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The Max Airpods have become the example of Apple’s contradictions. Consistency is no longer a priority

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Apple has just announced that Airpods Max with USB-C port They will receive a software update in April that will allow them to reproduce audio without loss (Lossless) and ultra-low latency. The trap: this characteristic, highly anticipated from The arrival of Lossless A Apple Music in 2021will only work when they are connected with cable. That is, wireless headphones of 579 euros (originally costing 629) will need to be physically tied to a device to offer the highest sound quality. One part is technically understandable, but the other part is paradoxical. Irony. The Max Airpods were born promising “high fidelity sound” In 2020, but when Apple launched the audio without loss in Apple Music just five months later, these premium headphones were able to reproduce it. Not even by cable, because the decision to introduce lightning instead of USB-C or a 3.5 mm jack prevented it. Four years and a port change later, finally this capacity comes, but with a giant asterisk that changes the nature of the product: you must give up wireless freedom, precisely the main characteristic for which customers are willing to pay that price. Between the lines. This movement says a lot about the current Apple. The company that was once characterized by its obsession with details and coherence is now allowed to fragment in divisions with disconnected priorities. The USB-C port allows a completely digital transfer, eliminating the technical problem of lightning. But this solution, although technically correct, is late and fragmented. Why not include this capacity from the release of the USB-C version? Why announce it now, months later? Apple has even created its own wireless protocol for loss without loss With the pro. Why not expand it to iPhone and Mac? The answer has more to do with product calendars and allocation of resources than with purely technological limitations. The background. Apple’s decisions about high quality audio reflect a commercial strategy rather than an absolute commitment to excellence. Audio without loss in Apple Music was mainly a competitive response to rival services, not a crusade for audio quality. If it were the second, it would have planned from the beginning a real solution for its premium devices, instead of adding patches over the years. Meanwhile, ecosystem fragmentation grows: The AirPods Pro 2 They offer lossless audio, but only with Vision Pro. The Max Airpods will now, but only with cable and only the USB-C version. The consistency of the experience, the “It Just Works“That defined Apple for years, fades. Perhaps it is a consequence of the Growth of its catalog, which has gone from minimalism to calculated maximalism. Sometimes, perhaps, inconsistent maximalism. And now what. Apple is subtly repositioning the Max Airpods with this ad. In his press release They highlight “significant improvements for composers, producers and mixers”, with focus on Workflows of Logic Pro. This new approach to audio professionals lets us intuit a strategic change: The Premium consumer segment has not responded as expected. They need to differentiate themselves from competitors that offer similar characteristics at a lower price. They look for a niche where the high price is more justifiable. The big question. Is this fragmentation simply the inevitable cost of the growth of the company and the catalog, or does it reflect a deeper problem? The Apple of Steve Jobs made fewer products but each told a clear story and occupied a specific place in a perfectly integrated ecosystem. The Apple of Tim Cook has multiplied its catalog of products and services, but at the expense of a certain coherence. The result: users who need to investigate what generation of which product is compatible with what functionality –The iPad and Apple Pencil is the icing-. A scenario that contradicts the promise of simplicity that defined Apple. Turning point. Apple is increasingly adopting a philosophy of “good enough now, better after.” The products are launched with incomplete characteristics that are then added by updates. This approach can work well for software, but it is frustrating when it affects premium hardware that users do not usually replace. For current Airpods Max owners with USB-C, this update is a late but welcome improvement. For those who have the Lightning version (for sale until seven months ago) is another reminder that Apple can leave relatively recent products behind without too many objections. And for potential buyers, it is a signal to wait for a future version with better wireless capabilities. The ironic thing is that, after eliminating the 3.5mm jack from the iPhone, arguing that the future was wireless, Apple now reminds us that for the best audio quality we need … return to the cables. Specifically to one of forty -five euros. The circle closes, but not precisely in the most elegant way. In Xataka | Apple Intelligence is a “fire” for Apple. The firefighter chosen to turn it off is the chief of the vision pro Outstanding image | Ravi Palwe in Unspash

We believed that creatine was one of the most useful supplements to gain muscle mass. We are no longer so sure

