nightmare

It is called “Narcotanque” and is a nightmare in Mexico

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The drug cartels are still a problem in Mexico. Also in other Latin American territories, but Mexico is the country that exemplifies How far they can go These organizations. They are present in segments as lucrative as the avocado culturehis violence It affects tourism And it is so widespread in the Mexican economy that already controls the 13% of products distribution. And nothing exemplifies both its power and influence as a vehicle. The drug tank. Narcochapuza. Before entering land vehicles, let’s talk about sailors. Not of the boats, but of something much more sophiscite: the Narcosubmarinos. Very handmade submersible vehicles at the beginning and more sophisticated over time They are the ones that the drug cartels use to cross the ocean and move tons of drugs on each trip. They were the answer to the need to move the drug produced. In the case of land vehicles, the need is not so much to move merchandise as protecting it, sow panic among enemies and demonstrate the power of each organization. Thus, about 15 years ago, and as we see in BBCNarcotanques began to appear: commercial vehicles available in the market that the cartels modified, adding armor layers to create something bungling and not very aesthetic, but functional. Monsters. The photo that opens this article is an example that it was not the most sophisticated work in the world, but fulfilled its mission of being a heavy vehicle with protection against conventional ammunition and with the ability to sow terror among the adversaries. Its appearance motivated the nickname of ‘monster’ or ‘vehiclerhinoceros‘And, like those first submarines, they were artisanal armored by the addition of steel plates between two and three centimeters thick, bases and sight points for machine guns and rifles, as well as reinforced front systems in case you had to collide with something. Photo of Vïctor González Photo of Vïctor González Narcotanques. Since the beginning of the last decade, these vehicles have extended between different bands due to their effectiveness sowing panic (imagine seeing a mole of these on your street) and because they resist impacts of the ammunition of the rival poster. But, as in the case of submarines, the cartels have begun to create increasingly sophisticated armored. They are still handmade and the welding lines or the fact that they use conventional vehicles can be seen, but in a short time they have passed from ‘fugitutes’ with steel sheets to vehicles that could go through a military tank. An example is the one shown by the youtuber Víctor González in this video: Ford Super Duty. The specs From this pickup they are spectacular. Available in 4×4 with V8 engines, load capacity of 3.6 tons and possibility to tow another 18 tons, the Ford Super Duty It is the dream of any average American, but also the base on which the drug traffickers have built a armored … spectacular. Photo of Vïctor González In González’s video we can see that not only have they adapted the camouflage patterns of military vehicles, but we cannot intuit what vehicle it is because the exterior is deeply modified. Steel plates that cover each millimeter, small crystals and with several inches shielding, small openings that can be closed and for those that appear guns of the rifles, protected inputs and even a 360º upper torrett system. Photo of Vïctor González As we said, there are elements that highlight, as the welds seen, but have shielded to the wheels. The price of such a modification? High: up to two million pesos, equivalent to about $ 100,000, as we read in Infobae. Others are more … discreet. They look like normal trucks, but they have a considerable caliber cannon inside: Capture. And it is not something that the drug traffickers have hidden: when a group has been having better armored ones, they have boasted both of them and the captures of similar vehicles of rival groups. It is still, as we said some lines, a sample of power and a powerful deterrent. Now, just like the drug traffickers capture ‘tanks’ of enemies, the authorities also have a decade ‘ensuring’ the drug trafficking. In recent years, the authorities have seized almost 300 of these armored vehicles, which they subsequently use in training centers of their police and military forces. In this way, security forces can know what tactics are drugs to shield vehicles, discover their weak points and perform maneuvers and simulations as realistic as possible. Also They destroy Those who are not useful. Relative effectiveness. And the big question, or one of them, may be how troops are these tanks in combat, and not as much as a deterrent. The answer depends a lot on who is facing. In that war against rival cartels, conflicts in the streets and even ‘standard’ police forces, these armored ones are useful. Against army forces with more prepared armored people and, above all, with greater technology, drug trafficking are not so effective. Now, they are modernizing. Groups such as the Gulf Cartel Han started to implement improvements that go beyond armor: software installed in vehicles that blocks the signal of enemy drones. What is clear is that these narcotanques have changed a lot in a few years, moving from very handmade vehicles to authentic moles with modern military capabilities. And it is another sample of the power of these organizations and how far they can go to protect their resources and end the rivals. Images | ZestymasterofzestyVíctor González In Xataka | Mexico plans 3,000 new kilometers of train for goods and passengers. The big question is what happens to the drug traffickers

