The MacBook Neo is the biggest existential threat to the Windows laptop market. And the manufacturers have no answer

Catacrac. This is how the announcement that Apple made with the MacBook Neo. They are modest in specifications, yes, but they have a surprising price/performance ratio if we take into account that it comes from Apple. The company, which seemed like it would never “humiliate itself” with a “cheap” product, has ended up doing just that. And in the process, it has posed an extraordinary threat to Windows laptops with a product that is a missile to the waterline of many manufacturers. A perfect team for many people. We’re all looking for the best product at the best price, and the MacBook Neo is a fantastic balancing act. It is not by far the best laptop one can find, but it is a device with a very reasonable configuration for many people. And it is because many people use the laptop for tasks that do not need more power or features. Apple has also hit the nail on the head with the price: being an Apple product, those 700 euros almost seem like a bargain. A textbook masterstroke. While Windows laptop manufacturers get tangled up in justifying why a laptop It should cost 1,500 euros to do everything you want (not to mention the AI ​​options), Apple has on its hands a product that overturns the perception of value. The MacBook Neo does not seek to win performance races, but rather to be the equipment that any student, administrator or home user buys without looking at another alternative. In 2026, true innovation is not to include an incredible NPU, but to offer a product that solves a need and do so at a price that previously seemed an insult by Apple’s standards. Remembering netbooks. Almost 20 years ago the industry tried to move in this direction with netbooks. These Windows laptops were (very) modest, crude and cheap and generated a lot of expectation, but realities soon arrived. Its limitations were so obvious that they were not worth it, and the concept of the “modest, cheap and functional laptop” was perhaps ahead of its time. Cupertino has arrived on time. Apple seems to have arrived at the right time, because we have been saying for years that mobile chips were already extraordinarily powerful and were wasted both in our smartphones and (especially) in iPads. The MacBook Neo is what netbooks should always be—well, maybe a little expensive for a netbook—with the difference that here the features promise to be much more adequate. Slap for Windows on ARM. The appearance of this team is also a very hard blow for all those teams that have tried to Windows on ARM it made sense. We have seen several throughout these years and everything seemed to indicate that Microsoft and the manufacturers they had a chancebut they have ended up making computers that were basically clones of their variants with Intel/AMD in almost everything. With more autonomy and many AI functionsYes, but with often high prices and with some software limitations because the Windows ecosystem on ARM architecture is not nearly as prepared as Apple’s with macOS, which completed that transition after the launch of the M1 in 2020. There is hope for Microsoft and its users. Manufacturers of Windows equipment will now have to react and come up with competitive options. And they certainly have the potential to do so. Qualcomm has its Snapdragon Meanwhile, NVIDIA already has its SoCs for laptops almost ready —we saw them at CES— so we may be looking at a “second era of netbooks” in which the MacBook Neo competes with Windows/ARM machines on price and features. Of course, it remains to be seen what the real performance, autonomy and reliability of these future devices, including Apple’s, are. Suddenly Apple has a catalog of “affordable” products that puts its competitors in trouble. Beyond the Chromebook. The MacBook Neo could be seen as a “Chromebook killer”, but Google has stopped promoting them and manufacturers no longer lend them either so much attention. In fact, the future of Google laptops It seems to go through Android, not ChromeOS. While the MacBook Neo can certainly be a very reasonable device for students, it is actually an attack on the conventional “home laptop” with which HP, Dell or ASUS have always triumphed. Apple’s prestige plays a lot in its favor here, and it may win over not only young people, but also many other users who saw Apple as an aspirational brand that was too exclusive for their budgets. Memory makes everything more expensive… except the MacBook Neo. Furthermore, this launch moment could not be more cruel for Windows laptop manufacturers. All of them have already been warning that they will have to raise prices due to the RAM memory crisis, but Apple has done just the opposite: instead of presenting more expensive products—well, has also done it—, the firm has uncovered a functional and affordable bet that does not punish consumers. Sacrifices must be made, yes, but they are reasonable, especially in view of events. Apple has shown that you can be “humble” in price without losing your identity, and now it remains to be seen what the response of Windows equipment manufacturers is. Because what is clear is that that answer will come. And it is likely that after all this launch it will end up being very good news for us, the users. In Xataka | Apple made a splash with its cheapest iPhone. And the iPhone 17e is coming to repeat the play

Claude has become more than just a rival to OpenAI: he is its new existential threat