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Creatine is an old acquaintance of people who exercise in order to increase muscle. Evaluate in our own meat the effectiveness of a supplement is useless, especially because we surely accompany it with a strict exercise regime that will prevent us from distinguishing its net impact. That is why, if we ask ourselves to what extent the creatine works, we need to study it rigorously. Not so effective. And the verdict of the last study that has tested this substance It has not been favorable. In a study that included a 12 -week training program and the consumption of 5 grams daily of creatine supplement were not observed relevant differences between those who took the substance and those who did not. “We have shown that taking five grams of creatine supplement per day does not make any difference in the amount of muscle mass that people earn when performing resistance training,” explained in a press release Mandy Hagstrom, co -author of the study. “The benefits of creatine could have been overestimated in the past due to methodological problems,” the researcher adds Creatine. Creatine, or α-methyl guanido-acetic acidit is a compound that can be found naturally in our body, especially in the muscles and cells of our nervous system; And also in some foods, such as red meat, fish and shellfish. Creatine molecules are formed from three amino acids and Stores phosphocreatinemainly in the muscles. There is used as a source of energy. That is why the creatine supplement is used to obtain better results when exercising and gaining muscle mass. 54 participants. The recommended maintenance dose of this supplement is between three and five grams per day. The 54 study participants, aged between 18 and 50, were divided into two groups, some would begin to take five grams Creatine Monohydrate (CRM) first and a week later they would start a 12 -week resistance program. The second group would also face this exercise program, but without the supplement. The food of both groups was monitored to verify that there were no relevant differences in their diet. Both groups increased their muscle mass, but they did it in a similar way, about two kilos won during the period. The details of the study were Published in an article In the magazine Nutrients. The problem is in the water. Part of the study key is in time: that the experimental group (the one who took the supplement) began this “treatment” before training allowed the team to test (and verify) a hypothesis, that a part of the muscle increase that we associate with creatine is due to a greater water retention. The team observed that, during this first week, indeed, the group (and especially women in this) began to gain muscle mass, a 0.5 kg difference that dissipated after starting training. Hagstrom pointed out, of course, that more studies are still necessary to understand the impact of water retention associated with the consumption of this supplement. Dose question? The study responsible for the study suggests that, in addition to water retention, the chosen dose could also have had effect on the results. The five grams daily represent the upper limit of the recommended daily maintenance dose, but those who consume This supplement They often resort to a “load phase” that implies consumption between 20 and 25 grams of the supplement per day. This possibility was discarded by the equipment since these consumption levels, they explain, can cause gastrointestinal problems and is not necessary to achieve saturation levels. However, they affect the need to carry out additional studies with intermediate doses, for example of 10 grams. They also point out that longer -term studies could help us better understand the impact of creatine supplements on the increase in muscle mass. In Xataka | The 17 best apps to exercise Image | Aleksander Saks / Victor Freitas

Organilleros are part of the cultural fabric of Mexico City. The problem is that there is no longer the one to manufacture the instruments

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The music is The language of the soul, and a universal language. The streets of large and small cities in half the world have musicians of all kinds that make a living, do so by hobby or to entertain in an act that would shudder to the SGAE. In Mexico, that street music is tradition, one that remains alive thanks to the organilleros. They have a couple of centuries behind them and the saddest thing is that they are the perfect example of natural obsolescence: organillos will not die because there is no one who wants to touch them, but because there will be no one who knows how to repair them. The organ. The figure of the organillero may be far away right now to those who live in Europe. It is possible to see them at popular festivals in some German municipalities, but it is somewhat more anecdotal and reserved for concrete moments than anything else. In Mexico, the thing changes: there are still listening daily in cities such as Mexico City. Also in Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile. The cylinders The curious thing is that the organilleros were born in Europe, such as Organillos. It is a portable mechanical instrument that was invented in the 18th century, but that was perfected when it arrived in Germany during the nineteenth century. The box can be decorated with the reasons you want It is a mechanical instrument with cylinders that have protuberances or perforations that rotate through a crank and activate a series of tabs. In doing so, an internal flame expels air through tubes, which are those that produce musical notes at predefined height and rhythm due to the cylinder itself. You don’t have to know music, go, you just have to turn the crank. Crossing the puddle. In Germany they were tremendously popular, but also in Italy, France, the Netherlands or Spain. Each country could adapt them to their popular songs and the organilleros went through the streets and squares entertaining the room of the pedestrians. It was a way to popularize music and, at some point at the end of the 19th century, they arrived in Mexico. It was a bombing. Ganoa. ‘Wagner and Levien’ was a musical instrument house founded by German immigrants who not only brought the organs, but also rented them to those who wanted to make a living playing on the street. They continued to be manufactured in Germany, so it was necessary to import them and it is said that the most important in this regard was Gilberto Lázaro Gaona. HE esteem that there were 250 organillos that acquired in the 1930s, coinciding with the moment in which they stopped manufactured in Germany. And they are the ones that, modified to reproduce Mexican popular music, have been circling through the streets of the city. Tradition. These organs weigh their own. Some get to overcome the 50 kilos and, although there are models that can be carried in tow, the most common is to support them on a stick or on a wheel support that facilitates transportation. The organilleros are wearing their traditional uniform and are dedicated to … that, to turn to the lever to activate the mechanism and color some of the transitted streets in the city. Obviously, thanks to the sensitivity with the animals, now it does not happen, but before these organilleros could carry a monkey that collected the donations and completed the show. Also in Chile Controversial and counterpoling. They are, therefore, part of the cultural fabric of Mexico City and, as happens so many times, there are tourists who do not see those local traditions with good eyes. Famous was the case of an American tourist who complained through social networks because of the sound of this instrument. They soon Fall criticism that did not harass the young woman, defenders of the trade of the organilleros, of the cultural importance they have and, why not say it, of that zeal for the homeland that sometimes exalts when we feel attacked. In extinction. Now, the organilleros seem to be far from disappearing, but another song is what will happen with the organ. Due to the use, possible accidents and friction between the elements, these organs are wearing and must be repaired. Do you remember the 250 pieces that Gaona imported? Well, it is estimated that the rest were lost, they were stolen or sold to collectors, and those 16 are those that continue to rent to the organilleros. And the person responsible for that business and its repair is, as we read in Unknown MexicoMarcela Silvia Hernández Cortés, Gilberto daughter -in -law. Her husband was the one who had the business and she taught her because the two men told her to dedicate himself to the kitchen when she tried to learn the trade. Legacy. After the death of her husband, Marcela learned on her own to repair these organs that, if they have survived, is thanks to her expertise and dedication. The sad thing is that there is no school of organizers, nor new pieces, because the factories closed and the hope of the artisan, as he commented on the news, is that their granddaughters continue with the legacy. “It is very laborious, but sometimes I look good,” Marcela said in the news, who also comments that, beyond the tradition, the organizing trade is an opportunity for people of a certain age who have run out of work and that they cannot, for whatever reason, access one. The artisan is a precious profession and, as we saw with the popular response to the video of the American tourist, the role of the organillero is respected and appreciated by the Mexicans. So much that there is Organizations that work to conserve this tradition. Images | RDEMINICIS (WMB) (2), JMILLAN325, Luisalvaz In Xataka | Listen to music while you work will improve your cognitive abilities: you just have to choose the right one for each task

