industry

How the South Korean aesthetic industry turned its beauty model into a global product

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In The era of filters, Collagen capsules and “glass” promisesbeauty has ceased to be local. It is no longer enough to go to the trusted aestheticist or continue A ten steps routine in front of the mirror. Today, to reach the ideal of globalized aesthetic perfection, many take a flight. And the most wanted destiny is not Paris or Beverly Hills, but Seoul. A booming industry. South Korea has become the epicenter of beauty tourism, a global trend that not only transforms faces, but also cultural imaginary and economic figures. In a report for The Timesmore than one million medical tourists traveled to South Korea in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. 68 % did so specifically to undergo aesthetic procedures, whether plastic surgery or dermatological treatments. And the sector does not stop growing. According to Grand View Researchthe South Korean aesthetic industry – valued at 2.4 billion dollars in 2024 – could exceed 6,300 million in 2030, promoted by international demand and advances in aesthetic technology. An experience “everything in one”. As They have detailed in The TimesGangnam district clinics-yes, the same PSY’s global hit-offer these types of experiences with packages that include 3D facial scanners, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, intravenous sera, microwave treatments to sculpt the face and even functional desserts such as pumpkin purés for post-treatment recovery. The British influencer and doctor Ewoma Ukeleghe shared in The Times Your experience: six treatments in one day, among them they rejure (An injection of salmon DNA) and Lifting wave. The promise of perfection. This boom is not accidental. As We already wrote in Xatakathe phenomenon feeds on multiple factors: the global impact of K-Pop and K-Drams, the Tiktok virality of products such as the Sheet Masks or the Korean tonic, and the rise of star ingredients such as collagen. Korean beauty not only offers visible results, but also an aspirational aesthetic wrapped in ritual, pop and science culture. However, there is also a dark side. As Dr. Christine Hall warns In The TimesIn South Korea there is an intense social pressure to maintain an impeccable image. “Presenting the best version of oneself is a sign of respect for others,” he explains. This logic, which may seem positive on the surface, encourages an extreme culture of perfectionism that, over time, can generate significant psychological impacts: from anxiety related to appearance to dependence on aesthetic treatments to sustain self -esteem. Unequal attention. Despite its international success, the system is not fully adapted to the foreign tourist. Although many clinics have personnel who speak English, others still depend on automatic translators such as Google Translate. In the Times report They tell the story of Ukeleghe, who reported how a nurse approached with an injection without explaining what it was; She, being a medical one, understood that it was a corticosteroid. But a patient without knowledge could have panicked. In addition, there is a real lack of attention to ethnic diversity. As experts in Byrdie point outNot all clinics have experience in working with skin tones other than Asia. This can lead to unexpected results, especially in laser or pigmentation treatments. The new Türkiye? The phenomenon reminds the boom of aesthetic surgeries in Türkiye or Colombia. In 2022, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Armegoons reported a 35% increase in complications among British patients who traveled to Türkiye for procedures such as liposuctions or implants, According to The Times. On the other hand, in Colombia, procedures such as the “360 liposculpture” or the increase in buttocks achieved such popularity that they attracted tourism from whole countries, although they were also subject to research for deaths and bad praxis, As The New York Times reported. And South Korea is not exempt from risks. During his visit, Ukeleghe rejected sedation precisely for not being clear about the presence of an anesthetist in case of emergency. In social networks, a viral video circulated – then eliminated – in which an American woman denounced having lost vision in an eye after a complication with Juvenlook, one of the most popular treatments in Korea. Although the case was not officially verified, the event generated concern and debate. In addition, Dr. Hall warns of “factory” clinics that apply treatments with just minutes of previous evaluation, reducing costs at the expense of security. The pressure of not aging. The rise of collagen as a magical solution for youth is no stranger to this ecosystem. As we wrote in Xatakahas become a symbol of self -care, but also of aesthetic anxiety. Although some studies point to mild benefits in elasticity or joint health, many are funded by the brands themselves. Even so, marketing insists: hydrolyzed, vegetable collagen, peptides, exosomes … Everything is sold as the new elixir. But perhaps the problem is not in the ingredients, but in a society that penalizes any trace of the passage of time, especially in women. The female social and professional invisibility when aging is not a myth: it is documented. More, less scalpel. The next border of Korean beauty tourism is marked by artificial intelligence and extreme customization. According to Byrdietreatments created from genetic analysis, facial scans and aging prediction algorithms are expected. Beauty becomes not only attainable, but calculable. A symptom that goes further. In this context, it may be worth asking if the real challenge is not in technology, but in ideal. In other words, perhaps the collagen is not the elixir of youth, but the reflection of a society that seeks to stop the clock at all costs. Dr. Hall emphasizes that the aesthetic innovation in Korea advances at such a speed that some treatments that promise to be revolutionaries end up disappearing before consolidating or even arriving in Europe. What today is a trend, tomorrow can be obsolete. Meanwhile, the clinics are still full, the flights to Seoul are sold as an investment in oneself and the hashtags like #kbeeautytrip do not stop accumulating millions of visualizations. Perhaps the real challenge is not to soften … Read more