Several software stocks are falling just since Claude Cowork It’s going viral. Those collected by iShares Expanded Tech Software ETFwhich has a cumulative drop of 6.4% in the last five days. It has also been a few days since OpenAI announced that it is going to introduce ads on ChatGPT. Why important. It’s not just that Claude Cowork is cool and works well. The thing is that OpenAI’s business model is beginning to show cracks while Anthropic gains ground where it matters: in companies that really pay. In figures. Claude dominates 54% of the AI ​​programming market. In business environments controls 42%more than double that of OpenAI. This last piece of information is from six months ago, presumably now it has gotten worse. Cowork has only made accelerate the trend. 20% of Anthropic’s revenue comes from Claude Code alone. Meanwhile, ChatGPT quota has gone from 87% to 64% in a year. In Xataka People are holding funerals for retired AI models for a reason: they are not a "tool" but a support The background. According to historical data since 2001 that collect Sherwood Newswhen the software ETF falls at least 5% in a month, the S&P 500 usually also falls between 5% and 6%, but this time it has not been like that: it has risen 1%. The overall market going up while software goes down has only happened 28 times in over twenty years. And three of them have been this week. Between the lines. Doug O’Laughlin of SemiAnalysis explains it this way in Sherwood News: “Claude Code is the ChatGPT moment repeated. You have to try it to understand it.” His argument is devastating for traditional software. Workflows, interfaces, integrations are going to stop mattering. The only valuable thing will be access to the data via API. Everything else is generated instantly. Yes, but. OpenAI urgently needs money to build its data centers. And it does not have an ecosystem of services like Google or Meta to finance itself. Hence the newly announced announcements for ChatGPT, which will arrive “in the coming weeks” as announced on Friday. Clearly it is a way to better monetize the hundreds of millions of free users, and with that cash flow sustain their growth and spending. On the other hand, Claude Code is powerful, but not perfect: as Kelsey Piper said99% of the time using Claude Code is like having a magical, tireless genie, but 1% of the time it’s like yelling at a pet for peeing on the couch. He keeps making mistakes, sometimes gets stuck on complex tasks. {“videoId”:”x9u4ml2″,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”Does Gemini 3 surpass ChatGPT? This is Google’s new AI”, “tag”:”Webedia-prod”, “duration”:”156″} And now what. For software companies, O’Laughlin’s message is devastating: get out of “information work” as soon as possible. If your differentiation is doing things faster or with better design, you’re done. The only thing that will matter is who has the data and who controls access via API. As summarized Axios in his analysis of the weekit’s unclear who wins the AI ​​race. But the pace is accelerating with no signs of slowing down. And what is increasingly clear is who is losing it. In Xataka | The AI ​​of 2026 brings an uncomfortable truth: the most useful will be the one that watches us the most Featured image | Anthropic (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news Claude has become more than just a rival to OpenAI: he is its new existential threat was originally published in Xataka by Javier Lacort .