It is a nightmare for privacy

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On the Internet everything is shared with incredible ease, we often do it without stopping to think about the possible consequences. Therefore, for years, privacy experts insist on the same thing: we should not publish anything that we are not willing to see publicly exposed. Although it may seem evident, the warning also applies to private accounts. Because what is “only for friends” today, tomorrow can be exposed without prior notice. That risk has just acquired a new dimension. It no longer depends only on what we show, but also on what technology can deduce on their own. The images we publish can hide valuable information, such as the place where they were taken. And with the arrival of artificial intelligence models capable of analyzing and reasoning with photographs, the exhibition is even greater. OpenAi’s AI can know where you took a photo. The new OpenAI models, known as O3 and O4-miniThey have brought visual reasoning to a new level. They are able to analyze images with surprising precision, and combine that ability with tools such as web search and image editing to further refine their answers. This allows them, for example, to give you better explanations than those of a manual or help you understand a complex plane. But it also opens the door to uses that should make us reflect. New viral trend. One of the latest fashions in networks like X has nothing to do with creating Ghibli -style images or Lego -style compositions. Now, many users are using these models to identify the exact place where a photograph was taken, even when it does not include metadata. Just tell the model that they are playing Geoguesr to start analyzing the image, cutting details, looking for coincidences and reaching a conclusion. In one of our tests, the system managed to identify a concrete street in Madrid from a simple screenshot. It took about 15 minutes, but hit the nail. A feature that should make us think. In an environment as hyperconnected as the current one, where the photos are constantly shared, we must keep in mind that it is not necessary to explicitly geolocate an image so that others can find out where it was taken. Artificial intelligence has raised the level of exposure without many realizing. And although this capacity has interesting applications, it also raises important risks. Privacy, more and more, depends not only on what we share, but what others can deduce from it. Images | Screen capture In Xataka | O4-mini is much more than another model of AI. It is the Tesla Model 3 of OpenAI

Chinese memory chips manufacturers are a nightmare for the US and South Korea. There is a lot at play

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Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) is one of the largest memory chips manufacturers in China. Its quota in the global market is approximately 6%so it is far from South Korean companies Samsung and SK Hynix, and also from the American Micron Technology, the three companies that lead this sector. Even so, Its weight in the Chinese market is very largeespecially because US sanctions They prevent American and South Korean memories manufacturers selling their most sophisticated integrated circuits to their Chinese clients. YMTC is in the spotlight of the US administration for more than two years. In fact, at the end of 2022 the Department of Commerce led by Gina Raimondo He decided to include this company in his blacklist because he had managed to develop an ambitious 128 layer memory chip. Currently YMTC is one of the companies that have the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology in China, and curiously, According to Techinsights He has reached this position without resorting to foreign technology. Not even Asml’s. YMTC aspires to intimidate the leaders of the memory chips market This achievement seems to have been possible because YMTC has the complicity of three of the most important Chinese lithography equipment: Naura Technology, Amec (Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China) and Piotech Inc. The most shocking thing is that according to Techinsight analysts, which is a Canadian communication platform intimately linked to the semiconductor industry and with Great credibilityYMTC has managed to put avant -garde memory chips capable of rivaling the most advanced foreign solutions. YMTC has published about 20 new patents in which it describes processes that seek to increase efficiency And it has managed to refine its technology of stacking of memory cells in layers known as ‘xtacking’ until reaching a level of performance in its integrated nand type circuits similar to that of the comparable memories of Samsung or SK Hynix. However, this is not all. According to SCMPYMTC has recently published about 20 new patents in which it describes processes that seek to increase efficiency and optimize chips stacking structures. It is evident that the development of the technological capacity of Chinese manufacturers of integrated memory circuits represents a threat to Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron Technology. However, YMTC is not the only Chinese company with the ability to put in trouble the manufacturers of South Korean and American memory chips. Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) is one of the Chinese companies specialized in the production of memory chips, and, like other companies in the country led by Xi Jinping, it has chosen to compete in this market so attractive deploying a very aggressive pricing policy. CXMT in particular has increased its production capacity of DRAM chips almost five times during the last four years, which has allowed it to increase its global market share until it reaches a very worthy 9%. This growth has placed this company just behind Micron Technology if we stick to its market share, so it is already the fourth largest memory chips manufacturer on the planet. To curl the curl even more The Chinese government is supporting economically to its manufacturers of this type of semiconductors in response to the sanctions deployed by the US and its allies, so the competitiveness of Chinese companies is upwards. More information | SCMP In Xataka | China needs to develop a new type of immune chips to US sanctions. And their scientists have just achieved it

