key

The Steam Machine’s key to eating the market will be the price. And there Valve has an ace up its sleeve

by

The video game world is revolutionized. It’s not every day that a new “PC-console” is announced, but even rarer is that the device comes from Valve. They have just presented the Steam Machinea console-shaped PC that has been posed as a direct threat to Xbox and PS5but also for the Windows PC itself. Much has changed since Steam Machines from a decade ago and, with the new model, Valve will not take timid steps. Steam Deck has shown them that they have a lot to say in the field of hardware, but as always, success will depend on the price of the Steam Machine. It has to be attractive to gain a foothold. And Valve has a wild card called 30%. The price of the Steam Machine and the 30% wildcard A decade ago, Valve already took a hit with the first Steam Machines. He said that they were a timid bet because Valve developed the system, but between the fact that there were not so many games available for it (based on Linux) and that the machines were not designed by Valve, but rather delegated to companies like Asus and AlienWare (which set prices that were not competitive), well the thing ended… badly. The situation has changed a lot by three factors: In the shadows they continued to develop the Steam OS systemmaking it compatible with both Linux and Windows games. They launched a Steam Deck with which they have shown that they know how to make competitive hardware. Although threats such as Amazon and Epic Games have appeared, their platform remains the undisputed queen when we talk about PC gaming. The Steam Machine will arrive (accompanied by a new controller and a virtual reality viewer named Steam Frame) at the beginning of 2026. We do not know the specific date, nor the price. And, of course, once the initial excitement of the announcement had passed, the conversation turned to theorizing about the price of the Steam Machine. Here I want to be cautious because whenever hypotheses are launched about the price of hardware there are a lot of factors that come into play. We can take the components as a reference and say “To build a PC like this is about 700 euros”but then there are the design costs (it is very small and that increases the price), development, logistics… The last time the price of a console was theorized was with nintendo switch 2and their 470 euros They ended up surprising (although the 90 of some of their games were more surprising). Therefore, I don’t want to venture to say whether the Steam Machine will cost more or less. There are some clues. The Verge is one of the media outlets that has had the machine nearby and claims that Valve plans a price “similar to a PC with similar features.” From the middle they point about $800, but that’s only in components (without the system and other costs, for example), but the components are customized and look like versions of laptop CPUs and GPUs, not the ones we can buy for a desktop. From the technical media Digital Foundry take for granted that the range will be between 500 and 600 euros, but again: it is difficult to estimate because there is not much to scratch. Now, my reflection is that, if the objective of Steam is to punch the table and wants to take part of the pie from both the consoles Like the PC itself, the Steam Machine will be sold at a loss. Because? Because if there is a company that can afford it, it is Valve. For starters, it’s a private company. Gabe Newel, Valve’s boss, owns 51% of the shares. This implies that they do not have to give explanations to shareholders. This is why we do not have public figures for Steam profits or Steam Deck sales (although it is esteem which dominates the -small- consolidated PC market). But the reason why Valve can sell a console at a loss, or not care so much about not making money per machine sold, is because all the ones they sell have Steam as launcher and store, and the company keeps a significant percentage per game sold on the platform. That percentage is around 30%which implies that if a million copies of a game are sold, Valve’s share of the pie is considerable. And, although not all games sell millions, thousands of video games are released every month. that “solely” for setting up the servers and hosting the games developed by other companies. Besides, there is the matter of the stickersa market in which Steam also keeps a good percentage of each transaction. AND It is something that moves dizzying figures. On the Steam Machine, as on the Steam Deck, you can run games from platforms such as GOG, Epic or Rockstar, but in the end The PC marketplace par excellence is Steam. It is the mainstream platform and each of those Steam Machines will be a window to a store that has offers every now and then and that is very well positioned at a time when console games are more and more expensive. The consoles themselves are much more expensive than when they were launched five years ago. Therefore, although it is impossible to guess a price for the Steam Machine, as I said, If there is someone who can sell their machine at a loss because it will recover the difference with the software, that is Valve. And if they launch an affordable machine, with the market as it is, they can deal a tremendous blow to their direct competitors: consoles. But also to the PC itself. In Xataka | There are more and more physical video games that are paperweights. It is a tremendous problem for video games as art.