Extremadura promised them very happy with its powerful Spanish tomato industry. Until China arrived

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More than market fluctuationsthe production costs or the rain. If there is something capable of removing the dream from Spanish farmers dedicated to tomato cultivation, China is. The Asian giant is the great tomato garden of the world and it is increasingly difficult to compete with its prices. Hence, in Extremadura, the region that More hectares dedicated to industrial plantations, recognize That today the competition of the Asian vegetable is its “biggest problem.” The big question is … What to expect from now on? Tomato “Made in Extremadura”. If we talk about Spanish tomatoespecially from industry oriented, Extremadura is the king. In the 2023 campaign, the 75% of the surface of cultivation of the country, at a considerable distance from Andalusia (11.3%) and Navarra (7.9%). And the percentage is even greater if we talk about production volume. In 2021 the regional government estimated that the surface dedicated to the crop was around 23,000 hectares. Throughout Spain it was around 31,000. A sector with swings. The tomato industry is powerful, but like many other crops is subject to the fields of the field and the market. In January, for example, Extremaduran farmers They alerted that the price of the fruit was below the cost of production: the vegetable ton was quoted at 107 euros in the private industry and 115 in cooperatives, far from the 140 reached in 2024 or the average cost of production of recent years, which It was 128. “The situation of tomato is unbearable. If urgent measures are not taken, many farmers will be forced to abandon the crop, which will seriously affect the sustainability of the sector and employment in the Extremaduran field,” warned At the beginning of the year Juan Metidieri, president of Aigg Extremadura Asaja. This year the culture surface will be reduced by several hectares, Precise The economistamong other reasons to avoid stock accumulation. China slopes. In the sector there is, however, something that rests so much or more than production costs or fluctuations in the price of the vegetable. Farmers have been concerned for a long time. Heavyweight of the world tomato market, China, which leads the “Top 4” next to the United States, India and Türkiye. According to data from World Population Reviewits production exceeded in 2022 the 68 million tons and a large part of that fruit ends in the world market -oriented market circuit. The problem is not so much the huge production of China and its prices and the pressure they exert in the sector. A few months ago, during An interview with Financial TimesFrancesco Mutti, the executive director of the sauce manufacturer who takes his last name, warned that much of the cheap tomato paste that arrives from China occurs in the Xinjiang region, where companies benefit from “very, very low labor costs.” That panorama and the different requirements facing European and Asian crops They worry Also in Extremadura. “It’s the biggest problem”. Its effect on the market worries so much that Domingo Fernández, president of APIS Group and manager of Agrifood Cooperatives of Extremadura, recognized recently to The economist that right now the Chinese tomato represents “the biggest problem.” The reason? In his opinion, the differences in controls in Spain and China derives in a “unfair competition.” Similar opinion shared Recently in Today José A. Gutiérrez, Farmer: “What we can not compete in the supermarket with products that enter Spain without those limitations. Compites against a Chinese tomato that has no traceability. It requires controls that are not appreciated in the market.” Are you worrying alone in Extremadura? At all. The sector has been on guard for Asian competition for years, something that is seen with concern both in Extremadura and in other regions or countries of Europe. In 2016 the Las Marismas Cooperativa, in Andalusia, He warned Of the challenges that Spanish farmers face: “They ask us for European quality at the price of Chinese tomato, something impossible taking into account the costs for the industry.” If someone has expressed themselves in a resounding and achieved echo manner in the sector, it is, however, the Italian Francesco Mutti, at the head of a business conglomerate dedicated to food that only in 2023 he billed 665 million of euros. Restrictions, tariffs? “We should stop the importation of Chinese tomato paste or add a 60% tax so that its cost is not so different from Italian products,” Mutti advocates before insisting that “more than 90%” of China’s tomatoes occur in Xinjiang, a region subject to scrutiny of the United Nations allegations of Human Rights against the Uigur minority, including episodes of forced labor. “We must protect them”. According to FTin 2024 China monopolized 23% of the global tomato production, several points above 18% of the previous year. Its production is also much cheaper: Chinese tomato paste costs about half that created in Italy. “We must teach our farmers to grow better, but also protect them from unfair competition. Otherwise, the result will not be a better environment, but to transfer our production abroad,” Mutti advocateswho has already sent his concerns to Brussels. The panorama, Remember Antonio Lucas MarínProfessor of Sociology and Economist, it does not seem simple: China The flow of Chinese tomato paste has been growing after the increase in energy and fertilizers in Europe. In the case of Extremadura, Asian competition will not be felt alone in Spain. The export community Thousands of tons of prepared or preserved tomato. “The Extremadura Tomato Transformation Industries have become the leading agri -food export sector Extremadura, ahead of the fruit. More than 80% of the total is allocated to the export market, with prominent markets such as France, the United Kingdom or Germany among many others,” he says A report on the production and economic footprint of the sector published in 2022. Images | Sue Thompson (Flickr), /Ricardo (UNSPLASH) and Lid (Flickr) In Xataka | The science of finding tomatoes that really know Tomate, that increasingly elusive holy grail

