difference

why understanding these acronyms is the difference between buying an air purifier or an expensive fan

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At first glance buy a purifier air can be a simple task, but as soon as we start reading the specifications… we can easily get involved, especially with some of them such as the type of filter. Here we must be especially careful because it is possible that we find HEPA filters or HEPA type filters, and they are not the same. In fact, with each of them we will have a totally different experience. How a HEPA filter works HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Airor air with high efficiency particles) is a quality standard for filters, so if we see it in a purifier we can know that it meets rigorous tests to guarantee efficiency in retaining particles such as dust, pollen, mold and even bacteria or viruses. If we get a little more technical, bacteria measure between 0.5 and 5 microns while viruses measure between 0.02 and 0.3 microns. HEPA filters must be capable of retain at least 99.97% of particles having a size of 0.3 microns (particle size most difficult to physically filter). If it is not capable of this, it is not a HEPA filter. However, you have to be careful because this is where HEPA type filters come into play. What is a HEPA type filter If we see that a purifier has a HEPA type filter, we may think that it meets the standard we have discussed. But this is not the case, and they can be much less efficient. The expression “HEPA type filter” is usually used as a claim for some purifiers, generally inexpensive, although it is more normal to see them in other devices such as robot vacuum cleaner. These filters They are not as effective because they have not been tested with the tests that HEPA filters are subjected to, and it is possible that they do not even comply with the European standard that defines the different kinds of HEPA filters that we can find. Can they retain bacteria? Yes, but they do not have certified efficiency. How purifiers work The purifiers have a fairly simple structure: Inside there is a motor, a fan and a box where the filter is located.. Its operation is summarized in that the motor makes the fan move to attract particles and deposit them in the filter. However, it is worth mentioning that the filtering process is more complex. Inertial impact: affects large, heavy particles that travel at high speed. The particles cannot change direction quickly, so they continue straight until they collide with the fibers until they become stuck. Direct interception: some medium particles that follow the air flow pass very close to the fibers until they come into contact with them and remain adhered, which is known as direct interception. Brownian diffusion: on the contrary, small particles do not follow the air current in a straight line, so they continually collide with the gas molecules in the air. This movement increases the probability that the particle ends up hitting a fiber and becoming stuck. HEPA-type filters can retain certain particles, but they do not have certified efficiency. It’s not that they are useless, but they simply may not be as effective as HEPA filters. The good and the bad of both options, face to face hepa filters hepa type filters THE GOOD 🟢 They are capable of better filtering dust particles, bacteria or viruses. They are usually found in cheap purifiers, being interesting for devices whose purification function is secondary. THE BAD đź”´ They are found in more expensive purifiers, so they are aimed at devices whose purification function is the main one. They are less efficient than HEPA filters. Ideal for: People looking to improve the air quality in their home. Economical devices whose purification function is secondary. What purifier should I buy then? At this point you may have wondered whether or not it is worth buying a purifier with a HEPA type filter, and the truth is that it is, although it depends on what we are looking for. 👉 Choose a purifier with a HEPA filter if: You want to retain large and small particles for a cleaner home, from dust to viruses and bacteria. 👉 Choose a purifier with a HEPA type filter if: You only want to retain large particles such as pet hair, dust or lint. Recommended models Philips 2200 Series He Philips 2200 Series It is an air purifier with a HEPA filter that has a fairly small format. It incorporates a three-layer system composed of a prefilter, a HEPA NanoProtect and active carbon to capture 99.97% of particles up to 0.003 microns (3 nanometers) through NanoProtect technology, a technology that allows even smaller particles to be captured thanks to electrocharging. It can be controlled from your mobile phone to program routines and is capable of capturing odors, bacteria, viruses and larger particles. Philips 2200 Series Air Purifier The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 Dyson purifiers are quite well known for the format that many of their models have, such as the Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1. This purifier with a HEPA filter is capable of capturing particles down to 0.1 microns thanks to its H13 filter and can also be controlled from a smartphone. In addition, it also has a function to heat the air in winter or cool it in summer. Dyson Purifier Hot+Cool HP1 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links If neither of these two models convinces you and you want to explore other options, you can take a look at our air purifier guide. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Philips, Dyson In Xataka | The best way to heat the house: we analyze the expense and energy efficiency of heat pumps and heaters In Xataka | Which heater to buy: the best models based on power, use cases … Read more

The day a small dispute over the Tab key ended up revealing the big difference between IBM and Microsoft