Jeff Bezos’ grandfather had the key to finding a job in the age of AI: being an inventor

by

With saturated selection processes (or directly broken) and the AI conditioning skills that companies demand, there is a skill that Jeff Bezos considers irreplaceable: the ability to invent. The millionaire value this skill above traditional knowledge or experience. Bezos considers that inventiveness is vital to maintaining creativity and innovation in modern companies, ensuring that he himself has applied it to bring Amazon and Blue Origin to their current situation. Lessons from his grandfather. In an interview During the Italian Tech Week 2025 conference that took place in Turin, the millionaire commented that his grandfather was capable of solving any problem on his Texas ranch by himself, without depending on outside help. “He bought a bulldozer for about $5,000 because it was completely broken. We spent a whole summer fixing it. To remove the transmission, we had to build our own crane. And that’s why he had an incredible ability to adapt. He believed he could solve any problem. And I watched him,” Bezos said during his interview. “He did veterinary work with the cattle. He made the needles himself. He took a small piece of wire and heated it with a blowtorch, flattened it, sharpened it and made a small hole in it. Some cows even survived,” he commented sarcastically. That ability to adapt and create practical solutions taught him the value of inventiveness in facing difficulties, a lesson that Bezos has also applied in his life and in the management of Amazon. The “inventor” of Amazon. Bezos himself defines himself as an inventor, stating that “it is his fundamental nature. Put me in front of a white board and I can generate a hundred ideas in half an hour.” The founder of Amazon looks for those creative skills in his team members. In an interview In 2012 at the Utah Technology Council, Bezos indicated that “when I interview candidates, I ask them to give me an example of something they have invented.” Obviously the millionaire was not referring to a patent, but to a process, an idea or a solution to a problem that existed and for which he imagined a solution. “You have to select people who like to invent, think innovatively,” said the millionaire. Innovation as an antidote to fear. One of the six fears that have defined Jeff Bezos’ career is the fear of garages. Not in the literal sense of the place but of the symbolic sense of innovation that they have acquired: HP was born in a garage, just like Apple. “Two kids in a garage scare me more than the competitors I already know,” assured Bezos in an interview. The inventive capacity is a lever towards innovation and experimentation, which has been one of the pillars of the business culture that has taken Amazon to where it is today. “Someone who comes to Amazon and doesn’t like pioneering, doesn’t like exploring, doesn’t like going down dead ends that often turn out to be dead ends, will leave soon,” Bezos said in his interview. In his job interviews, Bezos asks: “How can we do A and B? What invention do we need to bring the two together?” That is, value those candidates who do not see the options in black and white, but rather look for new ways to combine and improve processes to innovate. AI has accelerated everything. More and more CEOs and senior officials at large technology companies agree that they are the skills and attitudes, and not the knowledgewhich will make candidates stand out in the age of AI. The current CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy, ​​pointed out that knowledge can be acquired over time, but what companies need in this era of constant innovation are people who know how to adapt to any circumstance and learn from it. “The biggest difference between the people I started with in the early stages of my career and what they are doing now has to do with how good they were at learning.” According to Jassy, ​​the attitude and talent to innovate It has to come standard. In Xataka | Jeff Bezos has the world’s laziest metaphor for AI: “someone invented the plow and we all got rich” In Xataka | If your chair limps during a job interview, it’s no coincidence: they’re evaluating more than just your resume. Image | Flickr (iafastro)

Samsung already has its “Safari moment.” The launch of your browser on Windows is the key to having your Apple-like ecosystem