a diamond industry in full existential crisis

They do not run Good times for the former exclusive, powerful and milmillonaria diamond industry. The boom of the “cultivated gems” He has set up the market, stirring something even more important than prices: his identity. When changing the mines of Africa for China’s laboratories, the sector has seen how its image of exclusivity weakened, one of the pillars on which it settled its business decades ago. The request Taylor Swift has served to vivify him. Of the Queen of Pop Queen, all the details are not known, but a huge diamond is gathered that some analysts value already between $ 250,000 and $ 500,000. Beyond its value, the commitment has served to revitalize the message of sophistication and luxury that so well cultivated in its day Of Beers. A ‘yes I want’ that is worth millions. Taylor Swift is much more than the pop queen. It is a real walking industry capable of Alter the GDP of the US with his tour and a influencer to which, only on Instagram, they continue More than 280 million of people (add it 32.5 on Tiktok) In search of inspiration. That is why the photograph he shared yesterday with his hand request is much more than a news for the pink press. His commitment to Travis Kelce has put the trend hunters of everyonewhich already examine the pedida ring with magnifying glass. Beyond the jewelers and designers, the Swift fans legion or the pink press, there is a group that has probably followed the news of the request with almost the same beautification as the singer: the world diamond industry. And the reason is very simple. Plunged into one deep existential crisis (Perhaps the greatest of all its history) that affects both its prices and its public image, the swing that Kelce has just put on the left ring finger of Swift reinforces the value that has made diamonds into a Milmillonario business: exclusivity. Why’s that? Because they don’t run simple times for the diamond industry. De Beers, the Titan of the Sector, the company that convinced generations of love that a romance is only authentic if it is sealed with a Pedrusco, is not at your best; And diamond prices have experienced A deep fall In recent years until they are minimal that were not seen so far in centuries. Behind that deep crisis there are several factors. There are those who explain it for The ‘prick’ of the Chinese market. Others simply point to a Cultural change: We marry less and that amounts to less commitment and alliances rings, to which it adds that the sector already enjoyed A boom Between 2021 and 2022, when the US market grew thanks to all postponed weddings during the pandemic. However, there is another factor that greatly explains the drift of the sector in recent years, one that affects both prices and the identity of diamonds: Synthetic stones. A Serious dangerous competitor. Those also known as “laboratory diamonds” are not new. Its origins can go back to mid -last century. However in recent decades its elaboration It has been refined So much and above all they have reached such penetration in the market that have become a serious competitor for natural diamonds. Serious and dangerous. The last ones (the natural stones) leave mines after having formed for millions of years in extreme conditions. The first (synthetic) are created in laboratories in days. And the reality is that experts do not differentiate them with the naked eye. The result was the expected. Laboratory diamonds have gained space in jewelry stores, affecting market prices, guarding traditional companies and especially staggering the foundations on which the business was built. They compete with the minted gems but can be manufactured in series in record time and a speed made in the industry there are voices that already warn of the risk of Overproduction. Not just that. There are manufacturers that They have decided to bet For the “cultivated” diamonds when considering them more ethical. A percentage: 20%. The result is that synthetic diamonds have made a considerable hole in the market. In An article recent The Wall Street Journal He pointed, citing the analyst Paul Zimnisky, who already represents more than the fifth of the world sales of jewelry with landing. It is not bad if one takes into account that only a few years ago, in 2016, they were less than 1%. If we talk about commitment rings your market penetration is even greater. The website specialized in weddings The Knot show that more than half of the commitment rings sold last year in the US included at least one laboratory diamond. Again there are many, many more than before pandemic. Growth since 2019 is estimated at about 40%. Market quota … and prices. That panorama has been marked by a prices collapse. Both of the synthetic and the natural stones. Zimnisky Calculate that since 2016 the sale price of a diamond of a laboratory quilate has dropped about 86%. During the same period the mined stones have also lost value, although in much less value: a gem of the same size would now cost around 40% less than nine years ago. Not all studies and valuations coincide in the data, but what they do share in all cases is the drawing: clearly falling. And what does Swift have to see? Swift’s ring affects the pillar on which the traditional diamond market, one of its capital values: exclusivity. From the Queen of Pop’s ring it is known that it is the exclusive design of a New York jewelry, which looks Antique Cushion Cut of eight carats and a diamond Old Mine Brillant of historical cut rounded in the corners. It is said that only the diamond can cost between $ 250,000 and $ 500,000 and that the ring is around one million or 1.3 million dollars. The analysts of The New York Times even They believe that the jewel will mark the return of “vintage … Read more

Spanish wine is going through an existential crisis and for producers the problem is simple: too cheap

The end of drought has shaken the pendulum of agricultural production, taking ahead the hopes that many had in this harvest. The productivity recovery It has arrived accompanied by a decrease in the prices of a variety of products in the sector. Among them, the grapes used for the elaboration of various types of wine. Protest in front of AECAVA. A few days ago, grape -producing farmers from different communities They organized a protest In front of the headquarters of the Association of Cava (AECAVA) Association in Sant Sadurní D’Alcoia, Barcelona. They did it in order to demand sufficient prices to cover, at least, production costs. 20% more grapes. The protest occurred while the harvest of some of the grape varieties began. The sector estimates that this year will be an increase in grape production, with some farmers calculating a 20% increase With respect to the 2024 harvest. This would be the effect of the recovery of the sector after a drought that affected very diverse crops and left several crops on the edge of the collapse. The situation is now very different thanks to the rains we saw between the past autumn and this spring and even in part of the summer. Double edge weapon. Despite this, this improvement threats becoming a double -edged sword at the fall in prices that the agricultural sector now denounces. The increase in production and static demand involves lower prices, so much that the sector fears not being able to cover production costs. Almost at half price. As explained from the Valencian Association of Farmersthe first offers that wineters have received this year for the conventional grape kilogram is € 0.45, € 0.50 in the case of the grape for the production of “ecological” wine. These figures would represent a price drop of about 50% compared to last year’s prices, € 0.87/kg in conventional grapes and € 1/kg in “ecological” production. Harvest recovery (something we are Seeing in various crops) It would be the reason for this collapse in prices, but producers warn that this recovery does not affect all crops. The field in areas such as the Valencian Community or Extremadura, stand out, maintain a limited yield at 10.5 tons per hectare. A recovery that is not so much. From the winemaker, emphasis is placed on the so long -awaited harvest recovery after drought is not, much less, assured. Some diseases that affect the vine, such as mildewthey are putting a harvest still in the process of maturation in some regions. To this we must add the effects, even to be determined, of a especially intense and lasting heat wave. A heat wave capable to put at risk the process of maturation of plants but has also come accompanied by a series of fires Especially devastating in areas such as Galicia, Extremadura, and Castilla y León. In Xataka | The great alcohol crisis has reached the champagne. And the sector has a theory: we do not find reasons to celebrate Image | Ángela Llop, CC by-SA 4.0

