quality

To the question of which Spaniard has the highest quality semen, the answer is clear: it is not the people of Madrid.

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Semen also has geography. And in Spain, Madrid does not fare well. Let’s assume that semen quality has been declining for decades. In Spain it has fallen 28% in just 15 years, a 78% if we value the last two decades. That is to say, a concentration of sperm is produced so low that it is less than half of what it was in the 70s. And it continues in constant regression. With this breeding ground, the question is: and which region is coping best with this decline? Alcohol and coffee have nothing to do with each other. The investigation analyzed 386 men seen in seven Spanish fertility clinics—such as the Bernabeu Institute—between 2024 and 2025. After adjusting variables such as body mass index, exercise, and alcohol, tobacco, or coffee consumption, the authors observed that men from the north recorded the best seminal parameters, even when their habits were similar to those of other regions. This gives us a clue to talk about pollution, environmental inequality and public health. The results have been presented at the 42nd congress of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). AND In it we can find clear differences in semen quality depending on the area in which the donors live. Those who win this game are the residents of the north, with Asturias and Cantabria far ahead of Madrid and the center of the peninsula. But there is fine print. More agile, faster. The total count of motile sperm is striking, almost double in the north than in the central area. In data: 94.35 million on average compared to 50.11 million in the central area. This index talk about health: “the northern region also presented the highest average sperm concentration (80.96 million/ml) and sperm motility (44.79%), compared to 55.4% in southern Spain and 53.4% ​​in the center.” If diet, exercise or substance use alone do not draw this map of semen quality, what does? The first conjectures point to a population that breathes worse, drinks and involuntarily incorporates into its body part of the atmospheric pollution, a mixture of industrial and agricultural toxins, where endocrine disruptors in plasticspesticides and everyday cosmetics. Out of the pot. Beyond Spain, the pattern repeats itself: studies with fertile men In cities such as Copenhagen, Paris, Edinburgh and Turku, they already showed in the early 2000s that the Finns had the highest sperm concentrations while the Danes recorded the lowest values, with also variations in mobility depending on the city. If we take a look at the retrospective analyzes of French donors found significant differences within the country itself in volume, concentration, and total number of sperm. The north wins again. In general, the men of the nordic west They have worse semen quality than those from the Baltic area, in parallel with a higher incidence of testicular cancer, another marker of male reproductive stress. Does better semen equal more pregnancies? Not necessarily, but almost. Let us keep in mind that, although the relationship with fertility is not linear, below certain thresholds of concentration and mobility, the probability of spontaneous pregnancy decreases considerably. To understand what “better semen” means, it is worth going down a level. According to the World Health Organization, reference values ​​are measured in concentration (millions of sperm per milliliter), ejaculate volume, percentage of motile sperm and proportion of sperm with morphology considered normal. It is necessary to distinguish between progressive sperm (the vanguard that advances efficiently), versus non-progressive and completely immotile ones. In morphology, the shape of the head, middle piece and tail (flagellum) is evaluated, since anatomical alterations can make fertilization difficult. Plastics and fertility. By the way: nitrile and latex gloves release plastic microparticles and contaminate environmental measurements does not invalidate that the presence of endocrine disruptors in human tissue does not affect male fertility. The evidence is solid. For example, a 2023 study that analyzed 6 human testicles and 30 semen samples found microplastics both in tissue and fluid: around 0.23 ± 0.45 particles per milliliter in semen and 11.60 ± 15.52 particles per gram of testicle, with sizes mostly between 20 and 100 microns, finding polystyrene in testicles and polyethylene and PVC in semen. The problem is broader. The taboo of male fertility, treated as a private matter, has obscured problems that can be investigated as a collective indicator. And this deterioration does not respond, or not only, to individual behavior. The greatest weight lies in the place you livenot in the genes you carry. A cardinal clue: of course smoking, drinking or moving more or less matter, but it does not depend so much on personal decisions. A debate that is more political than folkloric (and health and regulatory). A cocktail of bisphenol A, methyl, ethyl, propyl and butylparabens, benzophenones and phthalate metabolites is directly associated with significant reductions in total and progressive sperm motility. Therefore, Asturias beating Madrid is not something to celebrate, but rather to raise the alarm about the qualities of the water – it will not be that good -, what pesticides are used nearby and what mix of chemicals goes through daily life. The tip of an iceberg that does not lie in who comes out better off, but rather in the cost of those who come out worse off. Images | Unsplash (1, 2 and 3) In Xataka | We already know how much we Spaniards masturbate at work (and what is more important: which communities win) In Xataka | If you are worried about the quality of your sperm, science has a clear recipe for you: ejaculate more