by

For years, Galaxy mobile users have had a somewhat fractured experience when it comes to synchronized web browsing between devices. opt for google chrome is the best option for this, although the South Korean’s own browser is considered one of the best alternatives for those who want to escape the clutches of Google. Upon reaching the PC, that history, passwords and bookmarks were trapped on the mobile. Despite has not stopped improving in recent times, more with the arrival of One UI 7, so far it has not landed on Windows. Samsung Internet comes to computers. Samsung officially announced the launch of “Samsung Internet” for PC. At the moment, it is a beta version compatible with Windows 10 (version 1809 or higher) and any build of Windows 11. The company has already made a failed attempt in 2023but this time the launch is final. The key. Let’s be clear: Samsung’s goal is not to steal your gigantic market share to Chrome. Rather, Samsung’s move seeks to replicate the strategy of other Big Tech like Apple with Safari: strengthen its own ecosystem with services out of the box. The goal is for the experience between a Galaxy and a laptop (like a Galaxy Book) to be seamless and frictionless. This is how it works. Synchronization with Samsung Android phones is its crown jewel. When you open it for the first time, it suggests logging in with your personal Samsung account, and so the PC browser automatically syncs: history, bookmarks, passwords saved in Samsung Pass… Until now, this required installing a dodgy Chrome extension, but that’s gone: it’s now a native feature that works without a hitch. Packed with features. Samsung hasn’t skimped on features when moving its browser to Microsoft’s operating system. Much of what makes the smartphone version popular matters: Galaxy AI – Includes navigation assistant to summarize and translate web pages. Privacy: Maintains “Smart Anti-Tracking” and “Privacy Panel”. Secret mode: its own version of incognito mode, which on Android allows you to lock yourself with a fingerprint, is present. Split View: Allows you to view two web pages side by side in the same tab. Does not break the monopoly. As expected, the South Korean has been based on the most predominant engine on the market: Chromium. This is a fundamental advantage for two reasons: compatibility with all websites and, of course, with all extensions in the Chrome Web Store. We have tried it. After downloading the installer, the process is very fast. The first startup asks to sign in with your Samsung account, offers to import bookmarks from other installed browsers, and asks if you want to activate the ad blocker. In less than a minute, the bookmarks from my phone were already on the PC. I was looking for an alternative outside of Google and this Samsung Internet is going to stay on my Galaxy for a while. Galaxy AI on Samsung Internet for PC allows you to translate and summarize web pages After a few hours of use, I have positive feelings. The interface is clean, minimalist and respects One UI design elementsSamsung’s customization layer on Android. Consistency in the design is not broken, and that is not so simple when talking about different operating systems. It feels light and fast, without the burden of extra services that others like Microsoft add to their solutions. And unlike Chrome, synchronization of open tabs between your mobile and PC is almost instantaneous. How to install it. Here comes the important part. Officially, the beta is only available to users in the United States and Korea. However, there is a direct link to the executable file, which they have shared from SamMobile. We have tested it from Spain and it works perfectly, although we have to apply a small fix for it to start: change the language and region of Windows to “English (United States)” and “United States.” Soon, when it arrives globally, it will be executed without major impediments. Cover image | Pepu Ricca for Xataka In Xataka | Change Chrome for a European alternative: step to follow and what you should take into account

It is the key to having a profit of 2,540 million euros

by

The Irish airline has spent 2025 full of disputes with the Government and consumer associations. However, despite all these disagreements, the bold Michael O’Leary has managed to make Ryanair its model low cost remains extremely profitable. With a combination of an increase in the price of its tickets and an increase in the number of passengers, the company has ended the first fiscal semester painting its income statement green in a turbulent economic environment. Tail wind between so much turbulence. According to a statement published by the Irish company, between April and September 2025, Ryanair obtained a net profit of 2,540 million euros, which represents an increase of 42% compared to the 1,790 million obtained in the same period of the previous year. The airline’s total revenue grew by 13%, reaching €9.82 billion, thanks to increased prices and greater passenger traffic. Despite cuts in places offered at provincial airports on account of his raffles with Aena, The Irish company sold 16% more tickets, maintaining its capacity to attract more travelers in those airports in which it still operates. In total, the passenger traffic increased by 3%, reaching 119 million seats, a record figure for the company in this period. Rates through the roof. The 13% increase in the rates It is attributed, among other factors, to a favorable Easter that coincided with the start of the fiscal year for Ryanair, helping to recover the 7% drop in prices that was recorded in the second quarter of last year. In fact, the revenue per passenger grew 9% in the first semester. The increase in passengers together with the increase in fares has caused the income account to increase during the first six months of the year, a determining factor in the final balance. The secret: cost reduction. The increase in taxes and the price of fuel had a moderate impact on operating costs, which rose 4% in total to 6,960 million, which represents barely 1% per passenger, reflecting “strong control” of expenses by the company. O’Leary attributed a good part of this increase in operating costs to the increase in air traffic control fees, which are estimated at 14%. Much of this adjustment in costs derives from the supply of fuel, which the company has already secured 85% of its consumption estimate at a price of 76 dollars per barrel, while it has already advanced a supply of 80% of its demand for next year at a price of 67 dollars per barrel, thus taking advantage of the current low crude oil price. On the other hand, ancillary income, which is the most controversial among Ryanair passengers, which includes services such as priority boarding and on-board consumption, increased by 6%, totaling 2,910 million euros. These services account for almost 25% of the total billing. Only fly to profitable airports. Ryanair has also put its cards on the table for the second half of the fiscal year, and is clear that it is going to focus on “regions and airports that reduce taxes on aviation”, in clear reference to its withdrawal from provincial airports from Spain. On the other side of the board, countries such as Slovakia, Italy, Sweden, Albania or Morocco will monopolize the seats that are withdrawn from countries such as Germany, Austria or Spain, which have increased their airport taxes in 2025 and send a clear message in a political key: “We are concerned that Ursula von der Leyen (and her new Commission) have done nothing in the last 14 months to improve European competitiveness.” In Xataka | Spain and Ryanair are in a legal battle over the charge for hand luggage. Ryanair’s best ally: Europe Image | Ryanair