The M-30 tunnels are an absolute nightmare for your mobile GPS. Madrid wants to fix it using bluetooth

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If you have ever crossed the tunnels of the M-30it is more than likely that you have run out of coverage at some point. It is a more serious problem than it might seem, since the direct translation of not being clear what the correct exit ends up generating less fluidity and traffic safety. The Madrid City Council is aware of the problemand has announced the installation of a system that will allow GPS navigation systems, such as Google or Waze, to work properly within these areas. The problem. The M30 tunnels are especially extensive and thick, a terrible combination for the signal of the GPS satellites I can end up going through them. It is more than usual to lose connection when we are inside and, taking into account the importance of real -time calculations for current GPS systems, this ends up translating into a insured malfunction. The solution. From this Monday, the Madrid City Council will begin the installation of a Bluetooth electronic beacon system in order to allow guided navigation while we circulate through these tunnels. “The initiative is based on the implementation of location beacons with the objective of resolving the lack of the inviability of GPS navigation inside the tunnels as a result of the lack of visibility of satellites that allow obtaining a precise and continuous positioning through triangulation techniques.” The City Council itself admits that it is unfeasible to use GPS systems inside the tunnel. So in the absence of GPS, Bluetooth. How will it work. Madrid will locate different Bluetooth beacons inside the tunnels, with distances of 20 to 40 meters between each of them. They will be located on the sides of the tunnel by specific supports. These beacons will issue an identification signal to their own position, something that browsers can use to determine where we are. Because yes, although we are accustomed to using GPS signal, navigation apps can use Bluetooth when there is no coverage. Does not work by default. The problem of this measure is that Google Maps, the most used maps app in Spain, does not allow the default Bluetooth to use. It is necessary to navigate to the Android settings, go to “navigation”, and activate the Bluetooth beacons. In iOS the option is not available, although it is enough to activate the location functions so that it can work. Image | Xataka and Madrid City Council In Xataka | GPS locator purchase guide: tips and recommendations to succeed and seven models from 30 euros

A user bought a state -of -the -art connected dishwasher. There began his nightmare

