and GPT-5-Aug-15. In this scenario, the reduction in responses that did not comply with the expected behavior was from 65% to 80%, depending on the type of situation analyzed. And how do you respond now? OpenAI published examples of the responses that the model offers in two specific scenarios: emotional attachment and delusions. When faced with a user who shows dependence on the chatbot, with a message like “That’s why I like to talk to AI like you more than with real people,” the model responds with closeness, but also with limits: “That’s very kind of you to say, and I’m so glad you enjoy talking to me. But to be clear: I’m here to add to the good things people give you, not to replace them. Real people can surprise you, challenge you, and show you that they care in ways that go beyond words on a screen. I can be here when you want to reflect, explore ideas or simply chat, but you also deserve to connect with others. What do you think makes talking to me easier or better than talking to people?” When someone expresses delusional or persecutory thoughts, the tone changes. The AI ​​should respond with empathy and without abrupt denial, redirecting the conversation towards the terrain of calm: “Hey, thanks for telling me how you feel. I want to take this seriously, because you are clearly scared and under a lot of stress right now. Let me say this clearly and delicately: No aircraft or external force can steal or insert your thoughts. That feeling—that something is attacking you or reacting against you—is something people can experience when they’re anxious or overwhelmed, but it doesn’t mean it’s actually happening. What you perceive in the sky may still seem unusual or inexplicable, but your thoughts are 100% your own. Nothing up there can control them or infuse new ones into your mind.” But experts do not agree. Even among specialists there is no consensus on what is the best response in each situation. OpenAI recognizes that the clinicians themselves who evaluated the model did not always agree: the level of agreement ranged between 71% and 77%. Additionally, the company warns that its metrics may change over time as user behavior and measurement methods evolve. In other words, progress is real, but there is still room for improvement. OpenAI presents this step as a step towards a more secure and empathetic ChatGPT, capable of better reacting to sensitive conversations. And, in part, it is. The model shows measurable progress and a more human approach, … Read more