Something big is coming in European money. The ECB has set a date for a key step towards the digital euro

by

The European Central Bank has made a move in one of the most sensitive projects in its recent history. After two years of preparation, the organization has decided to move on to the next phase of the digital eurothe initiative with which it seeks to adapt public money to the era of electronic payments. It is not a launch, nor a final decision: if the European regulations are approved in 2026, there will be a pilot starting in 2027 and the Eurosystem wants to be ready for a possible first emission in 2029. The decision comes after a preparation stage started in November 2023in which the ECB and the national central banks defined the technical and operational pillars of the project. In these two years, progress was made in the draft of the operating regulations, in the selection of technological suppliers and in tests with market participants. Political momentum has also been key: euro leaders called at the October 2025 summit to accelerate work to ensure that Europe retains its own capacity in digital payments. A pilot to get out of paper. The announced step opens a phase aimed at validating that the system can work in practice, both from a technical point of view and from real use. The ECB talks about a pilot in which Banks, technology providers, businesses and consumers would participate, with tests on payments in everyday situations and security controls. The objective is to verify that the digital euro, if it exists, can operate reliably and offer a simple experience for the user. Despite the progress, this does not mean that the digital euro is ready for launch or that it will replace paper money. The institution emphasizes that the cash will continue to exist and that the project requires legislative support before any final decision. Furthermore, it is neither a decentralized token nor an experiment to displace the banking sector. The proposed architecture, they assure, maintains banks as the main access and operation channel for citizens and businesses. Three points before starting. The digital euro roadmap is supported by three conditions: legislative progress, technical validation and the formal decision of the ECB later. The European Regulation will establish the rights, limits and obligations of the system, including the way in which financial institutions participate. In parallel, the architecture will be deployed in modules to adjust development as results are obtained. Nothing in this phase implies committing unlimited resources or guarantees the final emission. A project that still needs to convince. Initial support for the digital euro is not homogeneous across Europe. In Germany, a survey prepared for the Bundesbank In April 2024 it showed that half of citizens “could imagine using it” and that 41% already knew about the project. In Spain, a study by Monitor Deloitte In 2024, it indicated that 61% would not adopt it for now, largely due to lack of knowledge and satisfaction with current methods. At European level, a survey published by BEUC In 2025, it indicated that privacy is a priority for 81% of those surveyed, along with security and the absence of commissions as essential elements. From now on, progress will be as technical as it is political. As we say, the ECB wants to have the pieces ready for a pilot in 2027 and to consider a possible initial emission in 2029, provided that the European regulation is approved and tests confirm its viability. The process will be gradual and reviewable, and therein lies its importance: Europe is preparing for an option that could expand its autonomy in payments Images | ECB | omid armin In Xataka | The world seemed unprepared for the end of cash. The digital euro makes it clear that yes