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There are companies that have lived so long that their story is no longer told only through big launches, acquisitions or business battles. It is also told in small details, in those seemingly minor scenes that, seen over time, end up explaining an era better than many official statements. Microsoft and IBM belong to that category. Their paths crossed when the personal computer It was still defining many of its rules, and some of those discussions, even the most minute ones, revealed something deeper than a technical difference. The scene has been recovered Raymond Chena veteran Microsoft engineer who has been linked to the evolution of Windows for more than three decades and who for years has gathered in The Old New Thing some of the most curious stories of the Windows and Microsoft ecosystem. Chen does not present the episode as his own experience, but as the memory of a colleague who was assigned to the IBM offices in Boca Raton, Florida, during the collaboration between both companies in OS/2. OS/2 was much more than just another name lost in software history. IBM and Microsoft presented it in 1987 as an operating system designed for the IBM PS/2 line and intended to take the PC beyond the limitations of DOS, with a more modern base and ambitions typical of computing that was beginning to look further afield. The collaboration came from a joint development agreement signed in 1985when the project was not yet called OS/2. In that context, any interface decision could have more weight than it seems today, because many conventions of the modern PC were still being established. Two very similar and also very different companies The problem is that that collaboration brought together two companies at very different times in their lives. Microsoft was still a young company, very attached to software and a more direct way of working, while IBM arrived with decades of history, a huge structure and the weight of a much more established corporate culture. Chen sums it up like a clash of perceptions: from Microsoft, IBM was seen as trapped in a meaningless bureaucracy, and from IBM, Microsoft was seen as undisciplined hackers. Its own nuance is important: there was probably something right in both readings. The specific anecdote begins in Boca Raton, where a colleague of Chen’s worked assigned to the IBM offices. At some point a discussion arose about which key should be used to move from one field to another within the dialog boxes. The Microsoft engineer made a decision that is almost invisible to us today because of how assumed it is: use Tab for that function. IBM was not convinced by the choice and asked that the matter will be escalated to the person responsible from that engineer in Redmond, a reaction that already hinted at the extent to which the discrepancy went beyond the key itself. In Redmond, the petition was not understood as an issue that deserved to be raised much higher. The engineer’s manager responded with a very clear idea: if Microsoft had sent someone to Boca Raton, it was so that they could resolve decisions like that there. Translated into a more institutional tone, the message that came back to IBM was that Microsoft supported the choice of the Tab key. IBM’s reaction was just the opposite. Instead of shutting down the discussion, the company elevated her up its own chain of command to a vice president, several levels above those who were programming. IBM had not only elevated the discussion, it also wanted a response to the same hierarchical height. If its vice president was against using Tab, Microsoft had to find someone equivalent to argue the opposite. Chen’s colleague then responded with a wonderful phrase, translated here into Spanish: “Bill Gates’ mother is not interested in the Tab key“It was a pretty nice way of saying that it wasn’t worth going up the corporate elevator anymore. It wasn’t necessary to go to the heights of Microsoft to decide how to move from one field to another in a dialog box. The phrase worked, at least according to Chen’s account: apparently, after that response, the discussion ended and Tab remained the key chosen to advance between fields. The detail is funny because today almost no one stops to think about it: we simply press Tab and wait for the cursor to jump to the next available space. But there was a time when that convention was not so closed. And what we see in this story is just that: a small interface decision turned into a clash between custom, hierarchy and technical criteria. The exact date, however, does not appear in Chen’s account. We know that the episode belongs to the years of collaboration between Microsoft and IBM around OS/2, whose joint development agreement dates back to 1985 and whose Public arrival occurred in 1987. This allows us to limit the context, but not to set the day or year of the discussion by Tab. There are many decisions behind the products and services we use every day. Some are huge and visible, but others fly under the radar: a key, a gesture, an interface convention that we learn once and repeat for years without wondering where it came from. Surely many have a story behind them, although most never transcend and others would not be particularly interesting. From time to time, however, an anecdote like this appears and allows us to peek into something we almost never see: how things are handled within the companies that build the technology we use. Images | Kaatvrtg (Wikimedia Commons) | In Xataka | In 1993 Microsoft created Encarta to revolutionize knowledge. Twenty years later it would be devastated by a tsunami

What is the difference between Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG in streaming apps?