The Chinese no longer marry

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China wants more babies. That is clear. Which generates doubts in a society In transformationin which young people marry less and less, divorces grow and birth It has been In free fall it is how to get it. Over the last years the Xi Jinping government has tested solutions of all kinds, since Finance painless births either Grant aid to proclaim the benefits of marriage in classrooms or even call directly Women to encourage them to have children. Now it is proposed to try A new trick: Reduce the legal age to marry. There are those He already warns That will serve as little. AGE QUESTION. When there for the 70s China raised how to stop his overpopulation not only designed his famous “Politics of the only child”the rule that for decades (until 2015) prohibited the country’s couples from having more than one rod. Another of the measures promoted by the government was to limit marriages placing the legal age to marry in 22 years for men and 20 for women. The result, like I remembered a few days ago Global Timesdaily backed by the Chinese State, is that the country now has one of the most restrictive norms in the world. By prohibiting boys under 22 and young women with less than 20 can go through the Chinese altar became one of the nations with the legal age to contract the highest marriage in the world, moving away from the 18 years that mark the common threshold at international level. In the EU for example the Minimum age To marry is 18 years old in Scotland, where young people can give the ‘yes I want’ from 16. Most laws foresee marriages before age, but only with permission from parents or a judicial body. What if we change the norm? That is the idea that the professor of Econometry Chen Songxi He has transferred to the National Committee of China’s Political Advisory Conference (CCPPCH), An important political advisory body of the country. Chen’s is not just any voice. First because he is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Second because it is part of CCPPCH itself, which meets these days precisely to consider proposals in different areas, from economic and social to technological. In that prestigious (and influential) forum one of the issues that generates the most in China will be touched: the loss of population that the country drags Since 2022 And its consequences both social level As economical. Precisely for this reason Chen transferred some proposals to CCPPCH: completely eliminate birth restrictions (since 2021 they are allowed Only three children as a couple), apply a system of incentives to marriage and birth rate and review the age at which Chinese young people can marry. Objective: greater birth. In The chronicle of Global Times It is clarified that Chen’s goal is very clear: encourage birth. With the proposal, The newspaper requires Chinese, you want to “expand the fertile population base and release the reproductive potential.” It is not Beijing’s first movement in that direction. Throughout the last months (and years) the government has opted for tax advantagesimprove access to treatments either campaigns which highlights the advantages of motherhood and life as a couple. And that between a long etcetera of questionable success initiatives. In 2024 China saw how its birth rate increased (registered 9.54 million births compared to 9.02 of 2023), but even that rebound leaves a bittersweet flavor. First because the data of 2023 had been lousy, marking the minimum since 1949. Second because even that slight rise prevented the country from closing the year with a bad demographic balance, losing 1.39 million inhabitants and chaining its third year of population fall. Will the new measure work? One thing is that the CCPPCH endorses Chen’s proposal and the government decides to cut the legal age for Casere, placing it in 18 years, and another very different that this movement will really encourage Chinese birth. There are experts who are already quite skeptical. “It will do nothing to increase the fertility rate now that people have accustomed to marry and have children later,” Explain to Financial Times The demographer Yi Fuxian. Is not the only one that thinks so. The data of course invite you even though the measure will have a small effect. In 2020 the average age of the first marriage in China stood quite above the 20 years that mark the legal minimum for them and 22 of them: among women it was from 28 years and among men of 29.4. Can the fact that couples go through the altar will make this measure reduce? And yet, do you have to translate that into greater birth? South Korea neighbor leaves an interesting example: despite the fact that there the legal age to marry It is already 18 years oldPeople continue to decide to go through the altar much later. The trend It approaches In fact at 30 years. Who thinks of weddings? That is the second weak point of Chen’s idea. Experts may see in the marriage a way to improve the reduction of the country, but the truth is that the Chinese themselves think less and less about marriage. The 2024 data Disseminated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs itself, they are of course revealing. Last year they gave the ‘yes I want’ in China 6.1 million couples. Not only represents 20.5% less than in 2023. The data confirms the downward trend since 2013, but also marks a new historical minimum in official statistics, which date back to 1986. Beyond demography. Cen’s proposal has not awakened too much enthusiasm in networks. Largely because it is not entirely new. As the Chinese birth rate descended the idea of ​​lowering the legal age to marry has been giving a hole in the public debate with moments when gaining greater prominence. It happened already in 2019. And then in 2021. The South China Morning Post collected these days Comments from Weibo users who are skeptical: … Read more