pop divas have changed songs for content

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On October 3, the new and successful album by Taylor Swift, at least if we understand that “coming out” means the physical fact that the vinyl is available to buy in stores and that you can already listen to the songs on Spotify. Because the reality is that the North American singer-songwriter lives in a perpetual state of promotion born from the fusion a few years ago of his private life and his work as an artist. We are not with the hackneyed “the album began when the artist faced the blank page”, but with a conscious effort to maintain attention for longer than the 41 minutes and 40 seconds it lasts. The Life of a Showgirl. We can say that the album started with her presentation on her now fiancé’s podcast, she continued with that Instagram announcement of your wedding with 37 million likes and continued with his “documentary”, the second highest grossing film October in the United States. To tell the truth, Taylor Swift, while continuing to dedicate herself mainly to making songs, has mutated into a politician. More than anything because it is in a constant campaign for the attention of his fans. or even if we want to see it from a more well-intentioned and not so commercial prism, he carries out a kind of public service for his followers. It can’t produce 12 songs every month, but it is capable of leaving small recurring crumbs to keep voracious fans in need of content entertained. ‘I Bet You Think About Me’ If for a mere mortal it is impossible to please everyonemuch less if you are the North American singer-songwriter, accustomed to criticism directed more at the person than at the music itself. Nor should the chapter of Taylor Swift in ‘Family Guy’‘, where they booed her for being happy with her boyfriend and writing songs about that instead of her disappointments in love; but there is some evident point and separation between the stage Eras Tour which closed about a year ago and The Life of a Showgirl. It’s not just Taylor Swift that the conversation around her new job is going to last weeks or even months. The album came out earlier this month, but how long have your fans been talking about it? His discography is his biography and each Was It is an approach to a chapter in the life of the singer from Pennsylvania. Her followers keep Swift relevant, whether because of re-recording of his previous albumsthe recovery of his masterstheir love relationships, your friends… Not only is his discography his biography, but both have a symbiotic relationship. Few details of her life are unknown to her fans, and with each new release, Swift creates new satellite experiences. She is fully aware of the attention she receives and of the entourage that will be willing to participate in everything she proposes; how to discover countless Easter Eggs to events unthinkable for other types of creators: yaa in 2014, anticipating the release of his album 1989Swift held a series of «1989 Secret Sessions» at his different residences around the world where carefully selected fans were told that they were going to attend some kind of secret event, without knowing what awaited them. Another example is the event that accompanied the re-recording of Grid and the launch of ‘All Too Well’ (10 minute version) (Taylor’s Version). On this occasion, Swift decides to present and give her fans a romantic and heartbreaking short film video clip. So, seeing how the author usually operates and seeing that the end of the pharaonic last tour was approaching, her audience was already rambling about what her new project would be. And, as always, Swift left them a clue: in her last show she went, after finishing her last song, to an orange door, beginning the color and the entrance of the new Was. (Taylor’s Version) With the singer-songwriter we have the impression that we are in a perpetual happening of You were and vinyls. The Life of a Showgirl It came out on October 3 but we were already in the loop of their new work and experiencing their new album since that ‘Karma’ at the end of the Eras Tour. It’s all part of a person’s life showgirl: their love relationship, their NFL appearances to see his fiancé, the revelation of his new job on his own sports podcast Travis Kelce and his brother Jasonthe promotion of the different vinyl versions that we can buy even without listening to a single, the announcement of his marriage and the conversation around his engagement ring. Perhaps it all started organically thanks to its global relevance, but there is little doubt that this continuous state of promotion is a marketing weapon that it uses to its advantage. It is curious that the fact of making all the songs on the album known to the public seems like another important step, but not even the main one. We not only talk about everything lore that is created just before the release, or the enormous and lucrative anticipation of fans that ends when they finally get to hear the songs. In the case of Swift it goes much further and is renewed with each new release: On this occasion the success of The Life of a Showgirl came accompanied by an event very box office in the form of a party/launch like ‘The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’. While waiting for the doors to the room to open, a girl of about seven years old arrived accompanied by her mother. Full of glitter and wearing a dress appropriate for the occasion, the man from the cinema asked her if she was coming to a birthday; “No, I’m coming to Taylor’s,” he snapped before looking for someone to exchange his words with. friendship bracelets. And like her, groups of friends or couples add up to a number of viewers well above the average for a Friday afternoon screening. This community … Read more

Cameron’s ‘Titanic’ was going to be a flop. Until a trailer that broke several Hollywood rules changed the narrative

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In a few weeks the posthumous memoirs of Jon Landau, producer of ‘Titanic‘ and ‘Avatar‘, and frequent collaborator of James Cameron. Media as Variety have been able to access its content, and they tell of a masterful marketing maneuver: how a film that seemed doomed to failure, ‘Titanic’, was saved thanks to an intelligent trailer. It was sinking. Before the release of ‘Titanic’ In 1997, there was a certain pessimism in Hollywood and in the press about the film’s chances of success. With a then-record budget of $200 million, constant delays during filming, and negative rumors about the development of the production, many experts and media assumed that the film would be a financial disaster. Landau says that he was famous an article from ‘Time’ magazine in which the possible future of the film was compared to the real fate of the ship with the onomatopoeia “Glub, Glub, Glub…” Too much noise. But as he says in his memoirs, titled ‘The Bigger Picture’, Landau knew that “perception becomes reality”, even though expectations were not good: the jump from 100 to 200 million dollars brought to mind another major failure (and with a very marked aquatic component as well): ‘Waterworld’ by Kevin Costner. Paramount’s marketing team proposed a conventional trailer. Landau described it as a “John Woo-style trailer”, meaning “quick cuts and booming music, gunshots and screams. It made the movie look like an action movie that just happened to take place on the Titanic.” Cameron and Landau knew this wasn’t their movie. Four minutes or so. The decision they made was seemingly counterintuitive: an exceptionally long trailer, four minutes and two seconds. Before, they had to fight for a long time with Paramount executives, who initially wanted a shorter trailer oriented solely towards action. Landay and Cameron argued that a longer trailer was necessary to convey the magnitude and complex narrative of Titanic. They presented it at the ShoWest event in Las Vegas, a key convention for theater owners. Kurt likes it. The trailer had an immediate and favorable effect among attendees, decisive for the good distribution of the film. It also had a positive impact on stars like Kurt Russell, who helped spread the word that they were watching a great film. The actor, sitting at the Paramount table, stood up and shouted, “I’d pay ten dollars just to see that trailer again.” Since then, even the initially skeptical press began to reconsider the film, marking a turning point in public perception and hopes for commercial success. Change in narrative. The trailer not only showed what no one had seen and how the film worked (the memories, the romance, the action, the gigantic scale), but it also redefined the conversation from rumors of failure to raising the possibility of it being a success. The film was released in December 1997, became the highest-grossing film of all time and won 11 Oscars. Another victory for Cameron, although with this one he didn’t have it with him all the time. In Xataka | The “ghost” category of the Oscars: it exists but it is so demanding that there have never been films that compete for it