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It’s time to renew the television and you go to a store to consider different models, but once you get to work comparing the specifications you find yourself in an alphabet soup: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision or simply HDR. We already made it clear to you that all these technologies are aimed at offering better image quality, but they do not work the same nor do they achieve the same result. Therefore, today we are going to review what the differences are so that you can make the right choice for the next television. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links What is HDR The High Dynamic Range (HDR) is an imaging technology that aims to increase the difference between dark and light areas. Keep in mind that 4K resolution adds a higher number of pixels, while HDR makes those pixels better by offering much more vivid colors and deeper blacks. HDR10, the standard format HDR10 is essentially “normal” HDR, since it is the standard that all televisions and all platforms usually use. The reason is that it is open language; Brands do not have to pay for it and usually include it in their televisions. How does it work? Movies, for example, usually have predefined brightness and color levels, so once we play it they will be applied throughout it. The settings will be the same throughout the movie, whether all scenes are darker or lighter, and that is where the problem is. The biggest drawback of the HDR10 format is that does not apply scene to scenebut throughout the entire film equally. This means that sometimes the lightest or darkest scenes do not look quite good, so in the end some detail will be lost in these types of scenes. Dolby Vision, scene-by-scene configuration Dolby Vision is a technology from Dolby Laboratories, so in order to include it in their televisions, brands have to pay for it. This makes many brands decide not to use them and We have the best example in Samsungwhich prefers to include other open HDR formats. The great usefulness of Dolby Vision is that, unlike HDR10, it is capable of adjusting the brightness and colors scene by scene, adapting to certain situations in which there is high contrast so that the entire movie looks good. Perhaps you have seen the name of this technology on platforms like Netflix, and it is because it is the one that is usually found in high-quality content. But here’s something you should keep in mind: it doesn’t matter if your television is compatible with this format, if the platform decides that it will only include it in the most expensive subscription levels, and you have the cheapest one, you won’t be able to take advantage of it. Keep this in mind when choosing a television, Are you going to take advantage of this technology?. HDR10+, almost free Dolby Vision TV showing content without HDR10+ (left) and with HDR10+ (right). Why doesn’t Samsung include Dolby Vision in its televisions? The fact that, along with brands like Amazon and Panasonic, it decided to launch its own format has a lot to do with it. HDR10+ is the free technology that directly competes with the Dolby Vision that we have now, and is currently available on many televisions, especially mid-range and high-end. However, despite the fact that HDR10+ is currently found in a good assortment of televisions, the truth is that supported content is very limited; even more than Dolby Vision. Keep in mind that if you buy a Samsung, Prime Video will be your best ally because it is one of the few that uses HDR10+. Although HDR10+ tries to compete head-to-head with Dolby Vision, the latter plays in another league. The reality is that there are still no home televisions capable of squeezing out their full potential; While current screens reach brightnesses of 2,000 nits, Dolby Vision is designed to reach levels of up to 10,000 nits and much higher color richness. It is basically a future-proof technology. On the other hand, with HDR10+ we are faced with a format that, despite having a similar name, is different from HDR10 because allows you to optimize lighting scene by scene throughout the entire moviethus offering a much better result. HLG, the format for live broadcasting We have Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) on practically all televisions, and this is because it is the format that is used in live content (also delayed) instead of streaming. In other words: it is the one used when you watch the news or a football match. HLG is intended for use on both HDR-compatible televisions and SDR models (older TVs), since it is a format that is broadcast in content en masse. The quality does not come close to what we find in Dolby Vision technology, but it is efficient for live broadcasting. The good and the bad of both options, face to face HDR10 Dolby Vision HDR10+ HLG THE GOOD 🟢 It is present in practically all televisions. It offers the best quality by having a lighting configuration that varies scene by scene. It is present on many televisions and offers an experience close to Dolby Vision. It offers better quality in live or delayed broadcasts. THE BAD đź”´ It maintains the same lighting settings throughout the movie, offering poorer quality in scenes with high contrast. It is not present on all TVs and sometimes the platforms reserve it for the most expensive subscriptions. There is not much supported content. It is not compatible with streaming content. Ideal for: People looking for a very economical television. Enjoy the best experience watching a movie or series and playing video games. Watch movies in better quality than HDR10 offers. Watch live or delayed broadcasts with better quality. What TV should I buy then? At this point, you may be thinking which one is worth it. If you choose a TV, you should pay attention to the HDR or Dolby format, especially depending … Read more

Are the 200 euros difference worth it or has Apple been left behind?