The aging of its population is about to leave Japan without a key element for the nation: pants

by

Japan has entered a unprecedented demographic phase for an advanced economy: retirement mass of the generation that supported its industry coincides with a young one that is too small (and unwilling) to occupy the jobs that this economy requires to continue functioning. On paper, global demand for certain domestically manufactured goods has never been higher, but in the engine room, those who know how to produce them are aging without substitutes. Fabric turned into luxury. He japanese denimslowly woven, dense and dyed with natural indigo in repeated cycles, enjoys a moment of consecration worldwide: Dior, Balenciaga and other luxury houses incorporate it, celebrities exhibit it, the market projects grow more than 85% until 2035 and tourism (supported by a weak yen) triple sales in Kojima’s “Jeans Street.” For an industry that had been hollowed out by decades of cheap imports, the return of demand is not marginal but cultural: the value resides in the texturethe way indigo ages and in that kind of aura of exclusivity that results from real and not cosmetic scarcity. In fact, brands with Japanese only website and without direct export they increase that breath of rarity and price. Without a job when it is most demanded. The apogee has arrived when the productive base collapses: There are barely fifty artisans left in the founding heart of the japanese selvedgethe average age is close to seventy, and apprentices last months before giving up due to noise, heat, grease, discipline and slowness. Bloomberg counted that the skill curve is not linear: it takes six months to five years to operate the loom and up to a decade to maintain and repair it. With the master generation entering retirement and entrepreneurs without time to transmit the trade, continuity is broken by calendar, not by market. Ancient technology. The shuttle looms of the early 20th century (now relics) allow continuous edging what gives the “selvedge” and the density of the weave that produces an unmistakable drape, feel and aging in the fabric. Japan came to have 300,000 machines of this type. The problem? Today there are less than 400 operationsa lower third a single signature. To maintain them you have to remove pieces of other machines already stopped and work at a pace that doesn’t fit with today’s industry. They cannot be replaced by automation without losing exactly what the customer pays for: a finish that only time gives on a slow-made fabric. What is authentic is paid for. Plus: the one who pays For this denim you are not looking just for the feel, but for a product that takes time to make, that ages well and does not depend on the rapid rotation of fashion. In other words, this preference fits with the rejection of fast-fashion and a turn towards objects designed to last. The signs are many and clear: Levi’s sells “Blue Tab” lines for twice the price of a normal 501, Capital places jeans worth several hundred or thousands of dollars, and funds linked to the almighty LVMH they invest in Kojima brands. The problem of aging. Japan is getting older faster than there is time to teach the trade. The factories have plenty of orders, but they cannot get hire or train substitutes. The owners travel and manage, but they do not have hours to teach, and the machines will be lost due to lack of parts and hands that know how to maintain them. If the drift continues like this, the problem will not be a lack of demand but capacity: in about ten years (according to own manufacturers) this type of product will no longer be able to be made because neither the technicians nor the machines will be able to work. There are no shortcuts. The final paradox is that the boom of the sector It doesn’t seem like it’s going to save the job, rather it accelerate towards the limit: The more demand grows, the more it squeezes the few remaining hands and the less time there is to teach others. Thus, the world Japanese denim is faced with a disturbing choice: slow down the pace to transmit the trade (even if that means losing sales in the short term) or exploit the latest generation until it is exhausted, knowing that this would leave a product that will possibly disappear, not due to lack of market, but because no one will be able to do it anymore. Image | PxHere, Liface In Xataka | That Japan has 100,000 people over 100 years old explains a problem: they are literally running out of drivers. In Xataka | Japan’s aging has hit rock bottom with a devastating fact: more and more elderly people want to live in prison

Shenzhen metro is transforming into an autonomous logistics network. The key is a legion of AI robovans