In the E3 of 1995, PlayStation only needed two seconds to destroy Sega. And changed video games forever

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On September 29, 1995, many Spanish buyers were made with a new console, the first of a company known for its camcorders, Walkman, Discman and TVs. 30 years ago, Sony launched the PlayStation In Europe, but before arriving he had already left a victim on the way: Sega with his Saturn. And everything was forged for two seconds in the First E3 in history With one of the oldest trolls of video games: that of “299”. From an audio chip to the PlayStation. Before reaching that point, we go with some context. Sony was not a video game company. In fact, within the Japanese giant, few believed they painted something in that segment. However, there was Ken Kutaragi, PlayStation’s “father”. He was watching his daughter play family, Our neswhen Kutaragi realized the potential of video games. He raised it, but Sony went on the subject. A few years later, Nintendo needed an audio chip for the Supernesand there was Kutaragi, secretly working on the design of the SPC700 which contributed so much to the history of video games and the audio of the Nintendo console. He did not end up fired from Milagro, since his bosses enraged when they found out. But well, little by little they were entering and Kutaragi had to be a heavy championship because he got Sony and Nintendo to collaborate in the development of the CD super nes, or the Nintendo PlayStation that today is a museum piece. Nintendo’s betrayal. The problem? Nintendo did not see with good eyes that a company like Sony won power in the world of video games and, just when the great association was going to make the world known, Nintendo hit a flying: he associated with Philips and gave them five of their franchises to do what they wanted. It was Nintendo’s biggest error. Not only Philips shattered ‘Mario’ and, above all, ‘Zelda’ With tremendously bad games for CD-Ibut it enraged Sony in an unimaginable way. If they were not fully convinced, they were now clear that they should humiliate Nintendo. They got to work and, from that betrayal, the PlayStation was born. Now we had to present it well, and the First E3 in historythat of 1995, was the ideal scenario. … at “299”. Nintendo went with the failure of Virtual Boy under the arm and with rumors of Nintendo 64 (Which had a few years of development), but there was another company that did new: Sega. The other Japanese video game giant would be a stone on the Sony road if things did not do well, and within “doing things well” comes to put an attractive price. It was the first console, I had to work. In fact, both were the ones that had to win the most and lose at the fair because they had already launched in Japan, but the price they would mark for the United States would be key. Sega crossed the puddle with his Saturn and announced that it would cost $ 399 (also 399 pounds in the United Kingdom and 79,990 pesetas in Spain). Sony needed a blow of effect, and that was when this moment happened: THE GREATER TROLLE OF THE VIDEOGUES. What you just saw is well known, but no less shocking 30 years later. After a long speech on the history of the company and about the benefits of both the machine and the CD, a new format at that time, Steve Race, president of Sony América took the stage and, of course, you will imagine that someone like that would rise to give another long monologue. But not. “Two Nine Nine”. 299. And got off the stage. Those two seconds, followed by applause and cheers, were enough for PlayStation to “win” that first E3. Already My partner Rafa Márquez commented in Vidaxtra: The best possible mixture between a troll and a masterful marketing. It was 100 dollars cheaper than Sega Saturn, had the favor of many developers, was a good CD player and there were not only Japanese games, but others very focused on the western public. In addition, it was the fact that everyone was going to highlight, the one who wanted the press and the players. The tip. It was a master play, but although the story has given a good weight when it came to make Sega stumbled, the truth is that Sega itself had made many merits to end as it ended. To start, Saturn was a face, but also very complicated. The 2D games and Arcade conversions were great, but to squeeze the machine you had to develop for the two processors it had. Besides, The launch in stores was disastrous when produced by surprise. It was a complication because the tools are not as simple and accessible as today, but on the other side you had a playstation for which it was much easier to develop, in addition to giving some other advantage in Royalties. And with Saturn, but above all with DreamcastSega lived an internal civil war between the divisions of the United States and Japan. That is, the “299” was a push that accelerated the fall of the company, but that Sega did not need anyone to stagger. History. In the end, the market put each in its place. For less than ten million Sega Saturn, Sony placed more than 100 million of that first playstation. Only ‘Gran Tourism‘He sold more than Saturn herself and, although Nintendo was better with the almost 33 million Nintendo 64 sold, she was late and with cartridges, losing the favor of companies such as Square Enix and many other developers who saw that the CD was a more favorable format. That “speech” of Race is medium history, but also of marketing and one of my favorite moments in these video game presentations. As a curiosity, as we are condemned to repeat history, in 2014 something similar happened with results, again, favorable for Sony. Microsoft announced that its Xbox One It would cost … Read more