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Xiaomi has released not one, not two, but three tablets that once again embrace the quality-price ratio that we have seen so many other times within the brand. Therefore, we are going to stop a little to see if they really are as attractive as they seem at first glance, and what better way to do it than by comparing the Xiaomi Pad 8 with the iPad Air M4since Xiaomi usually uses Apple as a reference, mentioning the brand in its presentations. Can it compete head to head with the iPad? Let’s see it. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links iPad Air M4 (128GB, 11-inch) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The differences between Xiaomi and Apple tablets Big differences in screens While it is true that in any case we are talking about tablets that offer good image quality, both Xiaomi and Apple have small peculiarities. All Xiaomi tablets come with an 11.2-inch screen that offers both a 3.2K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate, thus achieving greater fluidity when navigating the menus, when we want to play a video game or even if we read an article on a website. The Xiaomi Pad 8 Mate adds a very interesting feature, and that is that this model has anti-reflective treatmentwhich means that if you are going to use it outdoors, the sun will not reflect as much on the screen. Instead, the iPad Air M4 is available in two sizes of 11 and 13 inches respectively. While it is true that it also includes a good Liquid Retina screen, the refresh rate remains at 60 Hz, so it does not offer the same fluidity as the screens of Xiaomi tablets. In short, if you are going to use the tablet at home, you will have a good experience with any of them, even if the Xiaomi screens offer better fluidity. Things change if you are going to use it outdoors: the iPad Air offers a maximum brightness of 500 nits, which is a fairly fair figure. Xiaomi tablets raise that figure to 800 nits, so in these cases it is better to bet on Xiaomi tablets, especially the Pad 8 Pro Mate if we are going to use it a lot outside the home. Processors and operating systems What are you going to use the tablet for? If you want to buy one of these tablets to watch multimedia content, you will have a good experience with any of them. But If you want to play demanding titles, choose the iPad. Because? Basically because it comes with a more powerful processor than Qualcomm, even allowing you to move console games. Not all models of the current generation of Xiaomi come with the same chip: the Xiaomi Pad 8 incorporates the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, while the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro and 8 Pro Mate come with the Snapdragon 8 Eliteone of the most powerful processors in Android devices. Instead, the new iPad Air comes with the M4 chipa processor that is capable of moving many titles, as we have seen many other times in Apple computers. On the other hand, both brands have different operating systems. Xiaomi tablets come with Android under the customization layer HyperOS 3while the iPad Air M4 comes with iPadOS. The choice is very particular, but we can mention two things: HyperOS has better artificial intelligence functions, since Apple Intelligence It’s still a little green. iPadOS has some very interesting productivity apps, such as Final Cut Pro. Depending on the use we are going to give to the tablet, we may be interested in making the jump to one operating system or another. If we want artificial intelligence functions, right now Xiaomi tablets offer better options. On the other hand, if we want to play, study or work with the tablet, we may be more interested in opting for the iPad. All RAM and storage configurations Depending on the model we want to buy, we can find very different RAM configurations. The Xiaomi Pad 8 and Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro are available in two versions of 8 and 12 GB, and the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro Mate and iPad Air M4 are only available in a 12 GB version. Take into account the RAM memory It is important in the era we are living in when it comes to artificial intelligence. The more a device has to process AI locally, the more RAM it will need to avoid being fried. Various storage configurations are also available, although here Apple offers a more interesting option: The Xiaomi Pad 8 is available in two versions of 128 GB and 256 GB. The Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro adds a 512 GB version. The Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro Mate is only available in a 512 GB version. The iPad Air M4 can be purchased in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB versions. In this case, the interesting thing about Apple is that it offers a configuration with double the storage than the Xiaomi models. If you are going to save a lot of photos, videos or files, especially if you want to use the iPad as an alternative to a computeryou may be more interested in the 1 TB model. In the case of Xiaomi tablets, with the 512 GB configuration you can get by for a while, but you may fall short in the long term. What your batteries say Although at the moment we do not know too many details about the battery of the iPad Air M4, Apple has mentioned that its theoretical autonomy is up to 10 hours of browsing, which means that it does not vary too much compared to previous generations. The three Xiaomi tablets come with 9,200 mAh batteries, but with different fast charging: 45W for the Xiaomi Pad 8 and 67W for the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro and Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro Mate. Taking all this into account, The strong point of … Read more

Atomic clocks seemed untouchable. A blackout caused a difference in the official US time