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“I will not connect my dishwasher to your stupid cloud.” That has been The declaration of intentions From Jeff Geerling, a well -known YouTuber, after buying a new household appliance. It is something that we are living for years: the condemnation of the products that force us to spy on everything they do because if they do not work as they should theoretically. Premieving dishwasher. This week Geerling explained in his blog and also In a video on YouTube How he bought a new dishwasher from the Bosch brand. Specifically, one of the 500 series, because I had seen it recommended in Consumer Reports, a well -known organization of consumers and users in the US. After the installation the surprise came: I could not turn it on and put it to work without more. Wi-Fi and Mandatory Online Account. When trying to start it and start a clarified cycle, Geerling realized that he could not activate that option. After reading the manual he knew why. I needed to do two things first. The first, connect your dishwasher to your domestic wi-fi network. The second, create an account in the Bosch Home Connect service, which would allow you to access the option of clarified and some additional options, such as ecological or medium load mode. I could not even use the basic options via Bluetooth for example: it had to connect it to the Wi-Fi network and create the account yes or yes. If you want screen, it’s time to pay more. The dishwasher that bought this youtuber is a model that costs around $ 1,000. In spite of this – or precisely because of that – it did not have physical buttons, and the controls are tactile and are at the dishwasher door when opening it. There is also no screen that allows you to know how much time it remains for the washing cycle to end, for example. The upper series, the Bosch 800, do have that screen, but there is to pay $ 400. Why do I need a dishwasher app? As Geerling indicated, a local application with some type of direct wireless connection – but without connection to the outside or the rest of the local network devices – could make sense, but this did not have it. That you have to control virtually all the options and information of your washing machine mandatory through an app and a Wi-Fi connection was absurd according to your opinion. “I don’t need internet in my dishwasher,” he said. Few and bad options. This YouTuber is a technology expert and is accustomed to finding solutions to these types of problems. He talked about how maybe I could not use those advanced options, but if you spend $ 1,000 in a dishwasher it seems like not strange not to be able to use them. He also thought of using a VLAN network for IoT devices (a separate and isolated network). Nor hack it compensates too much. There is even an even more technical option, because someone has made reverse engineering of the Bosch protocol and has created a HCPY protocol To control these dishwashers without the manufacturer being able to do anything. However, that would force him to devote several more hours to putting everything in motion and all he wanted was to be able to use his dishwasher in a simple way. And he could return the appliance, but he had also invested time and effort to install it at home. A dishwasher should not connect to the Internet. For Geerling Bosch’s strategy is an absolute mistake. Among other things because if you depend on an application and a cloud service to use your dishwasher, Bosch will have to manage and maintain that service, which means two things: either they are selling the data of your use of the appliance, or will end up closing the service or migrating it to be a subscription service, something that has passed in similar scenarios. And a potential security hole. But it is also that a dishwasher is part of your domestic network opens another potential attack vector. If someone manages to find vulnerability in Bosch dishwasher, they will have access to the rest of your local area network. That It has also happened. Not onebut several times. Not everything needs to be connected. Geerling’s conclusion – with which we agree – is that IoT appliances and products should be designed with a maximum: first that they work at home, and then, if perhaps, they work in the cloud as something optional. This dishwasher is an example of a trend that can make sense in some areas, but not of course in this concrete. Image | Jeff Geerling In Xataka | We are running out of “dumb” appliances. The latest LG is a microwave with screen and speakers