The horchata is one of the staples of the Spanish summer. Now faces an existential threat in Valencia: pests

As soon as the heat squeezes in summer, there is no more emblematic image in the Valencian Community than terraces full of high and cold horchata vessels: few drinks better represent the Mediterranean identity. But after that refreshing tradition a crop as fragile as essential is hidden: the chufa. A stain expanding. For years, this small tuber has been the economic engine of much of the Valencian garden. Its cultivation, located mainly in L’Horta Nord, not only gives flavor to summer, but also work, identity and landscape. However, As denounced by the Valencian Association of Farmers (Ava-Asaja)the cultivation of the chufa is going through an unprecedented crisis: despite the high demand and the stability of prices at origin, profitability collapses. In data. The situation is clear: in just a decade, production costs have risen 40 %, while productivity has fallen by 25 %, As explained in the press releaseAs a consequence, this year a thousand hanegades have been cultivated less than the previous one, which represents a 15 % reduction in the surface dedicated to the chufa. The Chufa de Valencia is cultivated in some 16 municipalities of L’Horta Nord, where They produce approximately 5.3 million kilos of chufa Dry a year, of which 90 % have a denomination of origin. In total, the crop occupies about 600 hectares with an estimated production of 7,300 tons. Although the figures may seem modest nationwide, the chufa is a characteristic culture of the area and key to hundreds of Valencian families. A plague with fifteen years of history. One of the main factors that Chufa production is putting in check is the disease known as “black spot.” This condition, which is manifested in the skin of the tuber, reduces its commercial value and multiplies the destroys (product that must be discarded in the dryers for not complying with the standards). First detected for fifteen years – coinciding with the first plantations of African chufa seeds on Valencian soil, According to Ava-Asaja-, the disease is still well characterized. In statements collected by Europa PressThe Agrarian Organization regrets that the Ministry of Agriculture has not provided the sector with “sufficient information about the type of disease, the causes of its introduction or the effective methods to combat it”. Therefore, they ask the Valencian Institute for Agricultural Research (IVIA) to intensify their studies to improve the control of this plague, whose incidence is increasing. A weed that sweeps everything. To the threat of black spot is added a more recent but equally worrying problem: the appearance of an invasive weed in the Chufa fields. As Ava-Assaja has denounced-In information also collected by Levante-EMV-, This species could have been introduced through chufas from third countries prosecuted in laundries of the Valencian garden. The difficulty of this problem is that the weed has the same vegetative cycle as the chufa, which prevents using herbicides without damaging the crop. In addition, its manual extraction is ineffective, since unmovered fragments can re -root the following year. “Being a more vigorous plant than cultivation, you can infest whole fields,” The Agrarian Organization to the Valencian media has warned. The result is devastating: lower performance, more manual work without results and, in many cases, fields that must cease to be temporarily cultivated by the impossibility of eradicating the plague. The future of crop, at stake. Given this scenario, Ava-Asaja has asked administrations an urgent and sustained action plan in time. The proposal includes short -term measures to contain immediate damage, as well as a long -term strategy to guarantee the viability of the crop: new phytosanitary solutions, biological research, control of imported material and aids to compensate for cost overruns. Antonio José Gimeno, responsible for the Sector of Chufa in Av-Asaja, The Levante has been clear in the middle: “If the citizens want to have a living garden, crops such as the chufa must have a dignified and lasting profitability. And that necessarily goes through solving problems as pressing as the black spot and this invasive herb that are reducing productivity to historical minimums.” But is this crisis reversible? Yes, but time runs. The crop still has a future thanks to its economic value and the growing national and international demand. Horchata, healthy eating, natural cosmetics … All these sectors trust the Valencian Chufa. But without production, there will be no raw material. As Gimeno said: “Little will it serve that demand and price are maintained if we do not manage to get sufficient production in the fields.” A warning beyond the chufa. The chufa crisis is not an isolated case. It is the sign of what can happen when the primary sector does not have the investment, research and policies necessary to protect it. What happens today with this tuber can be repeated tomorrow with other crops if it does not act on time. Keeping alive the garden is not just a matter of profitability: it is preserving a landscape, a way of life and a cultural heritage that has defined the Valencian Community for centuries. Image | Dorieo Xataka | Every summer fires ravage to Spain. There is a usual guilty that goes unnoticed: old tractors

An existential threat looms over several US chips companies. And China is just one of its problems