Back to V8 or walk to the electric car. And that says everything about how the industry is

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“The electric is the future” The words are from Koji Watanabe, head of HRC (Honda Racing Corporation), the division of the Japanese firm in charge of developing the technologies that their teams (and those that hire them) use in the competition. Yeah Formula 1 goes back To the V8 engines, they leave. That is what the Japanese wanted to make clear. Right now, the company does not have an official car inside the championship but supply its engines to Red Bull. In 2026, They will do the same with Aston Martin And they have not ruled out having more customers for the future. But his role in the historic competition can have an expiration date. It all depends on the direction of the sport. The FIA (International Automobile Federation) wants to back the path to the electrification that took formula 1 in 2014. Its bet: Back to Combustion Motors V8. Some teams are for the work but others like Audi or Honda (this as supplier) do not want to hear about the matter. And the dispute threatens to put the sport up. “We didn’t come for this” The first thing we have to know is what is the current situation. The 2026 season will be a year of changes, we will have new chassis in cars and new power units. These power units will finally be maintained as a hybridized turbo. Of course, the weight of the electrification will be greater and the fuel will have to be 100% sustainable from 2026. This regulation should be in force until 2030. The problem is that since the arrival of the V6 Turbo hybridized in 2014 Fans have been complaining that something has died with The end of the V8 and V10. In 2021, despite everything, the regulations of these engines froze to prevent that Honda’s exit will leave Red Bull behind. The background problem is that new engines are giving bad results in simulations. To the point that There is spoils slower than those of Formula 2. The reason is that electrification will become 45% of the total power that a car can deliver (it is currently in 20%) and it is even believed that in a circuit like Monza, the pilot would have to lift the foot at the end of line so as not to end the battery and run out of electrical power for much of what remains circuit. That is especially important next year, since the electric motor will go from delivering a maximum of 120 kW (163 hp) to 350 kW (475 hp). Run without power electric at the end of a line is to be sold for the rest of the return with a very slow car. The way of driving and understanding the car changes radically. “The engine changes completely when braking and curves to produce additional energy, directly feeding on the battery. Therefore, the engine assumes the task of a generator at specific times,” explains Hywel Thomas, responsible for the development of Mercedes engines to Auto Motor Und Sport. That is, at times, the car will act as a series hybrid. That is why some manufacturers have long been moving threads to return the sport to larger engines and reduce the electric weight. He came to talk about returning to the V10whose devastating sound is iconic. Finally, they are pressure to return to the V8. That movement has not liked Honda, who consider that “electrification is a fundamental element To move towards a sustainable future, “making it clear that they do not wait for them if this happens. And he didn’t like Audi either. The company of the four hoops will have a car next year on the grill but the Germans say that ” Hybrid power units It was a key factor “for the company to launch into the pool. They have stressed that “the new regulation was planned for 2026 and beyond”. Returning to V8 is a setback for brand investments just over two years seen. And his message was clear: the V8 “was not for what we came here.” A message that clashes frontally with a good part of the manufacturers. In Motorpasion They collected months ago Ferrari, Ford and Cadillac (Ford will supply Red Bull engines and Cadillac will have its own equipment) They already supported the idea of returning to the V10 engines. And, without committing, Mercedes launched the message in China that “we have an open mind. We are prepared for any engine.” Everything this mess tells us about the industry What is being played with the next big change of regulations is much further than simply, the engines that the cars will use in the competition. It is no accident that Honda and Audi, firms that in their street cars are betting on the electrificationoppose the return of large V8 engines, in the worst stage for them, V10. Nor is it accidental that firms such as Ferrari, Ford and Cadillac support this second scenario. Or that Mercedes does not see him with bad eyes. Already in 2023Christian Horner, Mandamás de Red Bull that recently has been firedhe said that “maybe we return to some V8 or V10 that are totally sustainable. It would be fantastic!” This supposed sustainability goes through the use of 100% synthetic fuels, an idea that would have to go hand in hand if you want to reduce the electrification volume. The key here is that F1 is still seen as a laboratory. The jump to hybridization with the V6 Turbo was designed for manufacturers to explode what they learned with the MGU-H in its street vehicles. However, this component is really expensive and has barely had development out of the competition. With this failure in mind, Ferrari, Ford and Cadillac press to return to the V8 engines. The Italian company aspires to Synthetic fuels are part of its essence in the future. And it also has in mind continue developing large engines combustion since they will allow you to continue selling … Read more

The Xiaomi Su7 has surprised the entire industry. So much that Hyundai is taking them to Korea to inspect them