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To think that the official time of a country could fail is, at first, almost impossible. We are not talking about a domestic clock or just any server, but about the system that sets the pace of networks, satellites and critical services. That is why it is surprising to discover what happened recently in the United States. A power outage in Colorado was enough to remind us that extreme precision is not isolated from the physical world that sustains it. According to CBS, Xcel Energy applied a preventive shutdown to reduce the risk of fires due to very strong gusts of wind, and the NIST complex in Boulder was affected on Wednesday of last week. The power outage was followed by a backup generator in the institute’s laboratory. In that sequence, and according to information confirmed by NIST, the country’s time reference was slightly off for a brief interval, until part of the supply could be restored. Put a tiny deviation into context. The figure that came out of the NIST systems was 4.8 microseconds, that is, just a few millionths of a second different from what was expected. To get an idea of ​​that magnitude, NIST itself explained that A human blink lasts around 350,000 microseconds, a very different scale from the recorded mismatch. The variation is so small that for the vast majority of everyday uses it is irrelevant, but it serves to illustrate the extent to which even a minor deviation is measured, recorded and taken seriously in temporal reference systems. To understand why this offset is considered relevant, it is worth clarifying what exactly the official time of the United States is. The country is not governed directly by UTC, the coordinated international standard to which multiple nations contribute, but by a national implementation known as NISTUTC. Since 2007, that reference is established under the supervision of the Secretary of Commerce and the US Navy, and is adjusted to stay aligned with global coordinated timing. NIST-F4 Cesium Source Atomic Clock NIST calculates the official time from a weighted average of sixteen clocks spread across its campus, including hydrogen masers and cesium beam clocks, each with different functions and strengths. This approach allows us to gain stability and resilience, since the final signal is not conditioned by the behavior of a single instrument. Therefore, even when one of the elements of the system is affected, the whole continues to offer an extremely precise reference. What broke was not the watch. During the blackout, the atomic clocks continued to run thanks to their battery systems, as explained by NIST. The problem occurred in the connection between some of those clocks and the measurement and distribution systems that consolidate the final signal. When that communication was lost for an interval and one of the planned backups failed, the resulting time reference slowed down slightly. Technical personnel who remained at the facilities later activated a reserve diesel generator, which allowed part of the operation to be recovered and the system to be stabilized. NIST page The institute stressed that this gap has no appreciable effects on daily life. The nuance appears when looking at certain technical sectors, where extreme synchronization is an operational requirement. Critical infrastructures, telecommunications networks, positioning systems or some scientific environments work with such tight margins that even a minimal deviation deserves to be recorded and reported. The next step was to return to operational normality. NIST indicated that the correction of the gap will be carried out when all systems are fully powered and can be recalibrated with guarantees. Xcel Energy announced yesterday Monday that it was completing the restoration of service after the storm and the preventive cuts applied due to fire risk. Meanwhile, the institute began an internal review to evaluate the impact of the blackout and verify that redundancies and protocols responded as planned. Images | NIST In Xataka | China says it has detected an NSA operation against its most sensitive infrastructure: the center that controls the time

the price difference with gasoline is now almost zero

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Bad news for drivers of diesel vehicles, who continue to be the majority in our country although they sell less and less. This fuel, which has traditionally been cheaper than gasoline, now faces a worrying future, and in fact the savings it previously offered are fading. It doesn’t stop going up. In the last five months the price of diesel has not stopped rising and in total its cost for the user has increased by 7% in this period. This upward trend is a setback for millions of users who see how the traditional economic advantage of their vehicles fades away little by little compared to gasoline options. Price gap closes. The most recent data from the EU Oil Bulletin, for the last week of November, indicate that the average price of diesel has stood at 1,456 euros per liter. That of 95 octane gasoline has not changed that much, and its appreciation in that time has been 2.1%, standing at 1,489 euros. The price difference between both fuels has been reducing in this second half of the year, and is now only 0.033 euros per liter, the narrowest margin since December 2023. Nuances. In reality, Spain’s situation is not exceptional, and in the EU there are already 11 countries – such as Austria, Belgium or Sweden – in which diesel is more expensive than gasoline. However, Spain remains one of the regions with the most affordable diesel, and is the fourth “cheapest” country in the EU, only behind Malta, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Russia and winter. InĂ©s Cardenal, Director of Legal Affairs of the Fuel Industry of Spain (AICE), explained in El PaĂ­s the possible causes. According to her, Russia “is a large producer of refined diesel, the fuel most consumed in winter in Europe, and that has continued to put pressure on the market for three years due to the mismatch between supply and demand.” The US sanctions on large Russian crude oil producers They don’t help, of course. Diesel had an advantage. The truth is that diesel plays with a fundamental advantage in Spain: It has a tax burden that is 10 cents per liter less than that affecting gasoline, something that has led to its lower price. However Spain promised Europe a tax reform in exchange for continuing to receive European funds, and the idea is precisely increase the tax burden on diesel to equate it to that of gasoline. The surprise has already happened. In the last 20 years there have only been two times when the price of diesel exceeded that of gasoline. The first in 2008 due to the massive “dieselization” of vehicles in Spain. The second, due to the war in Ukraine, which caused diesel to be slightly above gasoline in March 2022 (€1.83/l vs €1.81/l) and remained above half a year. Uncertainty. Although the price of crude oil has remained relatively stable in the last year, European fiscal policies and the geopolitical situation point to a potential paradigm shift. It may not be a bad idea to prepare for a scenario in which fill the tank in a diesel vehicle no longer represents the savings of yesteryear. Image | Ali Mkumbwa In Xataka | Given the slow progress of the electric car, Spain has a forgotten alternative: 100% renewable fuel

Gemini 3 promises more quality and precision than ever in its responses. The question is whether we will really notice the difference