Several US companies involved directly in the integrated circuit industry are suffering. Some of them, in fact, They are flirting with bankruptcy. In this context it is inevitable not to think of Intel and The difficult stage that crosses Currently, but from the company Led by Lip-Bu Tan We have spoken a lot in recent months. The companies in which we are going to investigate in this article are smaller, but, even so, they play a very important role in the US chips industry. The worst is happening is, without a doubt, Wolfspeed. And this company of Durham (North Carolina) It has officially declared in bankruptcy. Its specialty is the development and manufacture of silicon carbide (sic) and gallium nitride (GAN) semiconductors for high -power electronics applications, which positions them as extraordinarily attractive integrated circuits for the electric car industries, renewable energy, data centers, fast -charged infrastructure and aerospace and military industries. Robert Feurle, the general director of Wolfspeed, has declared That “after evaluating the options available to strengthen our balance and adjust our capital structure we have decided to take this strategic step (declare in bankruptcy and look for new financing routes) because we believe that it will place Wolfspeed in the best possible position for the future.” An interesting note before moving forward: Spain has launched The Godic project with the purpose of contributing to the independence of Europe of silicon carbide semiconductors from China and the US. China is not the only cause of the problems of American companies Wolfspeed is not at all the only company in the US chips industry that is in difficulties from a financial point of view. The American subsidiary of the Israeli company Tower Semiconductor, Globalfoundries, on semiconductor, Skywater Technology or Ayar Labs are some of the companies that are also facing economic difficulties. The competition from China is subjecting them to a pressure that does not cease to increase, but the competitiveness of Chinese companies is not the only factor that is putting in trouble some US chips companies. The competitiveness of Chinese companies is not the only factor that is putting in trouble some US chips companies Tariffs linked to Imports from China which has deployed US administration seeks to protect the business of US companies within your market. However, most of the companies that I have mentioned in the previous paragraph also sells their semiconductors outside the US. And the competitiveness of Chinese companies in other markets is very high due mainly to two crucial factors: their prices are moderate thanks to contained production costs and the quality of their products is comparable to that of their western and Asian competitors. In any case, the economic problems faced by some designers and manufacturers of American chips do not have their origin solely in China’s competition. Wolfspeed is at a very delicate moment because, beyond the pressure exerted on it, its Chinese competitors, The global demand of the high -power semiconductors it produces has fallen. In addition, during the last five years He has borrowed To be able to build new integrated circuit factories, and currently you cannot assume this economic burden. The panorama of other US companies that are dedicated to chips is not very different to the context with which Wolfspeed is dealingso it is possible that in the short or medium term other companies also enter in bankruptcy. Image | Xataka More information | GLOBALDATA In Xataka | The US is willing to do anything for advanced chips not to reach China. And Malaysia is an obstacle

The existential battle between traditionalists and progressive for the control of the Church