“Now there is money everywhere and if you have a quality company, you will have a lot of funds waiting”

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Like scouts for football or basketball clubs, investment funds and large companies use a figure with the same purpose. They are the ‘scouts’ or startup scouts. Their mission: to find promising companies when they have not yet been discovered, to be the first or among the first to invest or collaborate with them. In silver, arrive before anyone else. “These ‘scout’ programs become popular during approximately 2021-2022, in the midst of valuation hysteria for technology companies. It is a time of prosperity for the funds, which begin to see that the companies’ income multiples begin to grow very quickly,” says Kintxo Cortés, referring to the fact that the investment enthusiasm resulted in the companies’ income having to be multiplied each time by a higher number (x4, then x6, then x11…) to arrive at your assessment. For reference, the current 5 trillion dollars of capitalization of Nvidia are equivalent to multiplying its annual income by 20. In the case of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, the figure would come from multiplying turnover by 11 and in that of Apple, by 10. “In venture capital what is happening is that money is a commodity. There are very good funds, so it is not only a race to see who finds the company that grows the best but also who enters a promising company the earliest,” explains Cortés, who has been a scout for four years. He currently collaborates with the Accel and Samaipata funds, in addition to working at the connectivity company Gigs. “Now there is money everywhere and if you are an entrepreneur and have a quality company, you will have a lot of funds that will want to put money into you.” In an environment like the one Cortés draws, investment funds can only be differentiated in two ways. One of them is with its team of professionals, capable of adequately supporting the startup. The other is with speed. Whoever gets to the entrepreneur first has an advantage when it comes to investing. So the funds have diversified their search for projects with potential. The objective is to enter capital very soon, even with a small position. And this is where the scouting activity unfolds. They are specialists and know the entrepreneurship ecosystem inside out in certain areas or niches. They allow the funds to gain capillarity that they do not have with their staff alone. This way they have access to a greater number of companies and can glimpse promising teams operating in interesting sectors as soon as possible. Although this scout profile is not the only one that scans the landscape in search of attractive startups. Gema García González, director of Open Innovation and Coporte Venturing at Repsol, is in charge of a team of ten people dedicated to reinforcing the company’s technological development with external resources. “We try to be flexible, we work with other research centers, with other corporations and, of course, with startups. The entrepreneurial ecosystem has many pieces, it has grown a lot in recent years and can contribute a lot to us in developments that we want to accelerate,” he explains. In this case the scouts are on staff. Thus, the company has invested in more than 35 startups and today works with 21 companies, detected by its analyst service. “We do not invest in what any investment fund can invest in, we invest in something that can be strategic for the company, in startups with which we want to collaborate,” says García González. Repsol scouts, working within the framework of its R&D center, Tech Lab, comb the entrepreneurial ecosystem in search of circular economy, energy optimization or renewable hydrogen projects. “My team has to dedicate part of its time to being very connected to the ecosystem. It needs to have a good network of contacts with other corporations, with other investment funds, go to conferences and startup events and see which platforms are the best to launch technological challenges,” explains García González. He clarifies that one of the formulas for finding interesting projects is the launch of contests and challenges that reward the best solutions to a given problem. Don’t let the next ‘PayPal Mafia’ escape The connection with the entrepreneurial world is essential. In the technology sector, a trend that has been seen for a few years has been accentuated. “There are companies that are doing very well in technology and have many employees who begin to set up other companies because they have access to liquidity, either because the company goes public or they can move shares in the secondary market,” says Cortés. “They find themselves with a lot of money and the desire to continue building things.” The phenomenon is not new and is reminiscent of the success of ‘PayPal Mafia’a symbol of that diaspora that sometimes occurs in technology companies. Many talented employees and deep pockets who decide to undertake can emerge from them. From the early days of PayPal came Elon Musk, the founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman and the investor Peter Thiel. And other employees started projects such as YouTube, Yelp or the social application Slide, acquired by Google. More recently, the brain drain at OpenAI also illustrates how talent within one startup ends up spawning other startups. That’s where the Amodei brothers came from.which they founded Anthropicformer chief scientist Ilya Sutskever (Safe Superintelligence) or former CTO Mira Murati (Thinking Machines Lab). The great value of Kintxo Cortés for the funds with which he collaborates is his network of contacts with employees and former employees of the companies where he has worked, especially Airbnb, Shopify and Trade Republic. That connection is key for investing entities, which do not have the structure on their own to delve into the ins and outs of the projects formed by former employees of the technology companies. Even fewer are able to discern which employees they should pay attention to, whether because they are the sharpest, most talented, or best positioned. A corporation like Repsol must also be clear about which … Read more