I have tried Grok 3 and it is really intelligent and fast. The problem is that this is no longer enough

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I’ve spent a few hours trying Grok 3the new version of Xai AI. I wanted to see their real abilities and especially how it behaves, what kind of results, in front of Chatgpt, Claude, Le chat, Deepseek… Reasoning and problem solving It stands out in mathematical problems. I made him complete the challenge Aime’24of which he was 6 of the 15 problems, for the 9 hits of OPENAI O3-mini-high. In addition, Grok 3 took a little less than five minutes, but O3-mini-High took almost six. Very striking to see their self -assessments until you find the correct answer (although sometimes it was not). A fragment of the steps that Grok 3 took to evaluate their own conclusions before presenting them as a final result. Image: Xataka with Grok 3. In basic reasoning tests, such as determining the number of repeated letters in somewhat complex words (the classic “lollapalooza”) or comparing decimals (9.11 vs 9.9), Grok 3 responds correctly after a few seconds of visible “thought”. O3-mini-High Be right after 6 seconds. Image: Xataka with chatgpt. Grok 3 also succeeded, but after more than four times longer. Image: Xataka with Grok 3. In a Greek mythology question about Jason’s maternal great-grandfather, Grok 3 found the correct answer in 18 seconds … while O3-mini-High needed 22 seconds to fail. Well played, Grok. O3-mini-High missed. Image: Xataka with chatgpt. Grok 3 instead gave a better built response, in addition to correct. And it takes less. Image: Xataka with Grok 3. Search and synthesis Its function Deepsearch is fast but sometimes it is not entirely precise and does not mention any important detail. I asked to analyze the impact of AI on chips design and, although it generated a text of 1,504 words with several quotes in just over a minute, omitted to mention important advances such as the framework ALPHACHIP from Google. In later and insistent attempts he did. I also asked for a full report on Xataka On financial, media, reputational level, etc. It was quite successful, although it showed an inherent limitation of any Deep Research system: He knows a lot about what is in public, but he doesn’t have many Insightsit lacks the expert criteria that knows not only the public, but what underlies. This is something of Grok and any other with Deep Research. When you ask for information about something you do not control, it is easy to assume that Deep Research (or in this case, Deepsearch) gives you everything. When you are in garlic it is easy to detect deficiencies. As in this example. Image: Xataka with Grok 3. The speed impresses: it is remarkably faster than Deep Research of OpenAi … but at the cost of sacrificing depth for speed. Of course, your selection of sources and appointments is usually really good. Unlike Gemini, it does not allow exporting reports directly to documents or customize the research approach. Again: Grok is very intelligent and capable, in his own way, but he lacks a product. Little llm is of little use if it forces to start from scratch and process all the information. Creativity and tone To try his creative writing I asked him for a story about a time traveler facing a paradox. The result was quite solid in construction of characters, details, descriptions and atmosphere, overcoming even the one that I consider the best in that aspect, Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Of course, some plot turns seem quite forced. Image: Xataka with Grok 3. His humor is basic and predictable, limited almost all the time to quite obvious words games. Teenage humor If the concept of disturbing valley You can move to a chatbot, Grok 3 is in that 99%: too fine to look like a caid robot, too predictable to finish convincing. It maintains political neutrality even on issues such as immigration or trans rights. Musk says it can be politically incorrectbut it seems that it is something that has more to do with what the user requires that a feature of his personality. That is to say: it can be taken out of correction, but only when the user pushes to it. Some limitations It does not allow customizing the behavior of the model, unlike chatgpt; or the response style, as Claude allows. It is limited to being a text drawer. You are only accompanied by the buttons to attach a file, activate your Deepsearch or activate your reasoning mode. That, and a few elementary instructions. No projects such as Claude or GPTS of Chatgpt, or the agents of Le Chat. In short: Nothing to retain pre -established contexts and guidelines or documentation to facilitate work. We always have to start from a new canvas. The interface is good, intuitive, simple … but they miss tools that make it more versatile and appetizing to integrate it into our day to day. It is powerful and capable for specific uses, but the product built around chatgpt, claude or le chat (projects, agents, previous instructions, etc.) make those alternatives something much more interesting for serious and recurring use. Image: Xataka with Grok 3. The security keeps are stricter than those of Grok 2. with that version We hallucinate for its lack of scruplesbut Grok 3 seems to recover them: he refused to generate a template for a mass fraud campaign by mail simulating that I am a Valencian prince in search of heiress. The generation of images does seem, again, more lax. Midjourney does not allow to create anything containing the words “Donald Trump” or “President of the United States”. Nothing. Grok 3 does not put so many objections. Not even with its owner. Image: Xataka with Grok 3. You can try Grok 3 from its official website or from Its integration into x (which is why you have seen two somewhat different interfaces in this article). It is temporarily free, but we already know that it will be one of the reasons to pay a subscription to X, and not the cheap. Its ability … Read more