We have not even reached his Ecuador, but 2025 has made it clear since it will not be a year to get bored. At Geopolitical tensions who have followed the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the Rearm of Europe and one Commercial War That is aggravated between recession drums, a new front has just been added: the Vatican. Francisco’s death It opens the debate (latent for a long time) on who will happen at the head of the Catholic Church. And while the process is not new or unknown, it does arrive at a sensitive moment in the Vatican, with a clear (and indisposed) tension between the most reformist and the traditionalist wing. The big question is … What to expect from now on? Pope Francis (1936-2025). The news He advanced it This morning the Vatican. Pope Francis has died. He has done it at 88, at his Vatican residence, after 12 years of pontificate and one Last reappearance public during Holy Week celebrations. For history there is one of its last public appearances In company of the US vice president, JD Vance. His death activates the Funeral ritual Approved by Francisco himself in 2024: wake, funeral, burial and really important (at least for the future of the Catholic Church), the cardinal conclave that will decide who will happen to the front of the Vatican. A priori the summit should begin in 15 or 20 daysalthough the runrún of names and pools about who will be the new pontiff It takes time ringing. In fact, the succession even He has felt In online betting houses. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Who will relieve it? The million dollar question. And without an answer right now. What is handled are some names, figures and trends. For example, The BBC remembers That right now there are 252 Catholic cardinals, of which 138 meet the age requirements to be eligible in the vote of the new Pontiff. The rest can participate in the debate on who should take office. Another relevant fact is that of those 138 ecclesiastical highs that may exercise the right to vote during the conclave, much, much, about 110were named by Francisco himself and the group as a whole will be more diverse than the one who participated in previous summits. History also tells us that, although Francisco was of Argentine origin (it was The first American Pope) and a Polish and a German preceded it, most potatoes to date (217 of 266) They have been Italian. Names on the table. Beyond the figures (which are nothing other than that: figures), are the names. Throughout the last months already measure that Francisco’s health became more fragile, in papal pools a few names have sounded. There has been talk of the Filipino Luis Antonio Taglethe Ghanaian Peter Turkssonthe Portuguese José Tolentino de Mendonçathe Italians Pietro Parolin and Matteo Zuppithe Hungarian Peter Erdothe Dutchman Willem Eijkthe American R. Leo Burkethe German Gerhard Müllerthe Maltese Mario Grech or the Canadian Marc Ouellet. Some have sounded more strength, others with less, and it is expected that noise will increase throughout the next few days and weeks. Even with speculation about names of Spanish prelates. If there is something really important and that it can already be valued at this point in the process, it is that in that extensive list of possible candidates two different trends can be identified that also reflect the drive within the Church: there are names that connect with the most open and progressive current, such as Tagle’s, and other conservative profile, Burke’s case. There are those who even add A third group: The establishment Vatican. Of names … and currents. If the figures are just figures, the names are just that: names. Much more interesting (at least at this point in the process) is the current of thought in which they are framed within the Vatican and if they show a more conservative or opening profile. Especially since the new Pope will have to complete a lot of the initiatives initiated by Francisco and for years the Church clearly transparent the different sensibilities that live in the institution, with obvious frictions for example In Germany either USA. The scenario is so complex and so relevant will be the figure of the new pontiff, that there are those who already He wonders openly to what extent Francisco has been in charge of leaving “armored” the changes he promoted during his pontificate, in which the debate was opened on some of the hottest issues of the Church: the paperthe Women’s figurehomosexuality (both Your presence In the bosom of the Church as the blessing of Couples) and the fight against abuse. Two examples: Germany and USA. The above are some of the most controversial issues in the Church and with which Francisco I has had to Bregar in his pontificate. To understand to what extent they raise internal differences in the Vatican, to what extent different mentalities coexist in its bosom and (above all) the capital importance that the next Pope will have, it is good to remember the challenges raised in recent years by the bishops of Germany and the US. In Germany the progressive Catholic movement Synod road impulse years ago A reformist wave focused on issues such as the blessings of gay couples, the ordination of women such as deacons or the marriage of priests that caused Certain friction (some Very popular) Among some Germanic and Rome bishops. “You cannot continue as until now, it is about transmitting the message of the Gospel here and now, and not always looking at the past,” argued in 2022 The president of the German Episcola Conference, Georg Gaetzing, reluctant to stop blessing believers of the same sex despite the repairs of Rome. Eeuu earrings… Francisco has also had to deal with the opposition from the US Curia. Although for a different reason. There the one that has left headlines is the ultraconservative faction, headed by … Read more