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A Xiaomi Su7 Max It has been sighted being transported to the Hyundai offices in Seoul. It has been caught since it carried a provisional research registration. As affirms The South Korean medium Bloter, Hyundai has imported several units of Chinese electric Berlin to analyze them in depth in their R&D centers. Xiaomi is hoarding great success In the world of motor racing with its latest proposals and everything indicates that the South Korean firm seeks to decipher the keys to the success of a model that has revolutionized the market. Hyundai also asks the question. Su7 has become the phenomenon of the year in the world of electric car. Xiaomi has achieved something that seemed impossible: to match the performance of a Porsche Taycan in a car that costs significantly less. With more than 300,000 units sold in just 15 months and The nürburgring record For a production electric, the Chinese model is raising blisters in traditional manufacturers. Su7 Max being carried by a truck to the Hyundai Research Center. Image: Weibo A car to investigate. The South Korean company You will transfer the units acquired to your research center Namyang in Hwaseong and his Seoul headquarters to submit them to an exhaustive analysis. In the reverse engineering process they seek to understand every technical aspect of the vehicle, from its electrical architecture to its Hyperos infotainment system, inherited from Xiaomi’s experience in smartphones. What interests most. Hyundai engineers will pay special attention to the user interface and the SU7 entertainment system, which They have been compared Favorably with Bluelink Connect of the Korean brand. Xiaomi has a great career in the software of its phones, and its work in the SU7 has been so prominent that it has become one of the aspects most valued by users and experts in the sector. A generalized concern. The Chinese advance in the automobile sector is sitting like a jug of cold water to traditional manufacturers. Euisun Chung, executive president of the Hyundai group, already He warned In an internal meeting that “there are inevitable challenges ahead”, clearly referring to competitors such as Byd and Xiaomi. Hyundai’s investment in this segment has grown 15% in the last year, reaching 32.4 billion dollars. And now what. With an expected investment of 17.6 billion dollars by 2025, almost half aimed at R&D, the company seeks to maintain its competitive position in a market where the rules of the game They are changing at a dizzying speed. Although SU7 will not officially reach Europe until 2027, its influence is already predicting an earthquake in the sector. Cover image | Xiaomi In Xataka | Xiaomi will try to repeat in 2027 what worked with mobile phones: that Europeans forget that they need expensive cars

The US pressure forces China to independent its chip industry. These two projects are their best cards

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China has no choice. Or develops its own manufacturing technology of avant -garde semiconductors or will lose its struggle for world supremacy With the US. No 100% Chinese advanced chips their military capacity, the development of their models of artificial intelligence (AI) and the competitiveness of their technology companies will resent in the medium term. Huawei and SMIC are manufacturing advanced integrated circuits, but use machines from the Dutch company ASML and a technology known as Multiple patterning that compromises its competitiveness. This scenario has caused the Chinese government support with very juicy subsidies to companies that have the ability to develop avant -garde photolithography equipment, such as SicarrierShanghai YuliangSheng, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Smee), Huawei or SMIC. Time plays against this Asian country. How much later in having their own machines of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE), which are those used to make very high integration chips, more delayed will be in front of the US and its allies. 2026 will be a crucial year for China in the field of chips The Chinese Academy of Sciences is finishing what is undoubtedly The most ambitious project How many are developing the Chinese semiconductor industry. Thanks to this plan the nation led by Xi Jinping is about to reach a “Deepseek” in the field of integrated circuit industry. This simply means that it is preparing to reach a disruption that has the potential to place this Asian country at the same height as the US, Taiwan or South Korea. However, China’s strategy to produce avant -garde chips is very different from what their rivals have used until now. Each of ASML UVE machines incorporates its own ultraviolet light source, but the Chinese Academy of Sciences seeks to generate this important radiation to produce advanced chips using a syncrotronwhich is nothing other than a circular particle accelerator that is used to analyze atomic level the properties of matter, such as various types of materials, or even proteins. It’s called heps (High Energy Photon Source or high -energy photons source), it is in Beijing and we can see it in the cover photography of this article. Heps syncrotron has the ability to produce high power UVE light An important note before moving forward: the ultraviolet light (UV) is responsible for transferring the geometric pattern that contains the design of the chips to the Silicon wafer. This means, in broad strokes, that the UVE light has the ability to make possible the manufacture of integrated circuits with a greater resolution than the deep ultraviolet light (UVP) that use the previous generation lithography machines that China has in their hands. And a greater resolution in practice implies that it is possible to produce semiconductors with more transistors, and, therefore, more sophisticated and powerful. A priori we can think that a particle accelerator has nothing to do with the manufacture of integrated circuits, but we would be overlooking something very important: the Heps syncrotron has the ability to produce high power UVE light. In fact, it is a source designed to generate a large amount of radiation. China’s plan is to place around the particle accelerator Several semiconductor manufacturing plants to which the syncotron will deliver the UVE light in the same way that a power plant delivers electricity to its customers. That simple. The date on which China plans to start this megaphabrum of avant -garde semiconductors has not yet leaked, but it is already very advanced. However, China’s plans do not end here. In the middle of last March several Asian media collected a photograph taken at the Huawei Research Center in Dongguan, in the province of Canton, in which it appeared The prototype of a UVE lithography team Designed and manufactured entirely in China. Presumably this machine is similar to those produced by ASML, which invites us to anticipate that for 2026 the country led by Xi Jinping will have the ability to produce advanced chips on a large scale. This Chinese lithography equipment uses an LDP type ultraviolet source and not LPP class The leaks They assure That unlike the UVE machines produced by the Dutch company ASML, this Chinese lithography equipment uses an LDP ultraviolet light source (laser induced discharge), and not LPP class (plasma generated by laser). Presumably The development of this ultraviolet radiation emission source It is the milestone that has allowed Chinese engineers to develop a machine that Many experts did not see possible before five years in the best case. At the moment the most prudent is that we take this information with caution, but it seems solid enough to echo it. An interesting note is that on paper the LDP source is able to generate UVE light with a wavelength of 13.5 nm, so this Chinese prototype should be able to compete from you to you with ASML UVE photolithography machines. In addition, the leaks argue that China will begin the production of more test machines during the third quarter of this year with the purpose of launching the large -scale manufacture of these equipment during 2026. Image | Dr. Kim More information | Dr. Kim In Xataka | TSMC acknowledges that it has been considered taking its factories out of Taiwan. It is impossible for a good reason