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Google has announced the launch of Gemini 3its new artificial intelligence model. in the company They claim it is their most advanced reasoning model because it is “designed to understand depth and nuance.” Gemini 3 will also be available as standard as part of AI Mode in the renewed Google search engine (in this case and for the moment, only in the US). It is the first time that Google offers the benefits of its AI model from day one in the search engine, but it also reaches the Gemini app and the developers who work with AI Studio and Vertex AI. Behind him success of Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flashthe new version arrives in 30 new languages, including Catalan, Basque and Galicianand as we say you can start testing today in the United States… or outside of there via a VPN. Gemini 3 promises. At least in the tests Google highlights how the model’s behavior has been outstanding in various synthetic tests. Thus, Gemini 3 leads the LMArena classification with 1,501 points—the first to overcome the 1,500-point barrier. According to Google, the Gemini 3’s test results put it ahead of all its competitors in virtually all scenarios. In fact, he manages to reason “at the level of a PhD” according to the tests of Humanity’s Last Exam (exceeds 37.5% of the test without tools) and GPQA Diamond (91.9%). It also makes spectacular progress in mathematics, as demonstrated by the 23.4% on the MathArena Apex test: GPT 5.1 scores 1.0% and Claude Sonnet 4.5 1.6% on the same test, for example. The model also wants to be more direct: his answers are more “concise (…) and he prefers to offer valuable information instead of resorting to clichĂ©s and flattery. Tells you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear“. Gemini 3’s ‘Deep Think’ mode goes even further in tests: in Humanity’s Last Exam it achieves 41.0%, but it also in the demanding ARC-AGI 2 It achieves 45.1% (with code execution), which also demonstrates progress in abstract reasoning and visual understanding. Gemini 3 explains the world to you in a simple way The model has a context window of up to one million tokens, which allows it to be used, for example, to analyze huge repositories of code or text and then work on that data. Its multimodal support allows you to analyze all types of information. For example, Gemini 3 can decipher and translate handwritten recipes in different languages ​​to create a family cookbook that you can share. Or analyze your pickleball games (we assume the same thing happens in other sports) and identify areas where you can improve and generate a training plan. Or scrutinize the data from a research paper and from it generate code for an interactive guide that helps us better understand those studies. In fact, integration with Google Search is an especially important part of Gemini 3, which being “embedded” in AI Mode It has the capacity to generate interactive visual elements (widgets, calculators, simulations) in real time. At Google they want the search to be more interactive than ever, and that will mean that sometimes the answers will not be just text, but rather a small interactive webapp that allows us to better understand the answer. Programming (and agents) to power The other crucial element of the model is its capacity in the area of ​​programming. Its results in tests of this type are once again outstanding, and for example it tops the WebDev Arena leaderboard with a score of 1,487 ELO. The model now behaves much more powerfully in the visual part. It also scores 54.2% on Terminal-Bench 2.0, which evaluates a model’s ability to use tools and operate a computer through a terminal. Additionally, it far outperforms 2.5 Pro in SWE-bench Verified (76.2%), a benchmark test that measures the effectiveness of scheduling agents. These Gemini 3 programming capabilities are intended to be used in a new agent development platform called Google Antigravity. The developer experience is using a “conventional” AI integrated development environment (IDE), but your agents can have access to the editor, terminal, and browser. That means these agents can autonomously plan and execute complex software tasks and validate their own code, making it easier for human developers to review and audit that code than ever before. The real challenge of the most recent models On paper Gemini 3 is postulated as a model that can really make a difference compared to its competitors. The test results and Gemini’s own trajectory make us think that the behavior of this model will indeed be remarkable. However The question is whether we will really notice the difference. In recent months we have seen how other AI companies have launched new models, but the impact for a large majority of users has been discreet: the previous models already performed really well, and although the new ones undoubtedly provide improvements, for many consultations these improvements allow us to perceive that jump in performance. Here we see two ways for Google to effectively demonstrate the capabilities of these models. The first opportunity for Gemini 3 will likely be in the area of ​​programming, and it will be these professionals who will likely be able to get the most out of those additional capabilities. But for the rest of the users, it will be that new AI Mode and the Gemini app that will have to make us notice those features. We are intrigued by this ability to respond with small interactive elements —graphics, widgets—, and perhaps with them we will really discover this new capacity of this chatbot. In Xataka | Let’s say goodbye to Google Assistant a decade later. Google has begun to delete its code to leave only one option: Gemini

Cocina con Coqui has gone to Andorra like so many influencers. The difference is that his fans have not forgiven him.

