contest Archives - usatoday24

its new contest for the AVE will prioritize quality over money

April 23, 2026 by usatoday24

Last month, Renfe gave the green light to the purchase of those 30 new AVE trains (expandable to 40) with which it hopes to renew its fleet in Spain. The railway operator has launched them into competition and it is expected that in September we will know which companies will be in charge of producing these new trains. What is clear is that Renfe does not want to repeat the chaos suffered with Talgo, and has already admitted that it will seek to prioritize quality over price. About the Avril trains. This new tender has a starting point that has given the operator quite a headache. We talk about The Talgo Avrilthe series 106 trains that today cover, among other routes, the Galicia-Madrid high-speed line. Renfe ordered 30 units in two batches between 2015 and 2016 and the result ended up being a deadline disaster. The trains arrived more than two years late, costing Talgo a penalty of 116 million euros. And when they finally went into service, the first few months left a rosary of incidents on different lines. Renfe does not want to repeat this chaos, so it intends to be more cautious in the specifications. How the new contest works. The operator has structured the scoring of the offers so that the technical proposal worth 70% of the final gradecompared to 30% that corresponds to the price. Within this technical section, almost 60% of the total is evaluated with objective criteria, but there is 10.2% reserved for value judgments, that is, a more qualitative assessment. Normally in public contracts, the price usually has much more weight. Here, Renfe is betting on paying a little more if that guarantees a better train. Interested manufacturers must submit their offers by June 9, and the opening is scheduled for September 9. The trains requested by Renfe. The specifications require that the new convoys travel at 350 kilometers per hour, that they carry the European ERTMS/ETCS and the Spanish ASFA signaling systems, and that they have at least 450 seats. The first five trains must arrive within 40 months from the signing of the contract, and the entire fleet within 78 months, at a rate of one new train every 45 days. The contract also includes the supply of spare parts and maintenance, bringing the total value of the agreement to 4,145 million euros, according to they count from CincoDías. Who has more chances to win. Two manufacturers start as favorites: Siemens, with its Velaro Novo, and Hitachi, with the ETR-100. But there are more candidates. And just as account The medium, Talgo, despite the Avril precedent, is analyzing the specifications to see if it can present an improved version of that same model. Alstom could also opt with its Avelia AGV, the same train that operates in Italy. The elephant in the room: Chinese trains. The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, announced the contest at the end of March in the Congress of Deputies. Puente has been sending messages about the possibility of buying Chinese trains to reduce costs, an idea that has generated controversy in the sector. For now, the specifications point in the opposite direction, since both the technical requirements, the deadlines and the weight given to quality over price would make it very difficult for a Chinese manufacturer, with no presence or history on the Spanish railway network, to compete. At least in this particular tender. Why the secrecy? Renfe has shielded the documents with a confidentiality clause. Whoever wants to see them has to request them directly from the company, sign a commitment signed by a manager, and receive them in hand. The reason that the operator has officially given is the liberalization of the high-speed market and the presence of competitors such as Iryo and Ouigo, to whom Renfe does not want to give clues about its commercial strategy. Renfe has also warned of possible legal, civil or criminal actions against anyone who leaks the content. What’s coming now? If the schedule is met, Renfe could know in September who it will buy its next AVE from. With 124 of the 160 high-speed trains circulating in Spain, the fleet needs to be renewed, since some models have been in operation for many years and their withdrawal is urgent. Cover image | Renfe In Xataka | Two floors, 200 meters long and one objective: to modernize the most used and chaotic Cercanías line in Spain