Experts agree that “the quality of rest depends on whether you go to bed at the time when your body is ready to sleep”

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When you read the question “what time should you go to bed?” He usually waits for a number, a specific time, a recurring pattern to do as the day ends. Bad news. What research has discovered is that the ‘perfect time’ for going to bed is with parents. That is, genetics (chronotype) and a handful of other things. That’s why it’s time to see what the experts say. The time to go to sleep. These days, there are some statements from dr. Celia García Maloneurologist specializing in Sleep Medicine and co-director of the Madrid Clinic CISNe in which she explains that the quality of rest does not depend only on the number of hours. On the contrary, it often depends on sleeping at a time when the body is biologically ready for it. This is interesting because it shows a paradigm shift in global sleep science. That moment matters, yes (but not that much). In 2021, Nikbakhtian and his team reviewed sleep routines of more than 100,000 adults. The interesting thing about this study is that they did not use self-reported responses, but rather what a week of wrist accelerometer data said. Their conclusions were clear: going to bed between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. was associated with a lower cardiovascular incidence. It was bad news for Spain, the European country that takes the longest to go to bed. However, the details are important: it was not a question of ‘the earlier you go to bed the better’ (because going to bed before 10pm was also a problem); It was about finding the appropriate moment for each society, country or culture. And that’s where the surprises begin. Because what we are discovering is that regularity is the key. In this case, the Windred team reviewed data from six years of life of about 60,000 people. Their conclusions were that the most regular quartiles showed between 20% and 48% less mortality from all causes compared to the most irregular ones. This is because, we now believe, genetic variants are associated more with schedule than with duration and quality of the dream. The researchers’ thesis is that when we find a stable time to go to bed, the rest of the pieces begin to organize themselves. What does all this mean? For us mortals who just want to sleep, there are a handful of consequences: There is no magic hour. What we have to do is look for a stable window: if we find a time to go to bed, the rest of the system tends to adapt. However, chronotypes exist. It’s a good idea to find out which one is ours and “negotiate with it.” Take care of your dream. Although we sometimes insist on sleeping at a certain time, we often forget that sleep hygiene (and, above all, light) is one of the most important things to sleep well. Image | Annie Spratt In Xataka | You take some melatonin and fall asleep. It seems like a harmless practice for your health but it is not so.

The best wireless HDMI to send an image to another room with quality and without pulling a cable