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If you are a crypto bro who has as part of his speech a inalienable right to pay taxes that you consider fair (that is, the minimum, or even a little less), when you go to Andorra to pay much less taxes from there than from Spain, your followers will even applaud it. But of course: not all content creators are the same. Or maybe yes. Those who are not equal are his followers. Who is Cocina Con Coqui. If you are not one of the gastronomic influencers, you may not be aware of who it is. Cooking with Coqui. It is about a cook whose real name is Coco, and who has achieved a great fame, with nearly four million followers on social networks. Its recent success has been boosted by the release of a cookbook which will go on sale the first week of November: it is already at the top of reservations in the gastronomy category on websites like AmazonFor example. Her personal story, as an immigrant who came to Spain from China as a child and who managed to build a career based on a passion for cooking, has generated strong empathy and admiration in a wide audience. The controversy. Despite her friendly and unproblematic image, the influencer gastronomy has been the subject of some controversy revealed that it pays taxes in Andorraa European tax haven in which a large number of influencers and Spanish content creators to avoid the country’s taxes. This revelation was initially spread through the publication of a screenshot of the influencer’s newsletterwhere the tax address in Andorra was clearly shown. This seemingly technical detail became the source of an intense debate. The networks are burning. Based on this information, social networks exploded with accusations, calling Cocina con Coqui a tax evader and questioning her commitment to the country that has seen her career grow. The influencer kept silence in the first momentswhich increased speculation and criticism. Its success thus brings to the fore the discussion about the fiscal responsibility of content creators. Why Andorra. One of the main reasons why public figures like Cocina con Coqui they choose to pay taxes in Andorra It is the attractive tax advantage that this state offers. Compared to Spain, where personal income tax can exceed 45% for the highest incomes, Andorra applies a maximum tax rate of around 10%, which represents substantial savings for high-income content creators. The Andorran tax system is recognized for its simplicity and stability, factors that attract self-employed professionals or digital entrepreneurs seeking to optimize their tax burden. Question of solidarity. However, this phenomenon generates an intense debate between legality and morality. Although these moves do not constitute a crime if the tax residence requirements are met, they are seen by an important part of society as an act that, being legal, It is not ethical or supportive. Thus, paying what the law allows is not always synonymous with doing what is morally expected, especially when it comes to taxpayers who have built their success in a country but decide to pay taxes abroad, which opens a crack between the law and the social perception of tax justice. In Andorra. The Rubius was one of the first Spanish youtubers to publicly announce that he was going to Andorra. Although he justified his decision by claiming that he wanted to be close to his friends who already lived there, he could not prevent a social debate from breaking out.​ Vegetta777, TheGrefg and Willyrex, with millions of followers, also settled in Andorra mainly for tax advantages. On the contrary, influencers who have remained in Spain such as Ibai They have seen their popularity reinforced by a decision that affects their pockets. Why not this one and others yes. Clearly, you can see among TheGrefg’s audience, very young, masculine and individualistic, a clear difference with Cocina Con Coqui’s followers, largely female and somewhat older. And although the tangana will undoubtedly have brought together a good part of habitual insulters on social networks who have seen the opportunity to parade unjustifiable racism, the truth is that among the critics words such as “evasive” and expressions of disappointmentand old posts have been recovered, such as in which he announced his transfer to fill them with comments, spoiling their attitude. In Xataka | From promoting raw liver as a nutritious food to ending up arrested for threatening Joe Rogan, Liver King’s unique journey

Using the WiFi on the train in Spain is the worst. The question is why there is so much difference compared to the rest of Europe