how “existential tired” has become the great industry of the West

In season 9, the twelfth doctor and clear They arrive at a space station In orbit around Neptune. It is the 38th century, on Tuesday. The ship is deserted and only encounter a small rescue mission, but none of that interests us today. We are interested in ‘Morpheus‘, strange machines that allow rest in record time without sleep. A magnificent way of not losing hours with closed eyes, of using our time in little useful things. And “with all the chemical advantages of rest.” “Congratulations, professor. He has revolutionized the labor market, has conquered nature, has created an aberration,” Capaldi says When they explain how the machine works. An “aberration” is true. But one with which many have often fantasized. One that many have ever used. Because, after all, what are the energy drinkshe Recreational methylphenidate or the techniques for Learn to sleep just four hours but small ‘morpheus’ machines? What are they but Symptoms of an increasingly tired society? When the body asks to stop V2osk The problem is that the tiredness we are talking about is much more than not sleeping. Chronic stress, lack of sleep, the increasingly accelerated and hyperactive life rhythms, digital overload, anxiety, burnout … the idea that we live in an increasingly exhausting society has become not only A common place of contemporary discourse, but in An identity feature of our time. That is why there is no lack of theories that try to find the key that allows us to explain what is happening. Some are well documented and add up To chronic lack of lack of sleep: This is the case of nutrition. Some specialists They have proposed The hypothesis that part of the generalized fatigue that affects us is due to minor vitamin or mineral deficits. The best known example is vitamin B12. A deficit of this vitamin can cause anemiaweakness and persistent fatigue. In severe cases, It can cause problems To breathe, dizziness or neurological problems. And, although marked nutritional deficiencies are not very common in healthy young adults, they do increase with age and, in an increasingly worse food contextthey can go unnoticed for months. In this sense, a B12 supplement can help us be less tired and, on a certain level, it can be an explanation, yes. But When we talk about exhaustion We talk about something that “You cannot easily explain in physical terms“, something that” resides on the border between the mind and the body. “ Hyperproductivity, multitasking and digital overload It is enough to review the data to coincide in that fatigue has become an ubiquitous phenomenon, an epidemic, a conviction: from the worker Burnout to the student saturated with information, through those who live in permanent anxiety … everyone has in common that rare feeling of fatigue, tiredness and exhaustion. According to eThe report State of the Global Workplace from Gallup to 44% of the professionals surveyed said they felt high levels of stress daily. And it is something that can be seen in other similar work reports, like this from Adecco in which he pointed out that 40% of workers Spanish and global They had suffered Burnout during the last year. The data has dropped slightly from the posterior peak to the pandemic, but They are still very high. Too high. Being direct: everything seems to indicate that, to purely organic causes, we must add the constant impact of a lifestyle focused on hyperproductivity (Toxic productivity), multitasking and permanent overload. As explained Harvard’s psychologist Natalie Dattilo, “feeling the pressure of being productive at every moment of the day – always a list of slopes and guilt for not fulfilling it – is a sign of this phenomenon that leads to anxiety, insomnia and extreme exhaustion.” In the 90, David Lewis coined The expression of “informative fatigue” to talk about mental exhaustion due to excess information. Today, with smartphones constitiously claiming our attention, That phenomenon has been globalized: Constant notifications, dozens of open eyelashes, a permanent stream of emails, chats and social networks. Is the story of A very expensive way of life at the cognitive level, of loss of efficiency and generalized fatigue. Interior fatigue Gabriel Benois Because, as Schaffner pointed very wellwhen we talk about exhaustion we talk about something that “cannot be easily explained in physical terms”, something that “resides on the border between the mind and the body.” To the malfunction of psychophysiological machinery and excesses of the social environment, something else must be added: the deep emotional, cultural and even philosophical roots of contemporary fatigue. That is, the idea that exhaustion is still a ‘cultural symptom’ of our time. In “The Society of Tiredness“, To look for one of the introductions most accessible to these ideas, the philosopher Byung-Chul have stated that we have ceased to be a” disciplinary society “(as Foucault defined us) and we have become a bizarre evolution of it: incommunicado masses of ‘businessmen’s businessmen’. It is what Almost a decade has denounced Jose César Peralesprofessor at the University of Granada, that “positive thought” is problematic “because it responds to An ideology and concrete economic motivationsbecause it makes the unique people who are good for feeling good, under the threat of being tildos de Toxicbecause hides the true causes of psychological well -being or discomfort, and because it interferes with serious interventions aimed at promoting mental and physical health. “ The self -exploitation that Han complaint either The ideological frames that Jonathan Crary examines They would be the mechanisms that promote a “society of exhausted, depressed and isolated individuals,” a world where “emblematic diseases of our century are no longer viral infections, but neural disorders such as depression, burnout syndrome or attention deficit disorder.” Are we more stressed than ever? With all this on the table it is difficult not to repeat that “We are more stressed than ever“. And yet, something does not fit. Little after we fell, we realize that the history of fatigue is somewhat more complicated. “Many ages tend to present … Read more

China’s robots represent an existential threat to the US, according to semi -health experts

“This is a call to action for the US and West. We are on the threshold of a non -linear transformation of The industrial societybut the basis on which US is intense is unstable. Automation and robotics They are going through a revolution which will allow the total automation of all strategic and manufacturing industries. These Smart robotic systems They will be the first industrial piece that will not be complementary, but completely additive: work 24/7 with a performance higher than any human being (…) “. “Currently the only country positioned to capture this level of automation is China, and, if it achieves it without the US to follow the same path, the expansion of production will be exclusive to China, which will represent an existential threat to the US when it is overcome in all its abilities.” This text is signed by Dylan Patel, Reyk Knuhttsen, Niko Ciminelli, Jeremie Eliahou Ontiveros, Joe Ryu and Robert Ghilduta, six experts from SEMIANALYSIS. This American consultant specializes in the analysis of the semiconductor industries and the artificial intelligence (AI), and their studies are usually reasonably accurate. China’s technological and scientific development rhythm is overwhelming The lines of the semi -toalysis report that I just mentioned contain a lot of interesting information, but without a doubt the most forceful reflection of how many they put on the table is none other than the great capacity that China has in the technological, scientific, and, of course, economic. It is evident that they all go hand in hand, but this attention call will hardly take off the US administrations and Western countries. We can be sure that their slow reflexes is not caused by ignorance. China has the necessary capacity and resources to dispute its world leadership position to the US The US government led by Joe Biden openly recognized the document that collects its National Security Strategy October 2022 that China has the necessary capacity and resources To dispute the US Its world leadership position. The social, economic, military and technological development that the country led by Xi Jinping has experienced during the last two decades supports this conclusion. The following literal extract of this document reflects very clearly why the US government considers China a threat: “The Popular Republic of China (RPC) is the only competitor that has both the intention of remodeling international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological capacity to do so. Beijing has the ambition to create a wide sphere of influence in the regions of the Indian and the Pacific, as well as to become the leading world power.” These lines perfectly condense the background history that has triggered The international situation in which we are. Anyway, as we have just seen, semi -health experts emphasize the development of robotics and automation technologies in China. In their text they do not speak of the possibility that the country of Xi Jinping use Robots for military applications; What they maintain is that this technology represents an existential threat to the US Due to its ability to radically transform the industrial model of which not only the country currently led by Donald Trump, but also Japan, South Korea, Taiwan or a good part of European countries, among other nations. At the current situation, staying behind in strategic field like this is not an option. Image | Generated by Xataka with Dall-e More information | SEMIANALYSIS In Xataka | Chinese scientists claim to have created something groundbreaking: the fastest and most efficient transistor that exists