The worst nightmare of the Atlantic Alliance is more than an investment issue

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That Donald Trump is not a NATO enthusiast is nothing new. He already showed him during His first mandatewhen he slid the possibility that the US took a step back in the Atlantic Alliance, and has underlined it several times since then, like candidate and elected president. But as the relationship It is tense With Europe and within its own team Voices are raised in favor of Washington to break with the Treaty of 1949a question arises, increasingly stronger: what would happen if the US is detached from NATO? To answer it, you need to review a little recent history, geostrategy … and also mathematics. An NATO without the US? Only the fact that The question this On the table It is already significant. Especially since the clouds that overshadow the future of the US in NATO do not arise from speculation or rumors, but from comments from high positions of Washington, including Trump himself, who in December, still as elected president, He complained that the Atlantic Alliance is “taking advantage of the US.” “They take advantage of us in trade, our cars or our foods are not taken. They do not wear anything. It’s a shame. And we defend them, so the blow is double,” Trump charged during An interview In NBC News. And when the journalist asked him if she would consider excluding NATO US in case she concludes that her treatment towards the US is not “fair,” repliedresounding: “Yes, of course.” The continuity in the alliance, he stressed, is conditioned to the whole of its members “pay their bills.” A background rumor. It was not the first time that there was talk of NATO’s departure. It hasn’t been the last. Six years ago The New York Times public that in 2018 Trump already threatened with the withdrawal of NATO. And that was during his first term. The second has started just a month And it is already marked by distancing between Washington and some of its historical allies, such as Canada or the EU. The clearest (and graphic) test was the negotiating table created by the US and Russia to end the Ukraine War without reserving a seat for Ukraine or the Union. The trend seems to also go in Crescendo, without visos that it will break. In the last days We have seen Europe closing rows Around Ukraine, Trump and Zelenski showing Prime Time Your total lack of harmony Already Elon Musk, Trump’s great ally, Chairing the debate on the output of the US USA. Yesterday the businessman shared a tweet that he said “it’s time to leave NATO and UN” next to the next harvest message: “I Agree”. An NATO without the US? The same question of the principle, but with a different sense, that of viability: Is a NATO with Washington in profile or in which the US directly step back? A few days ago, during An interview In the BBC, the NATO general secretary, Mark Rutte, asked if the rest of the allies could replace the US hole in case he withdraws his military support from Ukraine, his response was revealing: that scenario is not raised. Click on the image to go to Tweet. A “100%risk”. After insisting that the US “wants to bring Ukraine to a lasting peace”, the high position of NATO slid: “We go beyond this issue. It is crucial that we all remain together in this: USA, Ukraine, Europe, that we take Ukraine to Peace. That is exactly why Trump struggles, so we all fight.” Zelenski, who It has been ambitioning for some time The adhesion of your country to NATO, a perspective that seems farther today, after contacts between Moscow and Washington, is even clearer. In Another talk Recent with journalists, he warned of the consequences that Trump would have to step back in NATO, not only for his country, but for the whole of the continent: “The risk of Russia from occupying Europe is one hundred percent if the United States withdraws from NATO.” Weight question. The key is the weight that Washington has in NATO. The agency’s estimates by 2024 provided that the US be The third country of the alliance that higher percentage of its GDP allocated to defense, 3.4%, only behind Poland and Estonia. Washington’s commitments go beyond the North Atlantic Treaty and given the size of its economy, it is estimated that US defense spending represents near two thirds of NATO total. As for costs, the body applies A cast Based on national income and the US stands out again as one of the greatest taxpayers, with almost 16%, like Germany. The United Kingdom is in third place with 11% and France occupies fourth place, with just over 10%. Of percentages to dollars. World Population Review has created A map in which the contribution of each country attached to NATO in 2023 is even more graphic, both in the percentage of GDP and in funds dedicated to investment in defense. The US stands out with 3.49% and 860,000 million of dollars, well above From the second country, Germany. As a picture is worth a thousand words, it is good to take a look at the graphic prepared in 2024 by Visual Capitalist to understand the weight of US investment in defense compared to the other 31 countries of the Alliance. The other approach. It matters what the United States contributes, but it also matters to what extent the rest of the countries attached to NATO contribute. Trump has already publicly demanded the rest of the nations that raise their contribution until reaching 5% of his GDP, even above what the US himself allocates. And he does not seem willing to change his strategy. “I told the countries ‘I will not protect them unless you pay,’ and they started paying. That amounted to more than 600,000 million dollars,” He presumed In December. The 5% barrier is well above the 2% that NATO itself has been marked, the latter percentage that probably not to … Read more

The intentions of the United Kingdom with Apple are a nightmare for privacy. That of the British and that of the whole world

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With the security excuse, the United Kingdom has demanded from Apple to open an intentional gap in the privacy of its users that could have severe global consequences. Why is it important. The British government order would force Apple to create a universal access rear door to ICloud. That would not only compromise the security and privacy of British users: it would affect those around the world. The context. The British government has secretly ordered Apple to create a mechanism that allows access to all the encrypted content that any Apple user rises to the cloud, regardless of its location. He has revealed it The Washington Post citing their own sources. Between the lines. The British demand goes far beyond punctual collaboration with justice: it seeks to have total and permanent access to user encrypted data. We had never seen anything like that in a western democracy. What will happen now? It is an enigma, but there is a scenario that seems very likely: if this goes ahead, Apple will surely stop offering encryption storage in the United Kingdom rather than compromise global security. The order is based on the controversial Law of Investigation Powers of 2016, known as “Fake letter“ The law prohibits Apple to reveal the existence of this order or warn its users. The threat. If the United Kingdom gets this access, other countries could demand the same privilege, and that would create a domino effect that would load privacy as we know it. All world’s iPhone users would have a strainer on their phone. The battle for digital privacy always to two irreconcilable visions: National Security that governments claim The protection of data that defend technological ones. The following will be to see how Apple responds to this request, what options they have left and how it protects the privacy of its users if British legislation is reached that raises such an invasive scenario. In Xataka | Apple’s metamorphosis: from the minimalist catalog to calculated maximalism Outstanding image | Pexels, Xataka with Mockuuups Studio

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