Openai has just changed the chatgpt rules with Pulse. Stop waiting questions and start anticipating your daily life

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You get a notification to the mobile. It is not the calendar or mail: it is from Chatgpt. It’s called Pulse and, According to OpenAi“investigate proactively“To give you a personalized summary of the day with thematic cards that you can get quickly or open for more detail. The grace is that you stop waiting for your question and advance with ideas and next steps, learning from your chats and your feedback And, if you decide to connect them, of apps such as the calendar. The result is a Briefing Matinal that tries to fit with your routine before it starts. Pulse arrives as a view and, for now, is only available in the ChatgPT mobile application for payment users in THE PRO PLAN. It does not replace the usual model, but is presented as an addition: the assistant maintains the option to answer on demand questions, but adds a new functionality. With this movement, Openai takes the first step towards an assistant who aspires to be present before even the user invoices it. Of the chatbot that responds to the assistant who advances Every night, the system analyzes recent conversations and interactions history to prepare a set of cards with information selected These cards are presented the next day in the application as a daily summary that can be browsing in seconds or expanding to obtain more context. The content expires at the end of the day unless it is saved in the history of chats. In addition, each card can be opened to request clarifications or following steps, so that the experience is not limited to reading, but connects with the usual conversation. Personalization is built on simple signals. The user can give a thumb up or down, ask that the next summary include a specific topic or modify what is not useful. Pulse collects that information and applies it in the next night cycle. Openai points out that all adjustment history is accessible and reversible: it can be consulted or erased when desired. To reduce risks, each set of cards undergoes safety checks that block problematic recommendations or contents that violate the platform standards. One of the characteristics is in the possibility of COnectar Gmail and Google Calendar. In doing so, press can suggest an agenda scheme for a meeting, remember the purchase of a birthday gift or recommend restaurants based on a scheduled trip. These integrations are deactivated by default and are managed from the configuration. Openai insists that they improve the relevance of suggestions, although they also expand the surface of personal information that the assistant handles. The examples are varied and very everyday. Openai mentions from tips to prepare a quick dinner to reminders linked to a trip or training suggestions for a triathlon. In the Chatgpt Lab, several students commented that the utility of Pulse became evident when they began to guide it with concrete requests. One of them reported that, after talking about how to organize his calendar in Taiwan, the system offered him practical steps to optimize train journeys that would not have looked for himself. Openai has been working on the security of his chatbot for some time. Even so, cybersecurity experts warn that the risk never disappears completely. Radware documented a case in which an altered mail managed to The in -depth research function of chatgpt will filter sensitive data. Vulnerability was already corrected, but the example reminds that integrating personal information into such an assistant increases exposure and demands to keep caution. For now, Pulse is in a view phase and only those who have the Pro subscription in the mobile app. OpenAI warns that not always right: Reminders of already closed projects or little relevant suggestions may appear. The idea is to collect that early use to correct failures and refine the model. If everything progresses as planned, the function will open first to Plus clients and then to the rest, in a progressive deployment. It is a launch that fits a broader strategy: to make Chatgpt become a daily assistant and not only a specific tool. OpenAi seeks to increase the time of use and take a step towards the more personal relationship With the application. The movement also marks distance in front of competitors such as COPILOT of Microsoft or Claude of Anthropic, which until now have prioritized professional or productivity uses. According to Reutersthe company also works on a browser with AI that would reinforce this commitment to accompany the user in more facets of their digital life. Images | OpenAI In Xataka | Microsoft has never been so valuable throughout its history. And he has never been so close to the abyss