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Sometimes we want to see the content on our mobile phone or computer on a larger screen, but it is not always easy. Smart TVs usually have everything you need to do it wirelessly, but older ones don’t. The good news is that there are wireless HDMI solutions that can be very useful, and our recommendation is the Vovipo WTR21 for everything it offers. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links He Vovipo WTR21 It is a wireless HDMI connector that is especially interesting to us because it is usually affordable and offers 4K resolution, so it is also designed to be used on more current televisions or monitors. It is also worth noting something quite practical, and that is that this model incorporates a screen that allows us to know the status of the connection and the strength of the signal. The highlights MODEL PERFECT FOR YOU THE BEST WORST PRICE FROM Vovipo WTR21 If you want to transmit the signal from a laptop to the TV without cables. It offers 4K resolution and has a screen with connection status indicators and signal strength. Does not come with cable adapters. €59.99 Lemorele R1010 If you are looking to connect two screens at the same time, such as a TV and a projector. Includes one transmitter and two receivers, as well as cable adapters. It only offers Full HD resolution. €129.99 Pousild If you want a simple, cheap model and you are close to a Full HD television. It is a basic model and moderately priced. It only offers Full HD resolution and does not have a screen or adapters included. €49.99 J-Tech Digital WEX200V3 If you need to connect several devices that are at a great distance. It offers a fairly large distance, even with obstacles and walls in the way. Its resolution is Full HD and the price is quite high €224.32 Vention TZ-ADP If you want a fairly complete model, with more range and the possibility of connecting several screens or receivers. It has an LED display, has thermal control and offers options with several receivers, up to a maximum of four. It only offers Full HD resolution. €139.99 Lemorele P400 If you want to send an image from a mobile phone, tablet or laptop with USB-C to a TV or projector. It is very versatile. You need the USB-C port on the device to have video output. €65.99 Why they stand out Of all the wireless HDMI kits, we choose the Vovipo WTR21 for everything it offers at a reasonable price. Next, we will review the main characteristics of these devices so that you are clear about what criteria to follow when choosing one model or another. The maximum range. The first thing we must be clear about is the distance at which we are going to have each of the wireless HDMI kits, since not all of them offer the same maximum range. In addition, it is important to know both the maximum distance and whether they are capable of transmitting the signal through physical obstacles such as walls, since some models require direct vision between both connectors for them to work correctly. The resolution and refresh rate supported. Generally, the wireless HDMI kits that we will find in stores will offer Full HD or 4K resolution. Depending on the use we want to give it, it is advisable to choose one or the other. For example, if your idea is to work or use some programs from the couch, a Full HD resolution will be enough. On the other hand, if you want to play multimedia content, the resolution should be 4K (as long as the television is compatible). The same goes for the refresh rate. If you are going to watch movies and series or use some applications, a rate of 60 Hz will be enough. But if you are looking for a much smoother experience because you are going to play video games, it is recommended that the rate reach 120 Hz. The latency. Latency is the time it takes for the image to be played from a device where we have the main HDMI connector installed until it reaches the screen where we have the second connector. And since we are talking about wireless devices, it is practically inevitable that we will encounter some latency. If you are going to watch a movie, latency will not have as big an impact on having a good experience. On the other hand, if you are going to play video games, especially if they are competitive, it is advisable that the wireless HDMI connector have a very low latency. The frequency band. The frequency band is the channel through which data will be sent between both HDMI connectors. Normally we will find 5 GHz and 60 GHz frequencies, and each of them has its advantages and disadvantages: 5 GHz: is the most common, offers good speed and is capable of passing through physical objects such as walls. 60 GHz: In models that work at 60 GHz, the speed is usually higher, but they require direct vision between transmitter and receiver, so they normally do not pass through walls. Connectivity. Some wireless HDMI kits come with a single HDMI port to function, while others are more complete and offer the possibility of connecting them to devices through other ports, USB-C being the most common. It is important to be clear about what devices we are going to use. If it is a laptop, it is possible that (almost) any model will work for you. On the other hand, if you are going to connect a mobile phone, you will need it to have a USB-C port or an adapter. Transmitters and receivers. These types of devices generally come with a transmitter and a receiver, although several may come. In any case, it must be taken into account that: Transmitters capture the signal from the source device and send it to the … Read more