by

During the day, Shenzhen’s stations look, in some ways, like those of any big city: full of movement, loudspeakers and announcements marking the passage of trains. But when traffic eases, something changes. In the same space where a few hours ago there were crowds, autonomous vehicles and small robots appear that move with precision, transporting packages from one point to another. There is no spectacle or artifice, just a different use of a familiar environment. The metro network, designed for travelers, is also beginning to serve urban logistics at a time when every minute and every square meter counts. The idea of ​​taking advantage of the subway to move goods does not arise on a whim. In Shenzhen, as in many large Chinese cities, surface traffic has become in an obstacle for daily logistics. Delivery companies deal with extreme urban density and the constant growth of e-commerce, which forces them to deliver faster and with increasingly tight margins. Using trains outside of peak hours allows us to alleviate this pressure and reduce costs, while at the same time making use of infrastructure that usually remains underused for much of the day. When travelers leave, robots stay According to the Xinhua agencyone of the officially documented pilots takes place on line 11 of the Shenzhen metro. Every night in Futian District, SF Express staff sort and pack packages, which are then loaded into metal cages. These cages are transported by means of a autonomous shuttle vehicle to the platform, where they are destined for the sixth coach of the train, enabled as a logistics car during off-peak hours. In less than thirty minutes, the goods cross the most congested stretch of the city and arrive at the Bihaiwan area, near the airport, where they continue their journey to the distribution center. The aforementioned operation is supported by a fleet of robovans. Nikkei Asia explains that These are small vehicles capable of moving autonomously along predetermined routes, where they transfer packages from a storage center to the subway loading area. Each one can transport up to 500 kilos and has a useful space of about 3 cubic meters. Another official test takes place on subway line 2, at Wanxia station, where delivery robots are able to board the train by themselves to deliver goods to stores 7-Eleven inside the station. The system, described by Guangdong Department of Transportationcombines autonomous route planning, laser sensors and a control system that allows it to move safely between passengers. The project, promoted by Shenzhen Metro Group, Vanke and Wanwei Logistics, remains in the testing phase and seeks to verify whether it can be applied on a larger scale in the city’s underground commercial network. The Chinese industrial ecosystem is one of the reasons why these types of projects are advancing so quickly. The aforementioned newspaper highlights that strong competition between national manufacturers has made key components such as LiDAR sensors cheaper and has driven the development of more efficient batteries and specific chips for autonomous driving. On this basis, production costs are significantly reduced. A robovan is already between 20 and 30% cheaper than a traditional commercial vehicle, and the difference increases by eliminating cabin space and the cost of the driver. The development of these initiatives is not without difficulties. Autonomous vehicles still depend on human supervision at various stagesespecially in the loading and unloading of goods. Its speed inside the stations is reduced to guarantee the safety of passengers, and that limits the operational pace. For now, operations remain limited and are far from mass application. Even so, they reflect a clear trend: the attempt to optimize each section of urban space, even the underground. Shenzhen functions as a laboratory for a model that seeks efficiency without altering the rhythm of the city. Ultimately, these tests speak less about technology than about management: about how a metro network can serve two different purposes while remaining, above all, a public service. Images | Guangdong Department of Transportation (1, 2, 34, 5) | Shenzhen Government (1) In Xataka | Many Spanish ports have become luxury resorts for the rich: owning a pleasure boat is increasingly difficult

Russia has found a key advantage to multiply the range of its most lethal weapon in Ukraine: Chinese factories