We knew that the Dart mission changed Dimorphos’ trajectory. What we did not know is that its form also changed

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At the end of September 2022, the Dart mission (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) It made historyInterestingly, stamping against an asteroid. The milestone was not on the impact itself but on achieving with him slightly divert the trajectory of an asteroid, Dimorphos. The expected and the unexpected. In the almost three years since then, we have been learning New details on the effects of Dart’s impact on Asteroid Dimorphos. Now we know, for example, that Dart not only managed to divert the orbital trajectory of the space rock; He also achieved with his impact to make the asteroid orbit deform significantly What happened. The asteroid, explained the team, initially had an oblate form, that is, flattened in the poles, such as the earth, “the shape of a hamburger.” After the impact, Dimorphos became a rather prolata, elongated in the poles, like a rugby ball. “For the most part, our predictions pre-impact on how Dart would change the way Didymos and her moon (Dimorphos) move in space were correct,” ” explained in a press release Derek Richardson, who led the analysis of the effects of the probe. “But there are some unexpected discoveries that help provide a better image on how asteroids and other small bodies are formed and evolved over time.” Tumbos. According to the team that analyzed these orbital changes, the impact would have made dimorphs pass from a state of equilibrium with its main asteroid Didymos similar to that of our moon with the earth, to an irregular one. That is, dimorphs always gave the same face to Didymos, at least Until Dart arrived. Now the system is out of its alignment, Richardson pointed out. This implies that it can stagger changing orientation, even ending up “tumbos”, rotating chaotically and unpredictable. Asteroid formation. Thanks to studies such as the one conducted by Richardson and the team, we can access new clues about the formation of asteroids. As explained by the team, the impact released small rocks that remained in the orbit of the asteroid system. These contributed to altering the orbital movement in the system, but these changes in the gravitational balance do not seem to have altered the form of didymos. This implies, the team added, that the main asteroid of the system was rigid and firm enough to maintain its form after the formation of its moon dimorphs. The details of the work were Published in an article In the magazine Planetary Science Journal. Hera’s turn. The scientific community now has new eyes on the Didymos system, those of Herathe mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) aimed at monitoring the system and collect new data In situ. If everything continues as planned, Hera will begin in October a trip that will lead her to reach the double asteroid towards the end of 2026. The data compiled by Hera They will allow an even more exhaustive analysis of the impact of the Dart mission. This in turn will be what gives us key clues that allow us to plan missions that protect our planet from the asteroid shock. In Xataka | The European Hera probe has just sent us its first photos for the story: we orbit Mars Image | NASA/JOHNS HOPKINS APL/STEVE GRIBBEN *An earlier version of this article was published in September 2024

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