Japan is reconquesting at full speed the chips industry. He has just manufactured his first 2 nm transistor

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Rapidus corporation It has just officialized A very important achievement: it has successfully manufactured its first 2 nm transist. It is very unusual for a company based just three years ago already stepping on the heels to the three giants of the semiconductor production industry: TSMC, Intel and Samsung. These companies plan to start Large scale manufacturing of 2 nm chips During the second semester of 2025, and, although Rapidus is not yet ready to manufacture this type of integrated circuits, the speed with which it is reaching intimidated milestones. This last company is with Tokyo Electron and JSR Corporation the best option in Japan for recover relevance which he had in the semiconductor industry in the 80 They monopolized in 1988 Nothing less than 50% of the chips industry. However, today none of these companies is positioned among the leaders of a sector dominated with iron fist by Taiwanese, American, Chinese, South Korean and German companies. Rapidus is fulfilling its promises one by one The latest generation semiconductor production plant that this company has put up in northern Japan, in the city of Chitose (Hokkaido), started the wafer processing tests in a pilot line. The directive plan of this factory is to start large -scale production of 2 Nm semiconductors in 2027, and is perfectly credible. In fact, the milestone that has just announced invites us to anticipate that they could even manufacture these chips massively before the end of 2026, although it is only a conjecture. Rapidus is a very young company. It was founded on August 10, 2022 by the Japanese government with an initial capital of 7,346 million yen (Something less than 46 million euros) contributed by, and here comes the interesting, Sony, Toyota, Nec, Softbank, Kioxia, Denso, Nippon Telegraph and MUFG Bank. The initial capital invested in the constitution of this company is not very bulky, but there is no doubt that the companies that participate in it They have an indisputable relevance in the sectors of technology, automotive and telecommunications. The purpose of Rapidus is to tune an automated production line that will be specialized in the manufacture of 2 Nm chips for AI applications The relevance of this organization, in any case, lies in the role entrusted to him by the government currently led by Shigeru ishiba. And, as I mentioned a few lines above, this is the company with which Japan aspires to recover competitiveness in the semiconductor manufacturing industry that had three decades ago. Its economy is at stake. In fact, this Asian country began to deploy its strategy to reinforce its integrated circuit industry more than two years ago, so the first results begin to see the light. What is causing the new Rapidus factory to monopolize the looks of the semiconductor sector is that, According to Atsuyoshi Koikewhich is the president of the company, will be completely automated. Its purpose is to resort to robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to set up An automated production line which will be specialized in the manufacture of 2 Nm chips for AI applications. Its plan consists, in short, to produce integrated circuits faster, with a lower and more quality cost. To manufacture these semiconductors, equipment of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) produced by the Dutch company ASML, and practically all manufacturing processes are automatic. However, the tests of test and validation, interconnection and packaging of the chips are still largely carried out manually in most manufacturing plants. According to Rapidus, its automation technology of all these processes will allow you to reduce the delivery time of your chips by 66% compared to the times they usually offer TSMC and Samsung. More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | Japan takes the initiative with nuclear fusion and sets an extremely ambitious date: the 2030s In Xataka | Japan has taken the carrier to dominate the chips industry. Prepare a 325,000 million dollar plan

We have our attention so broken that a buoyant industry has emerged: keyboards “without distractions”