Young programmers no longer know how to program. AI is now causing the same as the calculator caused half a century ago

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Myron Aub was a boiler man from the egg head, but all that did not matter. I had discovered how to do something that humanity had forgotten: I knew how to multiply without the help of a computer. After demonstrating it, the members of the new Pentagon were amazed: someone was able to multiply with a paper and a ball! All that imagined Isaac Asimov in his short novel ‘The feeling of power‘, originally published in February 1958. History, in just 3,700 words, is simply prodigious – I encourage you to read it – and raise a future in which human beings do not know how to perform mathematical operations and depend on computers for computers all. When AUB performs reverse engineering of this calculation process, it creates an extraordinary situation. One that leads to an equally surprising conclusion … and sadly predictable. I read that story about 30 years ago and then I found it fascinating – I am an absolute fan of the ‘Foundation’ saga of Asimov, but I hated the Apple TV+ series for betraying that legacy. The prolific author transmitted a clear message: perhaps it is not so good idea to depend too much on the machines. Or maybe yes? The programmers who did not know how to program It is what is certainly happening in the world of programming, which is undoubtedly the segment most affected by the arrival of artificial intelligence. The AI ​​models have proven to be valuable attendees when programming, and just six months after the chatgpt launch nine out of ten professionals used AI to program. The de facto models have become increasingly capable in this type of task, and the popularity of Tools as cursor has shown that The conquest of “effortless programming” Tab-Tab-Tab is increasingly clear. Even those who did not know how to program or knew, but not in certain programming languages, they are now capable of creating surprising applications. AI is not perfect, of coursebut one thing is clear: it is getting better. That, of course, raises a risk: let’s forget how to program. It is just what a developer named Namanyay Goel denounces, which In his blog he explained How “New Junior developers are not able to program.” The AI ​​allows developers to deliver more code than ever, but these young programmers do not know why that code works or if there would be another way to do things. According to their experience, the new generation of programmers use chatgpt or co -pilot or Claude at all hours. That, he says, allows them to deliver more code than ever, but according to this developer, These young programmers do not know why that code works or if there would be another way better to do it. “We are sacrificing deep understanding (of the code) by fast patches, and although that makes us feel good now, we will pay later.” Goel highlighted how not much places like Stack Overflow were a much better source of information for programmers. They asked things, but when they got answers they used to learn why those answers were valid. That knowledge was there for free, and also in many cases veteran developers and experienced people became involuntary teachers for new generations. “The AI ​​gives you answers, but the knowledge you acquire is superficial. With Stackoverflow, you had to read multiple expert discussions to get a complete vision. It was slower, but you ended up understanding not only what worked, but why it worked.” Of course, not everyone thinks the same and a commentator in Slashdot He pointed out How “Stackoverflow has been a source of terrible programming tips and an overdependence of copying and hitting for much longer.” However, Essste developer believes that not yet everything is lost. AI can help you, without a doubt, but you can also continue learning with it. “When you give you an answer,” he advised, “Ask him for her. Ask why (he has given that solution). “He also recommends debating that code with your team of developers to discuss and be able to get new ideas, or perhaps do so with developers who go to platforms such as Reddit, Discord or Mastodon. The calculator teaches us the future The reflection of that developer is undoubtedly striking, but for many it is a useless debate. In Slashdot a user named Zak3056 He affirmed Take two decades interviewing Júnior developers. “A surprising percentage of them did not understand basic concepts (…). AI has nothing to do with this. It is the state in which education is, many schools are creating graduates that simply do not understand the field they have chosen “ Other comments coincided with him, and the situation reminds other industrial and technological revolutions in which a profession or discipline have ended up being completely conquered by machines. We continue learning to perform mathematical operations, but after school there are not many people who do operations at hand: It is much faster to use the calculator. The calculators may cause some workers who performed that task to be displaced at the beginning, but their impact in the long run has been greatly positive. The calculators may cause some workers who performed that task to be displaced at the beginning, but their impact in the long run has been greatly positive To begin with, there are still mathematicians, but they are dedicated to much more complex problems than the machines are not yet able to solve – of the moment either – and the calculators made them even more valuable: they could focus on those problems, and Not in the calculations that could also be wrong because we assume it, the margin of human error is there. In addition, the calculators productivity and efficiency improved significantlysaving all kinds of professionals those most repetitive tasks to focus on others that other non -substitutable capacities (at least, for the moment) by the machines. Will something like this happen with AI and programming? It is very likely. AI has … Read more