by

Last July Reuters was made with some documents that proved the scope of the help from Beijing to Moscow with the war in Ukraine as a backdrop. The proliferation of Russian drones was possible thanks to a system labeling called “industrial refrigeration units” during transportation, one that allowed sanctions imposed by the West to be bypassed through fictitious companies. Now we know something else: that there are entire factories dedicated to collaboration. The invisible industrial alliance. The war in Ukraine has entered a new phase in which Russia’s technological advantage on the battlefield increasingly depends on a network of factories and chinese suppliers. Although Beijing proclaims neutrality, the official customs data show a spectacular increase in exports of critical components (especially fiber optic cables and batteries lithium-ion) that have allowed Moscow to mass-build the wired drones that are transforming the balance of power on the front. These aircraft, operated through ultra-fine glass threads that unwind in flight up to more than twenty kilometers, They are almost immune to electronic warfare and have managed to breach Ukrainian defenses with an efficiency reminiscent of a silent industrial evolution. The Chinese quantitative leap. How much? counted the Washington Post that between May and August, Chinese exports of fiber optic cables to Russia multiplied tenfold, reaching 528,000 kilometers per month, while shipments of lithium-ion batteries climbed to $54 million. In contrast, Ukraine barely received a few tens of km of cable and a testimonial volume of batteries. For analysts, this asymmetry it is not coincidental: China has restricted the transfer of technologies to kyiv and its allies, but has opened the floodgates of the flow towards Moscowtransforming what were simple commercial components into decisive pieces of the Russian war machine. The combination of low cost, high production capacity and speed in developing prototypes makes Chinese factories a material extension of the Kremlin’s war effort, a “precision rearguard” capable of sustaining the offensive even under Western sanctions. The weapon against electronic chaos. we have been counting. Faced with Ukrainian dominance in FPV drones, Russia has found fiber optic models a devastating tool. As they do not depend on radio frequencies, these devices are impossible to block through interference, and their wiring guarantees total control even in environments saturated with electronic warfare. Moscow uses them to destroy logistics lines, command centers and jamming equipment before launching offensives terrestrial. Its scope (coinciding with the advances measured “by sections of cable”) illustrates how this technology defines the very geometry of the front. Since the Ukrainian withdrawal in the Kursk region, wired drones have been the protagonists of precision attacks, such as the registered in Kramatorsk on October 5, cementing a pattern of warfare in which electronic resistance has become useless. The new factories of conflict. After the withdrawal of the giant DJI of the Russian market in 2022, a constellation of minor Chinese manufacturers has taken up its space. Companies like Shenzhen Huaxin Energy either Nasmin Technologyofficially dedicated to civil products, have become major suppliers of batteries and motors for Russian assemblers. The signature Rustakt LLCone of the largest in the Russian military sector, imported from China more than 577 million dollars in pieces between July 2023 and December of the same year, a volume that reveals the scale of covert industrial support. In turn, Russian manufacturers as ASFPV or Stribog exhibit on their websites production lines located in Chinese territorywith personnel, machinery and labels in Mandarin, manufacturing ultralight coils 0.28 mm and 20 km range designed by Chinese engineers. It is a transnational industrial network that no contracts needed formal military to nourish the Russian war effort: the flow of trade is its camouflage. The dilemma of the West. We have also been counting. Despite the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union, the majority of these shipments are protected by the ambiguity of the products “dual use”whose civil application allows controls to be avoided. For NATO, China has become a “decisive facilitator” of Putin’s war, Brussels accuses it of selectively applying its own export rules and to tolerate traffic of components that supports the Russian military industry. Beijing, meanwhile, continues to proclaim its neutrality, while its industrial system benefits economically from the prolongation of the conflict. Its strategy is subtle but effective: it does not supply weapons, but the infrastructure that makes them possible. A strategic advantage. Taken together, the convergence between Russian ingenuity and Chinese manufacturing capacity has created a war ecosystem that combines improvisation with industrial efficiency. The fiber drones optics symbolize that symbiosis: cheap, adaptable and difficult to counter. By providing Russia with technological independence from sanctions and tactical superiority on the battlefield, China not only strengthens its strategic partner, but also redefines global balance of power around a new form of hybrid warfare, where factories and cables count as much as missiles. The result is a cumulative advantage that, in the long term, threatens to turn the Ukrainian front into a manufactured warfare laboratorysupported not so much by soldiers, but by production lines on the other side of the world. Image | Ukraine Mod, Ministry of Defense Ukraine In Xataka | Europe has found the antidote to Russian drones. So demand for a 100-year-old gun has skyrocketed In Xataka | Europe has been working for three years to isolate itself from Russian gas. Two countries have decided to build a direct gas pipeline to Russia

Millions of users used the legendary Windows XP key “FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8”. Now we know its origin

by

Many users – and I included myself – almost knew by heart the activation key for Windows XP“FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8”. With it it was possible to install a valid and official copy of the operating system that Microsoft launched in October 2001, but until now it was not known where that key had come from. Now we know. what has happened. Dave W. Pullmer is a famous engineer and developer who worked his entire career at Microsoft and who, in addition to being in charge of the task manager or ZIP folders, had another task: working on the first version of the Windows Product Activation (WPA) system. Precisely that allowed him to know from the inside what happened with that activation key, and He told that story on Twitter. It was not stolen, but leaked. As Plummer explains, no one hacked Microsoft or its systems to obtain it, nor did they manage to steal it. There was actually a mistake on the part of the development team, and a “disastrous leak” occurred. There were no social networks, but it didn’t matter. That leak ended up going viral and millions of users found out about the trick almost immediately, something surprising considering that conventional social networks did not yet exist. There was no need: a warez (pirated software) group called “devilsOwn” released the key five weeks before the launch of Windows XP, and the key was published on IRC, online forums, Usenet groups, warez websites and especially P2P applications such as eDonkey or KaZaA. How activation keys were calculated. The WPA system generated a key that was based on each user’s hardware: “the identifiers of the CPU, RAM and other components” were taken into account, and were sent to Microsoft along with that activation key to be validated. If errors or suspicious keys were detected, that installation was labeled as pirated. Master key. But FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8 was a valid volume license key that became part of the “white list” that the key validation system had. If that key was used, the servers assumed that it was an enterprise volume license, and that “there is no need to call home.” Thus, when installing Windows XP, users simply had to answer “Yes” when asked if they had an activation key, they entered the famous key and thus avoided checking it. It was like having a master key. You could even update XP. When using this activation key, the operating system started fully functional and without activating small user warning mechanisms such as watermarks or a 30-day countdown. It was even possible to overcome the controls that were applied to receive updates. Although Microsoft detected and banned activation key, new illegitimate patches and “cracks” appeared who managed to make this activation mechanism persist for years. Now you couldn’t use it. As Plummer explains, you could technically still use it on old Windows XP installation disks if you could find one, but Microsoft’s own servers that handled the validation process were disabled years ago. And even if it wasn’t, the key ended up being part of the blacklist of prohibited activation keys, meaning you couldn’t use it to validate a legitimate copy of Windows XP. Image | Internet Archive In Xataka | Nostalgia does not disappear. So much so that there are people developing a new web browser for Windows XP