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In 2024 more than 90,000 books. It is estimated that in the United States the figure was much greater and reached three millionincluding self -published books. Those numbers make something very clear: The world has been filled with writers. Those who write do so in addition to many ways. The traditional typewriter has practically disappeared to give way to the computer, and the versatility of this technological product has made the experience more personal than ever. The blank folio, but on the screen Thus, while some write on the desktop computer, others do it in the laptop, but in that experience they import the details, such as the type of keyboard used – with the popular ones Mechanical keyboardsfor example – or, of course, the application that each one uses to write. The famous case of George Rr Martin with The mythical and very old Wordstar It is almost anecdotal, because there are currently many more modern rivals. Microsoft Word is the obvious option, but the rivals have pressed remarkably in this sector. Thus, a huge amount of applications and services designed for writers have appeared such as Scrivener, Ulysses, iawriter, Manuskripteither Ghostwriter. In many cases one of the foci of these applications was not just to help the writer in areas such as the structure of the novel or the organization of the characters and the plot. They also usually have a mode without distractions, which usually manifest with the digital version of the blank folio: the totally empty interface, without tool or menus bars. Only a cursor flashing and waiting for us. Welcome to keyboards without distractions These software applications are also accompanied by some hardware devices specifically written oriented. They are a modern version of traditional writing machines: products totally thought to do one thing and only one: write. Freewrite Traveler. These “keyboards without distractions“They usually integrate small screens in which the text we are writing is showing, but there is nothing more than we can do with them. They have internet connectivity, but only with the aim of being able to synchronize those texts with the cloud to save them. Nothing of web browsers, no social networks, nothing of (is supposed to) distractions. All of them try to create a” concentration bubble “so that whoever writes is centered exclusively on it. The clear reference in this segment is Freewriteof the Astrohaus company, which manufactures several keyboards without distractions with that proposal. In them we normally have: Internet connectivity Small but sufficient flash memory to store several manuscripts Internal battery Screen: Normally of electronic ink, but also LCD This electronic ink screen of several models makes it more comfortable to have long writing sessions and contributes to the autonomy of the battery being lasting. The most remarkable alternative to Freewrite machines is Pomberaof the Japanese company King Jim, which has launched some of its smodels on collective financing platforms such as Indiegogo. Pomra DM250US It is, of course, devices with a high price for how specific they are. Here it is likely that the limited production lots will ensure these products, but still Your price/benefits ratio is not remarkable. Freewrite Traveler, for example, has a price of 603.95 euros In the official Freewrite store. Pomera’s recent rival – with LCD screen – has an official price of $ 449, almost 400 euros. In Xataka we have contacted three users of these devices: two of them English -speaking, and a young Spanish. All of them have bought and used at least one of these types of keyboards without distractions or some similar alternative, and have had the kind of sharing the experience with us. Looking for digital substitute to the notebook and the ball ILIA EPIFANOV, writer and editorhe has published more than 30 works, among which are short stories, books and even comics. When he decided to buy one of these devices, he tells us, “I was looking for a compact machine and allowed me to write without distractions.” Discovered the Freewrite devices“But the price seemed high, and I also looked for something more portable. Ended up deciding on the Nokia E7a smartphone launched in 2011 that had a drop -down physical keyboard under the housing. “It is small, well done and causes nostalgia,” he said, “although it certainly has its limitations.” He admits that he would not recommend it to most people, especially since the keyboard is not suitable for use for long periods of time. But for this user one of the keys to this old device is that it is old and most of its applications are useless today. That makes it focus only as a keyboard without distractions, because as he says “I love its simplicity: you display the keyboard and simply write.” Carl Dikington “Pseudonym that.” Use in Reddit Our second guest – is an autonomous worker who writes both professionally and for hobby. He also began looking for alternatives to write without distractions, and began by the cheapest and less technological: a notebook and a ball. He soon realized that did not seem practical, and after looking for devices of this type, he opted for the Freewrite Traveler, who chose for his portability but that “if I am honest, I chose in front of others for aesthetic reasons. I simply liked her appearance, and I thought that if I was going to spend a good part of the day looking at him, I wanted me to like her design.” This type of products “do not magic,” he confessed. “You still need to force yourself to sit and write, and that will always be a complex task. And that is the real problem. We let computers distract us because we want to avoid the difficulty of writing. Eliminating those distractions does not eliminate the desire to be distracted, and the world has a lot of additional distraction sources to which we can submit.” It is an important reflection, and reveals the reality of some devices that of course avoid the distractions … Read more

The AI ​​industry has become a kind of ‘game of thrones’. And that reveals a worrying truth for your future