If the alcohol industry no longer had enough problems, it has now encountered one more: Ozempic

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The drugs of the family of the GLP-1 hormone (peptide similar to type 1 glucagon) as Ozempic or Zepbound have meant a revolution in the world pharmaceutical market. The success of these medications aimed at the treatment of diabetes has to do with its slimming effect but the ramifications of this phenomenon go further. New tests. One of these ramifications has to do with alcohol consumption: a new study He has found evidence That the semaglutida, the active compound used by drugs such as Ozempic or Wegovy, can also help in the treatment of alcohol addiction. Chronicle of a social phenomenon. Ozempic began to gain popularity about two years ago when it began to be used not to keep glycemic levels under control in people with type II diabetes, but as a treatment to lose weight both in people with diabetes and in those who only wanted to lose weight. In parallel, several clinical trials endorsed this effect and the regulatory organisms approved the use of the drug for this second use. This success led to the appearance of other side effects associated with this compound, some of them positive. It was then that some laboratories got to work to test these effects. Among them An apparent reduction in alcohol consumption among those who were under this treatment. How does it work? The GLP-1 hormone performs several functions in our body, one of them being indicating that we have satiated our appetite. That is why the drugs that function as their analogues in our body generate the same feeling of satiety, which in turn implies that we will eat less and therefore lose weight. But soon some users began to realize that this not only affected food, but also the alcohol they consumed. Although the mechanism is not entirely clear, it is possible to intuit that it is the same mechanisms that enter into operation. There is another factor to take into account, and among the Side effects From ozempic drugs we can find stomach symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. This can also lead to alcoholic beverages less appealing, as well as other foods. 48 participants. The study was conducted through a randomized rehearsal with placebo. That is to say, It was distributed randomly to the 48 participants in two groups: one was treated with semaglutida and another with a placebo. They contrasted that the effects of treatment were greater than those of a simple placebo, that is, the participants drank less alcohol. While the number of days in which the participants drank these were not reduced in less volume. “These data suggest the potential of the semaglutida and drugs similar to covering an existing need for treatment for alcohol use disorder,” explained in a press release Klara Klein, member of the study responsible for the study. “Broader studies (…) are necessary to fully understand security and efficacy in people with (this) disorder, but these initial results are promising.” The team presented the details of the essay In an article In the magazine Jama Psychiatry. The analyzes continue. The reduced sample size in this study suggests that there is still a lot of work to be done. If we want to better understand Ozempic’s potential to fight addictions and similar disorders will need experiments with greater samples and studies that allow us to better understand the underlying biological mechanisms, as well as the potential risks of this use. All this while other teams investigate other potential risks and benefits of this drug family. An example of the potential benefits still to explore is In cardiac healthcontext in which we have begun to see some potential benefits but that, as in the case of excessive alcohol consumption, we must still explore more thoroughly. In Xataka | In Tinder there is a trend that is gaining weight between generation Z: quotes without a single drop of alcohol Image | Andreas m / Chemist4u

The problem of buying a house in Spain is no longer just its price. Is that you have less than 73 days to decide