Madrid libra a new existential battle in its tourist process: the invasion of the tuk tuk

Until not so long ago tuk tuk They were associated mainly with Thailand or India, populations of Asia where they circulated through crowded streets, often with foreigners on board. Not anymore. As Spain Win weight in the International Capital Tourist Circuit as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville either Alicante They have begun to see how These vehicles Light and three -wheeled, they reached their neighborhoods, becoming passing through A headache For the authorities. In Madrid They know well. So much that the City Council has launched to the complicated task of regular Your activity. Fever Tuktukera. In the most busy destinations the Tourist It is felt in different ways and on different fronts: in the real estate marketin The commercial fabric And in the streets. In February we told you how in the center of Madrid there are already bass that They have passed to host banks to become private and payment WC. The tuk tuk They are another test. A few years ago they associated with cities like Bangkok. Now they are common in Spanish destinations (Valencia, Alicante either A Coruñato mention three) where they offer tours for tourists who want to save walks. Click on the image to go to Tweet. THE CASE OF MADRID. Another clear example is Madrid. At least in the summer of 2023 the sector calculated that they operated there about 50 tuk tuk managed by a dozen companies and freelancers. It is not bad if you consider that fever Tuktukera It started in Spain makes less than a decadetowards 2016. That is a quick search for that year and a half In networks either Google It shows that in Madrid there are still people who offer tours aboard these light vehicles. In fact their number is high enough (or visible) so that they can be found in X complaints from neighbors who denounce their presence in THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE REAL PALACE either San Migueltwo Hot Spots of Madrid tourism. They also have been under time The media focus and of the municipal authorities, which They have put themselves To analyze your situation. But … why? Because although its number can be much lower than that of taxis (Madrid has 15,700 licenses) either VTC vehiclesthe tuk tuk They present certain peculiarities that have generated debate. Both in Madrid and other cities, including Seville, Barcelona either Alicante. The controversy usually revolves around several points: its presence in the streets (with the consequent Effect on traffic), its regulatory framework and the competition they pose for traditional mobility alternatives, such as taxis. The Tourism Area of ​​the City of Madrid I explained recently to The Spanish that belong to the category l of motor vehicles with less than four wheels and, therefore, have a circulation permission. Its normative lace seems, however, less clear. The city mayor itself, José Luis Martínez Almeida, I recognized A few months ago being “worried” about “the phenomenon of tuk tuk“ Click on the image to go to Tweet. Ordering the sector. In addition to recognizing your concern, in September Almeida revealed that had ordered the Councilor for Tourism to specify “the regulatory framework” that protects the tuk tuk. The objective: “to be able to make decisions about it.” The opposition itself He has shown In fact, their “doubts about the legal margins” in which these vehicles provide their tourist services, in addition to the competition they exert on licensed taxis. At the beginning of the year the City Council assured that he is studying “everything” related to the service, but warned that it is not the only administration that must act. “All this is being studied, but first it is necessary tuk tuk“, They remembered from the municipal area of ​​Finance. “They hinder traffic”. The debate around the regulatory framework has not prevented the tuk tuk Be well visible, especially in the points with the greatest flow of tourists in the city. “Apart from the Royal Palace, Bailén and Major the San Miguel market is horrible,” They recognized Recently from the sector. “Legally in these areas you can stop for a moment if it is to collect or leave the client; but many companies and self -employment stop, park, and offer their services to capture tourists, hindering traffic.” {“Videoid”: “X80ZM7F”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “How your town or city has changed in 40 years: This is the new function of Google Earth”, “Tag”: “”, “Duration”: “135”} In Atocha as in Bangladesh. The taxi drivers are also very critical and in 2023 they warned of the competition they suffered. “We begin to see that they take tourists in the hotels with suitcases and take them to the stations. We have detected them around Atocha, as if this were Bangladesh,” regretted At that time the professional federation of the Taxi of Madrid. Among the professionals who are in charge of driving these vehicles, they would “love to” have stops for tuk tuk regulated. Images | César (Flickr) In Xataka | Spanish tourism faces the real risk of dying of success. There are already guides that advise three of its great destinations (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news Madrid libra a new existential battle in its tourist process: the invasion of the tuk tuk It was originally posted in Xataka by Carlos Prego .

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