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Sam Altman, CEO of Openai, must be pulling the hairs. In recent days Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, “He has sneaked into his house” and has stolen no less than seven of his most valuable engineers. He has done it with the oldest tactics in the world. He money. In fact, the finish lines have shaken the foundations of the AI ​​industry, because it has not stopped spending true money with the aim of hiring all the talent of the IA that has been able. The situation has turned these engineers into the new superstars of Silicon Valley, with absolutely stratospheric salaries that are linked to the eternal promise that AI will end up changing the world. Goal is betting everything to that belief, and has decided to go for all spending huge fortunes Not already in data centersbut in talent. Let’s summarize: According to Altman himself, the Zuckerberg company offered initial bonds of 100 million dollars -although They were not exactly that – to some specific talents of AI to sign by goal. Fact offers reach 300 million dollars in four years According to Wired. Several of the “tempted” engineers per finishing have ended up accepting those millionaire offers. According to a internal statement From Zuckerberg himself, there have been 11 engineers who have signed by goal. Seven come from Openai, three from Google and one from Anthropic. Meta has also paid $ 14.9 billion for 49% participation in Scaleai, but above all for signing Alexandr Wangits CEO, which will now collect the new goal superintelligence division. They have also signed Nat Friedman, Exceiver of githubwhich will collect that new division with Wang. And they have just signed Daniel Gross, who Safe Superintelligence co -founded Together with Ilya Sutskever just a few months ago. For those last two target signings he has offered Buy a participation 49% in the Risk Capital Fund of Friedman and Gross, called NFDG. The value of the operation is unknown. Welcome to the Game of Thrones of the AI The last movements are nothing more than a confirmation of Zuckerberg’s voracity, which has moved quickly and with that irresistible hook of checks (almost) blank. And meanwhile, its competitors have been exposed to a reality: That AI has become a ‘game of thrones’. This industry is seeing from its beginnings and notable coming. At first, however, these internal movements were motivated by personal differences, visions or ambitions. Now many seem simply motivated by money. Thus, we saw how Openai’s origins became a new “Paypal Mafia” from which new startups arose. These first movements had a lot to do with a simple reason: some confudators and employees of OpenAi did not support Altman or did not share their vision. And that was how we saw several outstanding startups derived from those tensions: However, they all abandoned by OpenAi’s boat not so much for money – which probably also – as well as betting on another different vision. Of those “Morales” resignations We have gone to absolutely mercenary resignations in which money – and not the mission or vision of the company – is the clear factor of movement. That has made Altman recently said, there are two sides: that of the missionaries – which faithful to the companies in which they began their career, and that they believe in their vision and objectives – and the mercenaries that are sold to the highest bidder. AND According to Altman“The missionaries will overcome mercenaries.” The case of Sutskever, which confirmed yesterday the newsIt is especially painful, because now he runs out of his main adventure partner – Daniel Gross. The Sutskever startup is, as in the case of Murati, an absolute mystery: They have no visible productbut they have still achieved extraordinary investment rounds. It was in fact leaked that Zuckerberg came to make an offer to Sutskever To buy your startup, valued at 32,000 million dollars. Sutskever himself seemed to confirm that information by saying that “we feel flattered for their attention, but we are focused on our work.” Betrayals point to an awkward reality: AI is, above all, smoke These movements speak of a deeper problem in the AI ​​industry: those that can be trying to make their particular August, because it is not clear that the promises and the expectation generated by these companies end up becoming a reality. The clearest example is in the recent case of Daniel Gross, co -founder with Sutskever by Safe Superintelligence. In his message confirming the news of his partner’s departure, Sutskever said that “we have (the resources of) computing, the team and we know what to do. Together we will continue to build a safe superintelligence.” It is clear that Daniel Gross knew the same thing that Sutskever knows about the progress of that work, so, If they were so clear about the goal and knew how to achieve it, why change the side? If someone knew that he was going to win the race with his car, would he change it for another simply because they pay him for doing so? It makes no sense. And that tells us about the great truth of the world of AI: that despite all those expectations and all that money, nobody knows for sure if this technology will change the world as many believe it will change it. But in the meantime, the mercenaries will take advantage of it. Quevedo already said. Powerful gentleman is Don Money. Image | Max In Xataka | Four decades ago China decided to invest in forming millions of engineers. Today that plan gives it advantage in the race for AI

The US tried to the desperate strangular the Chinese chip industry. It has taken two months to back down

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There is a key to be able to manufacture the best processors in the world: have access to software that allows you to design them. And there, at least currently, the leadership still has the United States through three companies: Siemens, Synopsys and Cadence. The Trump administration has been since May trying to pull the rope with China To use this software as a throwing weapon. And the play has not finished doing well. The context. On May 29, the Office of Industry and Security of the US Department of Commerce He gave the order: EDA software is ended up to Chinese groups. A movement that sought to stop China’s incessant advance in semiconductors, at a key moment in which the country led by Xi Jiping is achieving milestones in its lithographic, current and future processes. The answer. China, which has been looking for technological self -sufficiency for decades and reduce its dependence with the United States, saw in these new restrictions “the greatest opportunity for history growth”, according to some of the main figures after Chinese EDA software companies. Triggered action, national commitment to a product that has been refining years, and even publication in Github of some of the advances they were achieving in this matter. What happened. The restrictions imposed on the sale of software by Siemens, Cadence and Synopsys have been terminated with immediate effect, According to SCMP. The three giants of this industry can resume their commercial ties with China, so their supply chain can resume the use of these crucial tools. What will happen now. That the United States has unlocked (at least, for now) the use of EDA software is an oxygen ball for the Chinese semiconductor industry. The country is close to achieving capacity to make 5nm chipsalthough It is still choking progress in this lithographic process Before the prohibitions of the US and the Netherlands that prevent Asml extreme ultraviolet photolithography (UVE). Access to American Eda will be key, but not the key to the future of the country. Empyrean Technology, Primarius Technologies and Semitronix are the names to remember. Three Chinese giants who want to stand up to the three American giants, a task that will not be easy. The American Eda Empire. Together, Siemens, Synopsys and Cadence are around 80% of the global in this industry. They monopolize almost all of the EDA market and are one of the main strategic pillars in the semiconductor design industry. Figures that will not allow China to approach in the short term, but that will not move her away from her inevitable destiny: Lead the semiconductor industry, sooner or later. Image | TSMC In Xataka | We already know what the chips that will arrive until 2039 will be. The machine that will manufacture them is close