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Two and a half months. Something less even. In a real estate market marked by the mismatch between supply and demand and in which Operations increase of sale that is what lasts on a home in available: two and a half months, 73 days To be more precise. A few years ago that data exceeded the 90 days. They are just that, figures, raw data, but they act as a thermometer of the sector. In fact there are cities, especially those that have tension markets, in which the deadline is even lower. A market for fast. In Spain the real estate market has its peculiaritiestrends and Factors susceptible to interpreting in different ways, but of course something is clear: they buy the fastest. He last report Prepared by Technocasa and UPF, it shows that, on average, in 2024 only 73 days were needed to sell a home. The data is interesting for several reasons. First because it is two days less than in 2023. Second, he delves into a trend that dates back to the beginning of the decade, when the properties took average for more than three months to find a buyer. In 2020 the average was 94 days. Beyond the average. 73 is a statistical indicator, the average of sale for the whole of Spain. If we go down to detail and consult the segregated data at the territorial level we verify that there are locations in which the period in which sales are closed is considerably shorter. In Barcelona that average was only 68 days, in Valencia of 67, 66 in Malaga, 62 in Seville and 61 in Bilbao. The market in which the properties last The Madridwhere the brand is in just 60 days. A market, two realities. The report of Tecnocasa Group and UPF Also verify that not all properties run the same fate in the market. According to their data, 55% of homes have been selling less than half a year. Moreover, almost 37% is announced on online platforms and real estate agencies for just three months. In the opposite pole, almost a quarter of the properties (23.6%) have been available for a year or longer. One of the keys could be its overvaluation. The report estimates that in the most ‘veteran’ homes it exceeds 18%. Why is it important? From what he tells us about the market. The authors of the report verify a clear mismatch between the demand, upwards, and an offer that thinns. Two data arrive to check. While 2024 closed above the 266,000 active purchase applications, which is 80,000 more than during the same period of 2023, and the number of potential buyers grew by 39% in December, the housing offer has moved in the direction opposite The Technocasa and UPF report estimates that it fell 9.3%. City Necessary days for sale Saragossa 76 Barcelona 68 Valencia 67 Malaga 66 Seville 62 Bilbao 61 Madrid 60 “A boiling market”. The study calculates that if in an area with a 5,000 -homes real estate park there was an average of 70.9 properties for sale in the late 2023, a year later that data was significantly lower: it was already around 64.3. The result, points to The country José García Montalvo, Professor of Economics, is “a boiling market”. “What we are seeing is that demand is squeezing much more than the supply, which is still insufficient,” emphasize The UPF expert. Another of the keys that help to understand the market is access to financing. The study detects an interannual increase in the average amount of mortgages, which is added to other indicators on credit. For example, registrars of Spain It carries several months verifying a sensitive increase in mortgages. “It’s a real casting”. The phrase is again from García Montalvo and summarizes the reality of the Spanish real estate market, at least as drawn by the Technocasa and UPF report. “The properties have hardly time to appear in the listings before multiple offers compete for them in an authentic casting,” Comment The expert. In a similar line, the director of Analysis of the Tecnocasa Group, Lázaro Cubero, Explain that last year there was “a very important demand increase.” “A 39% increase in a single year is not usual,” duckin reference to the increase of potential buyers that the report detected with respect to December 2023. The other indicator: prices. The time it takes for a home to find a buyer is not the only clue that tells us about demand and supply. There is another even more eloquent indicator: prices. After calculating the measure of a selection of cities, the Technocasa report indicates that in the second semester of 2024 the M2 stood at 2,802 euros, 12.13% more than during the same period of 2023. The report is also interesting for another reason. Its technicians estimate that the price in the second semester of 2024 was more or less at levels of mid -2005, but still far from the dimensions that were reached during the real estate bubble, between 2006 and 2007. In recent weeks Some experts They have pointed out that the M2 would have already exceeded the 2007 values, although everything indicates that the Sorpasso It focuses only on nominal prices, not real. That is, this calculation obviates the effect of inflation. Does it happen only in sales? No. The sales rate will be increasingly agile in the sale market (at least among the properties not excessively overvalued by its vendors), but pales compared to the tempos of the residential rental market. At the beginning of 2024 idealista calculated that 18% of homes They were leaving in their portal did not last 24 hours free. Moreover, in some cities the percentage of homes with a fleeting step by real estate was even greater: in Tarragona they were 31% and in San Sebastián 29%. Images | ZHIYUAN SUN (UNSPLASH) and Jonas Denil (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Spain urgently needs to build thousands of homes. In the Basque Country they have … Read more

GPT-4.5 It is the demonstration that using more GPUS and more data is no longer useful