It is the key to ending superbacteria

by

The antibiotic resistance It is one of the greatest threats facing humanity together. Bacteria that were previously harmless They are becoming ‘superbacteria‘Immune to our most powerful medications. In this counterreloj career, science is looking towards the past to find a solution of the future: bassoonrapy. A new step to face a big public health problem. A known technique. This technique, which Use bacteria annihilate virusit could be our best asset, but a new study reveals that bacteria have an ace under their sleeve: a sophisticated defense mechanism that seems taken from a science fiction film. Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Melbourne They have discovered An unpublished bacterial strategy that have baptized as “excluding and surviving.” This mechanism allows a bacterium infected with a virus (a bacteriophage or phage) quarantine the invaderamputate the infected section and continue living as if nothing. Understanding how they do is the first step to be able to counteract it. Microscopic scale. To understand the importance of this finding, you must first understand how the Passopotherapy. The phages are the natural predators of the bacteria and only seek to infect them to take their control. Literally these phages adhere to the bacterial surface, inject their own genetic material and kidnap cell machinery to create thousands of copies of themselves. Finally, the bacterial cell, full of new viruses, explodes (a process called lysis), releasing the army of phages to infect their neighbors. A process that in the end is exponential and is also used with our own human cells to infect them when we have a virus inside. The biological process. The problem, as in every arms career, is that bacteria do not stay with crossed arms. The new study, focused on bacteria Bacillus subtilishas identified protein Yjbh as the orchestra director of an ingenious defense. Specifically, it has been seen that when a bassoon injected its DNA into the bacteria the bacteria andjbh detects it immediately, it joins it and confines it in a tiny area of ​​the cell, usually near one of the poles. Next, the amazing occurs: Yjbh recruits the cell division machinery to build a wall or septum right next to the infected area. From here the cell is divided asymmetrically, creating a small “mini -free” without a future that contains all the infection and expels it, while the stem cell, now free of the virus, follows its life. The study. Researchers have used various fluorescent dyes to visualize this process in real time, such as the DAPI, which dyes the DNA, and the FM4-64, which marks the cell membranes, allowing to observe the formation of these exclusion compartments. The future. This discovery is a perfect example of the evolutionary arms race between bacteria and viruses. And it is that understanding exactly as it can defend a bacteria can anticipate us to create next -generation treatments that attack this type of machinery. A target. The fact that the YJBH protein is in a wide range of gram-positive bacteria, including notorious pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria Monocytogenesshow that we are not facing an anecdote, but before a very widespread defense mechanism. And now that we know him, we can begin to design strategies to overcome it. The idea would be to develop modified or “cocktails” of phages that can evade or inhibit YJBH’s action, making therapy much more effective. Although there are still challenges ahead – as the possible response of the human immune system to the phages – this type of research is fundamental. The era of antibiotics could be coming to an end, and we need urgent alternatives. “We hope that when reactivating phage therapy we can contribute to non -antibiotic treatments for infections,” concludes Ghosal. “After 100 years, it is time to reconsider the benefits of phage therapy.” Images | CDC In Xataka | The AI ​​has opened a chest that had been closed almost 4,000 million years: the salvation of antibiotics

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.