How a handful of producers save the industry every year

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‘Father there is only one 5‘He has razed at the box office. Santiago Segura does not abandon the extraordinary streak of his saga of family films and in his first weekend in Salas he has exceeded his main competitor, ‘F1, the film’, with Brad Pitt. Its accumulated box office touches 1.9 million but if we add its data since Thursday the global reaches 2.4 million euros. That is, with only a few days in his poster, he is already the fourth highest grossing of the year, advancing ‘the infiltrated’. Although Spanish cinema, according to 2024 data Published by Comscorelive a certain phase of stagnation (the figures are good, but they do not grow significantly from one year to another), the truth is that there are more films than ever. It is no longer strange to see national blockbusters that occasionally rival Hollywood’s productions. And taquillazos or not, the number of Spanish films in the cinemas is overwhelming: in 2024 558 films were released, of which 342 were premieres and the rest or films released in 2023 that still remained on the poster or re -restrenes. The result is 35 Spanish films more than in 2023. A simple calculation leads us to an average of seven Spanish films a week Just telling news. In Spain a lot of cinema occurs. This report also detects a certain collection stagnation: 82.2 million, practically identical to the 82.7 million of 2022. In the short term there is hardly any ascending evolution: in 2019, for example, it was around 92 million. In the medium term, it has experienced a remarkable increase: in 2013, more than a decade ago, 70.1 million were collected. What has not been reached is the pre-pandemic figures between one point and another, where 100 million often exceeded, as happened in years such as 2014 (131.8 million), 2015 (111.7 million), 2016 (110 million), 2017 (103.7 million) and 2018 (100 million). That is why Spanish cinema Espabile in terms of box office is expected to return to those figures. The sum of stagnant collection and fired production leads us to Another phenomenon: box office concentration in a few titles. The five highest bullfighting Spanish films in 2024 raised almost 44% of everything collected by Spanish cinema. If we expand the focus, the twenty highest grossing accumulate 80%. So it is normal that we can talk about a series of proper names, producers and producers that, in some way, are those who “hold” Spanish cinema: many of them are known by notorious box office hits, but they also finance more calls to be niche, to collect much less or move by alternative circuits. It was not the case of ‘The infiltrated‘, one of the most notable surprise successes of 2024: its producer María Luisa Gutiérrez surprised to collect the Goya for Best Film dedicating part of His speech to his partner Santiago Segura. We are going to review some of those outstanding producers of the Spanish industry, which produce commercial box office successes and also reinvute in smaller products. Many of them are also “patron” of a less profitable cinema which is the one that really fattens these premieres figures beyond the handful of annual blockbusters. Not everyone moves by these parameters exactly, so we analyze case by case. Note: We have dispensed with this list of very relevant producers of the world of television and streaming, since they leave our object of analysis of the producers that “support” the film industry, although the transfer of directors, screenwriters and performers is increasingly common between cinema and television. Similarly, some of the pictures with figures can call an error, since pure box office collections are reflected in front of budgets, not counting the subsidies that the films receive and that, without them, can throw negative balances. What undoubtedly gives much more merit to the positive numbers of producers such as safe, benito or rock. Santiago Segura Graph: Javier Lacort Like your cinema or not, it is the main value of Spanish cinema. In 2024, ‘Father there is only one 4 ‘raised 13.4 million euroswith almost 2.2 million viewers. The previous deliveries were always the highest grossing of their respective years of premiere, and safe has been accompanying them with other similar formula productions, such as’ to every train. Asturias destination ‘, the highest grossing film of 2021. But also, its producer Bowfingerwhich has together with the aforementioned María Luisa Gutiérrez, also produces very different films, such as ‘La Infiltrada’, which despite its modesty became the second highest grossing Spanish film of 2024, with 8’1 million euros. In addition to another family comedy, ‘The Beneston family’ and its four million euros, Bowfinger has raised 31% of the Spanish cinema box office in 2024. The work of Bowfinger also crystallizes in the production of films not only away from the family style of safe films, but from a more independent cut: evening’. The Javis Perhaps the most media producers of the moment, and in which it is complex to distinguish between more commercial and author pieces, since they all imprisoned their unequivocal personal seal. The most personal and ambitious normally direct them (‘Paquita Salas’, ‘Veneno’, ‘The Messiah’). In its producer Sum Contentalways under an unequivocal global author style, they accommodate other more modest and more limited rains (‘Terror and Fair’, ‘Cardo’, ‘A Christmas with Samantha Hudson’, ‘Dressed in blue’). Although most of their productions are for television and streamingwe have included them in this list for their media relevance and constant work with dynamics and authors from cinema. Belén Atienza One of the most relevant producers of the current Spanish scenario, popular especially for its association with Juan Antonio Bayona, in whose productions he has collaborating since the director’s debut, ‘The orphanage’. Theirs are indisputable successes, also internationally, such as ‘the impossible’, ‘Jurassic World: the fallen kingdom’, ‘A monster comes to see me’, and the recent ‘The Snow Society’, with a smaller collection but smaller but more reduced but Still notable for having released in a … Read more

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