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In the last two years we have seen how companies that develop AI models have not stopped showing voracity almost without limits. They bet on climbing and using more data and more GPUS to improve those models. However, there has been a surprise: it turns out that this strategy no longer works. GPT-4.5 will be the last of your lineage. We have always associated with chatgpt with the traditional models “that do not reason”, although in recent times it also gives Access to reasoning modes. Even so, its current base is GPT-4Oand that model will have a last successor. It will be GPT-4.5, which will not be renewed. That is precisely the interesting thing. Climbing no longer serves much. As they point out experts like Gary MarcusGPT-4.5 It seems to be the finding that spending more and more money on climbing, using more and more GPUS and data to train models no longer makes no sense. OpenAi’s hope was Orionwhich aimed to be GPT-5, but it is not: it is (probably) GPT-4.5. Shock against a wall. The jump in performance and capacity It was never the expectedwhich resulted in the deceleration of AI. At least, of the generative AI that does not reason. That of course seems to have collided with a wall, and can no longer improve. We are, in the face of a change of total focus towards reasoning models. It is happening to all. GPT-4.5 is the acceptance of this new reality by OpenAI, but there are many other AI companies that are in the same situation. The new versions of the models “that do not reason” do not just arrive. Grok 3 does not arrive and Xai is staying behindbut we have also not seen Claude 3.5 successor and we don’t know what Anthropic is working. Google just Present Gemini 2.0but the leap in capabilities with respect to Gemini 1.5 is not spectacular, at least if we do not take into account its reasoning version, Flash Thinking. I told you. Experts like Yann Lecun, head of goal, since warning that this strategy of “more data and more GPUS” had an expiration date. Ilya Sutskever, Openai co -leaflet and now with her own startup of AI, It also made it clear months ago. For him the massive training of an AI model using a large set of data without labeling so that the model detects patterns and structures no more than itself, and even trying to do it more and larger, also did not offer too many advantages. So, why spend so much money? If traditional models can no longer advance with that climbing, the question is obvious: why are companies investing billions of dollars in data centers? The answer is diverse. First, the climb is still useful to improve the models and make them behave better and comment less errors. Data centers make sense. But it is also the section of inference: that gigantic infrastructure in which companies are investing is not so much to train models with the traditional approach, but so that hundreds or even billions of people end up using AI in their day continuously. That is the current bet. That live the models that reason. The deceleration of the AI ​​that takes time speaking is not “of the whole AI”, but as we say of the traditional generative models that did not reason. The new models such as O1, Deepseek R1 or Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking are clearly the trend: increasingly precise and with answers that have more and more quality and really help us to trust them. To do work for us almost “blind.” We have advances in AI for a while. The AI ​​still has a long way forward. That the climbing approach (more Gpus, more data, this is war) does not make much sense, because there are other paths. Many. And that of reasoning models is just one of them. Image | Amazon In Xataka | OpenAi wants to be the new Google with GPT-5: You will ask and the AI ​​will already decide how it answers you

Apple Watch technology in headphones. Measuring heart rate is no longer just a clock

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Apple bought Beats Music and Beats Electronics in 2014 and, although the AirPods are still the most recognizable headphones of the company, the development of Beats has not stopped since then. The Powerbeats pro 2 They are the new beatic headphones and, in addition to respecting the hook format that works so much in the sports market, these are the first headphones under the Apple umbrella that land with A curious function: heart rhythm monitoring. These headphones, at a technical level, arrive with cancellation of active noise, adaptive equalization, space audio, Apple H2 chip and total compatibility with Apple devices (hands -free with Siri, network search, link with a single touch, etc.) They promise an autonomy of up to 10 hours Of continuous reproduction, they work with Qi wireless loaders and are resistant to both sweat and water. What is expected of beats that are launched at a price of 299.95 euros. What does a cardiac monitoring sensor paint in headphones Made the presentations, the clear doubt comes in its key specification. These powerbeats are capable of Measure our frequency in real time. They become the first Beats product to incorporate this monitoring. But how do they work in headphones? According to Beats, a lot of development has been invested to design and locate these control sensors. In this case, They are located right next to the padand make green light more than 100 times per second. The company details that the years of research in heart rate control of Apple Watch have been used to continue this development in the headphones, reducing technical architecture to 1/16 of its original size to integrate it into a headset, without compromising comfort or precision. Beyond marketing, Apple has trimmed Apple Watch sensors to implement them in these headphones. And, yes, they will only work if you have both positions. The goal is to offer an alternative to the smart watch, so that athletes can measure their heart rate while wearing headphones. They are a solution for those fashionable sports, such as Crossfit or Hyrox, in which it is not possible to train with a clock placed. Headphones as a health complement Apple has not been the first to introduce heart rhythm sensors into headphones. Amazfit got it in 2020 with its Powerbudssome headphones of less than 100 euros, and Anker sells his Soundcore with a “similar” technology. The quoted is mandatory because, to date, Apple Watch heart rate measurement is one of the most reliable proposals. If Beats has managed to take this technology to its headphones, at least on paper, They should lead this land. Beyond this particular case, these headphones They will be an excellent thermometer. They can be the door that, in the near future, Apple Airpods incorporate heart rhythm sensor. A movement that would make enough sense, seen the clear health approach that the company’s products have. Image | Beats In Xataka | Apple Watch 10. Who is who in the Smart Watches range of Apple

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