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If you have to work from the train and need WiFi, good luck. In some areas, even mobile data is useless, making the experience a real torture. It is no wonder, and Spain has one of the worst railway WiFi network infrastructures in all of Europe. According to an Ookla studiothe median download speed on Spanish trains reaches just 1.45 Mbps, compared to 64.58 Mbps in Sweden, which tops the list. At least we are above the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. A multi-layered problem. It’s not just a bad WiFi connection inside the carriage. The main failure, according to the study from Ookla, is in the “backhaul”, that is, in how the train connects to public mobile networks from the roof. Most European countries, including Spain, depend on “incidental” mobile coverage: the antennas installed by operators are designed to serve population centers, not specifically trains. The result is dead zones, constant signal drops and insufficient bandwidth when the train runs between cities. Average unloading speed on European trains. Image: Ookla Outdated technology on board. Inside the car, the panorama doesn’t help either. Although the study does not detail specific data for Spain, countries with similar performance such as the United Kingdom still maintain more than 50% of their connections on WiFi 4, a 2009 standard, and 38% use the 2.4 GHz bandmore prone to interference and congestion. This combination of outdated technology limits the experience even when the outside connection is decent. Sweden solves the puzzle with politics. In Sweden, the case is interesting because it dismantles the complicated terrain argument. Until the beginning of 2024, its trains offered speeds of just 2 Mbps. In the second quarter of that year there was a structural leap: the PTS regulator allocated public funds for neutral infrastructure in tunnels, imposed rail coverage obligations in the 2023 spectrum auctions and identified 45 tunnels and 630 kilometers of track with poor coverage. In just one year the speeds multiplied by more than 30. Average upload speed on European trains. Image: Ookla In Switzerland the model is different, but effective. This country, which is positioned in second place according to the Ookla ranking, has a different structure. And instead of universal WiFi on board, its operator SBB offers “FreeSurf”, a system that allows passengers with a Swiss SIM to use mobile data without consuming their rate while traveling. Bluetooth beacons in the carriages detect the device and the railway operator assumes the cost with the telcos. This avoids the bottleneck of shared WiFi and allows investment to be concentrated on improving the mobile network layer in the corridors. The problem is that it only works for residents with a local SIM. France invests in dedicated network. France built a specific network for railways on routes such as Paris-Lyon, with base stations every 2-3 kilometers, antennas facing the track and special systems in tunnels for trains that travel at 300 km/h and change cells every 15 seconds. Although the study places France In an intermediate position (19.12 Mbps), it continues to be well above Spain. Median latency of European countries compared to Taiwan. Image: Ookla Modern trains are Faraday cages. Part of the problem is structural. And how mention study, current railcars incorporate low-E glass with metallized coatings that block mobile signals more than a layer of concrete, according to tests carried out by the British Department of Transport. Germany has invested 50 million euros in laser treating 70,000 windows of 3,300 carriages to make them permeable to radio frequencies. Belgium abandoned a 173 million euro on-board WiFi plan and preferred to invest 40 million in modifying the windows of its trains. Asia prioritizes mobile over WiFi. In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the approach is different, as they invest in dedicated mobile data coverage on roads and tunnels, and treat WiFi as a secondary service. According to the study, Taiwan leads in latency (13 ms) and already deploys WiFi 6 on 20% of its rail connections. Its download speeds (8.1 Mbps) far exceed those of Spain, although they are far from the European leaders. The Japanese government, for example, has subsidized since 2020 the installation of cellular systems in all tunnels in the Shinkansen. satellite internet. Just like mention the study, operators such as ScotRail, SNCF, Trenitalia or PKP Intercity are testing terminals starlink and OneWeb on rural or coastal routes where ground coverage is insufficient. The strategy is not to replace mobile coverage, but to join both connections through onboard SD-WAN gateways. There are still limitations, as certified rail terminals are still in short supply, they do not operate in tunnels and the operational cost remains high if data is used intensively. In Xataka | How to share the data connection of your Android mobile or iPhone with an Internet access point

Zuckerberg already has his superintelligence team. It also has many employees angered by the abysmal salaries difference

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Imagine that you have been working in a company for many years and hire a new team, which is dedicated to the same as you, but charges much more. I wouldn’t make any grace. This is what is happening in goal after the arrival of the new superintelligence team and its millionaire salaries. Zuckerberg has spent summer hiring the best talents of AI And now that he has them, he faces a problem: get everyone to be happy. Page more. As reported in the Wall Street Journalone of the consequences after the formation of the superintelligence team has been that the most veteran employees have begun to compete for new positions and salary increases. An employee who achieved a millionaire bonus left anyway because he thought the new ones continued to win more than him. Privileges. The new team, to which TBD Lab have baptized, works at the finish line in Menlo Park, in a restricted access zone very close to the office of Zuckerberg himself and their names do not even appear in the organization chart of the company. The secretism surrounding the project and these security measures are creating the perception that there is a distinction between employees. Counteroffertes. Some unhappy employees went to the competition in search of new opportunities and got a counterofferte by the goal to stay. According to the Wall Street Journal, some got important increases and even moved to the TBD Lab team. Meta has denied it, ensuring that they already planned to move those employees. Resignations. We recently talked about The first side effects of these millionaire hiring. They counted In Wired that at least three of the new signings had resigned just a few weeks after starting in their new positions. Ruben Mayer, who came from Scale AI left the company for personal reasons. Avi Verma and Ethan Knight went to Openai, and Rishabh Agarwal He did not make clear what his destiny would be. There are more. Chaya Nayak, product director of the generative and goal employee for more than eight years, has also gone to OpenAi. Volatility. The case of Shengjia Zhao illustrates very well the volatility of the IA labor market. He reached the finish line as part of the Superintelligence Team and, according to Wireda week he decided to return to OpenAI. Meta got his salary tripling, in addition to offering him the position of chief scientist. Again, goal denies it and In the announcement They affirmed that Zhao had been the chief scientist since the first day, but they had not made it official until then. Image | Wikipedia In Xataka | The new AI star is Alexandr Wang: Zuckerberg has given the keys of the future to a child prodigy of 97

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