which artists participate, schedule and how to watch the online music contest

February 14, 2026 by usatoday24

Let’s explain to you when and how to watch the final of Benidorm Fest 2026the RTVE musical competition. This is the contest from which in recent years the song that would go to Eurovision has emerged, but which continues despite the fact that Spain has withdrawn from the European event. Let’s start by telling you which artists with which songs will participate in the final of the Benidorm Fest in 2026. Then, we will remind you of the date and time of the final, because the schedule is different from that of the semifinals. And we’ll finish by telling you how you can watch the show. Benidorm Fest 2026 finalists Below we leave you the list of finalists of this musical contest. In it, we will tell you first the artist and then the song with which they perform. And then, with the votes of the public and jury, the winner will emerge from among them. Tony Grox & LUCYCALYS with I WILL LOVE They raise moons with What are you going to do? KITAI with Love makes you afraid Mikel Herzog Jr. with My Half Kenneth with The eyes don’t lie María León ft. Julia Medina with Ladies and the Tramp Miranda! & dance momma with I wake up loving you MAY with touch me Rosalinda Galan with Mataora Dani J with Dancing you The Quinquis with You Don’t Love Me ASHA with Tourist Date and time of the Benidorm Fest 2025 final The final of Benidorm Fest 2026 will be today, Saturday February 14 2026. The final will begin at 22:00ten at night, in pure prime time. It is important to remember this, because the semifinals were almost an hour later. By 1 in the morning the winner will be known, since that will be when the press conference will be held. How to watch the final of Benidorm Fest 2025 The final of Benidorm Fest 2026 will be broadcast live on Spanish Television La1. This means that you will be able to watch the contest openly and for free from any television with access to DTT. You can also see it online from the RTVE Play website or mobile applicationin rtve.es/play. But if you prefer, you can also see it with the official RTVE Play app on Google Play for Android, and in the App Store for iOS. This will allow you to watch it on mobile phones, tablets and devices with Android TV or Apple TV. There are also official applications for Smart TVs from the main manufacturers. And as an alternative, you can also use applications that allow you watch DTT live online on any device, such as TiViFy, DTT Channels and other similar alternatives. In Xataka Basics | Free TV and DTT channels for your TV: guide with 26 services and apps with hundreds of channels without having to pay

He won an art contest with an image made with Midjourney. Now he is fighting in court to be recognized as an artist

October 21, 2025 by usatoday24

It seems like an eternity has passed, but in 2022, AI image generation tools were already achieving the most convincing results. And if not, tell the participants in the Colorado art contest, who saw how An image created with Midjourney took first prize in the ‘digital art’ category. The controversy was afoot: can we call something that an AI does art? Its author is very clear about this and has gone to court to defend it. What has happened? Jason Allen, the author of the image (or rather, the prompt), tried to register ‘Théâtre D’opéra Spatial’ a month after winning the contest, but was not allowed. According to the US Copyright Officethe image contains “more than a minimal amount of artificial intelligence-generated content.” Allen began a legal battle to get the image registered. According to what they say in 404medialast August they filed a request in court defending that it is a work of art and Allen an artist. The prompt. Although it was created by software, Allen states that the creation of the prompt is an artistic process in itself and therefore should be considered an artist. In the text presented to the court, his lawyers defend that “he created the image by providing hundreds of iterative text prompts (…) to help express his intellectual vision.” However, for the copyright office, just providing the instructions was not enough and they repeatedly rejected his request. Art or not. The news unleashed a wave of criticism on networks and brought to the table the debate of whether images generated with AI should be considered art. This controversy has polarized the artistic and technological community, creating two marked and opposing positions: on the one hand, those who They consider that it cannot be considered art because it lacks human intentionality, on the other hand those who defend that AI is one more tool with which the artist expresses himselfjust like a brush, a graphics tablet or a camera. It’s not the first time. Art has faced more debates like this and there is a very clear example. The same thing is happening with AI that happened with photography in the 19th century; was rejected by defenders of drawing and paintingwho saw their jobs threatened by new technology. More than a century later, photography is considered art and fills galleries and museums. And most importantly, the painting still exists. The intention. The debate arises when mechanical means come into play. In the case of photography it was the camera and with AI it is software, very complex but software nonetheless. If we accept that photography, digital illustration or 3D modeling are art, AI can be too. The key that makes the difference is the intention behind it. Setting any prompt and sticking with the first result that comes to mind is not the same as having a clear idea, a story to tell, a feeling to express, and looking for the result that captures it as best as possible. Of course, it would be fair that those works compete in their own category. The problem. AI has turned the art community against it from the beginning. Image generators, especially the first ones, were trained with countless works of art by authors who received nothing in return. Some authors they began to “poison” their works for AI to go crazy and there are several initiatives that artists can join to prevent your jobs from ending up training AI. Image | Jason Allen and Midjourney In Xataka | Either you pay or we will use your works to train AI: the threat of hackers to an artists’ website

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