its new contest for the AVE will prioritize quality over money

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Last month, Renfe gave the green light to the purchase of those 30 new AVE trains (expandable to 40) with which it hopes to renew its fleet in Spain. The railway operator has launched them into competition and it is expected that in September we will know which companies will be in charge of producing these new trains. What is clear is that Renfe does not want to repeat the chaos suffered with Talgo, and has already admitted that it will seek to prioritize quality over price. About the Avril trains. This new tender has a starting point that has given the operator quite a headache. We talk about The Talgo Avrilthe series 106 trains that today cover, among other routes, the Galicia-Madrid high-speed line. Renfe ordered 30 units in two batches between 2015 and 2016 and the result ended up being a deadline disaster. The trains arrived more than two years late, costing Talgo a penalty of 116 million euros. And when they finally went into service, the first few months left a rosary of incidents on different lines. Renfe does not want to repeat this chaos, so it intends to be more cautious in the specifications. How the new contest works. The operator has structured the scoring of the offers so that the technical proposal worth 70% of the final gradecompared to 30% that corresponds to the price. Within this technical section, almost 60% of the total is evaluated with objective criteria, but there is 10.2% reserved for value judgments, that is, a more qualitative assessment. Normally in public contracts, the price usually has much more weight. Here, Renfe is betting on paying a little more if that guarantees a better train. Interested manufacturers must submit their offers by June 9, and the opening is scheduled for September 9. The trains requested by Renfe. The specifications require that the new convoys travel at 350 kilometers per hour, that they carry the European ERTMS/ETCS and the Spanish ASFA signaling systems, and that they have at least 450 seats. The first five trains must arrive within 40 months from the signing of the contract, and the entire fleet within 78 months, at a rate of one new train every 45 days. The contract also includes the supply of spare parts and maintenance, bringing the total value of the agreement to 4,145 million euros, according to they count from CincoDías. Who has more chances to win. Two manufacturers start as favorites: Siemens, with its Velaro Novo, and Hitachi, with the ETR-100. But there are more candidates. And just as account The medium, Talgo, despite the Avril precedent, is analyzing the specifications to see if it can present an improved version of that same model. Alstom could also opt with its Avelia AGV, the same train that operates in Italy. The elephant in the room: Chinese trains. The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, announced the contest at the end of March in the Congress of Deputies. Puente has been sending messages about the possibility of buying Chinese trains to reduce costs, an idea that has generated controversy in the sector. For now, the specifications point in the opposite direction, since both the technical requirements, the deadlines and the weight given to quality over price would make it very difficult for a Chinese manufacturer, with no presence or history on the Spanish railway network, to compete. At least in this particular tender. Why the secrecy? Renfe has shielded the documents with a confidentiality clause. Whoever wants to see them has to request them directly from the company, sign a commitment signed by a manager, and receive them in hand. The reason that the operator has officially given is the liberalization of the high-speed market and the presence of competitors such as Iryo and Ouigo, to whom Renfe does not want to give clues about its commercial strategy. Renfe has also warned of possible legal, civil or criminal actions against anyone who leaks the content. What’s coming now? If the schedule is met, Renfe could know in September who it will buy its next AVE from. With 124 of the 160 high-speed trains circulating in Spain, the fleet needs to be renewed, since some models have been in operation for many years and their withdrawal is urgent. Cover image | Renfe In Xataka | Two floors, 200 meters long and one objective: to modernize the most used and chaotic Cercanías line in Spain

For decades, the “Galicia” octopus has been the greatest guarantee of quality. The United Kingdom wants to take it away

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The Galician octopus may be the most famous, but for some time now, talking about the most precious cephalopod in the country’s gastronomy requires looking beyond the Rías Baixas. In fact, it forces us to take a leap of hundreds of kilometers and look at the other side of the English Channel, on the southern coast of the United Kingdom. There the English fishermen have encountered a curious octopus invasion which at first they viewed with suspicion (they have been dedicated to capturing other species for generations), but each time it awakens greater interest in London. The question is how can it affect that to Galicia, a land that has turned octopus into a ‘religion’ (in addition to a big business) and that in recent years has encountered the opposite panorama: a fall in the capture of cephalopods. What has happened? That the octopus map is changing. And although we still don’t know for sure how deep (and stable) that transformation will be, it has been clear enough to generate expectation in Galicia, a land closely linked to the cephalopod from a cultural and economic point of view. To understand it, we have to go back to 2025, when fishermen who fish on the southern coasts of the United Kingdom encountered an unexpected picture: in the pots that have been installed for generations to hunt crabs and lobsters, they began to appear empty shells…a clue to the presence of octopuses. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Why is it so strange? Because the ports in the north of the peninsula are used to large unloadings of octopus, but things change when we talk about Newlyn or Brixham, in England. There the boats that go out to fish hope to collect sole, turbot, crabs or lobsters. A few months ago, however, the fishermen encountered an unexpected (and apparently inexplicable) invasion of Octopus vulgariscephalopods that usually live in the Mediterranean or other areas of the Atlantic, such as the Galician coast. It was not a one-off boom. Nor something anecdotal. The phenomenon was so surprising that it even caught the attention of Stephen Castle, a reporter for The New York Timeswho in September traveled to Brixham to talk to sailors and operators. In a chronicle about what he saw there, he talks about fishermen ecstatic to see how their turnover skyrocketed thanks to new catches, auctions of tons of merchandise and veterans of the sector recognizing that it was the first time they had captured the species in their waters in more than 40 years. This is good news, right? Depends. Castle chatted with fishermen who rub their hands when they see the tentacles wriggling in their nets, but also with others who frustratedly tell how octopuses boycott the pots with which they capture shellfish. They are not the only ones who are not enthusiastic about the new plague. “I recently visited the fishing industry in Plummouth and was informed that there was an unusual abundance of octopuses in the south west. The Ministry of Environment and Food understands that the proliferation is affecting shellfish pot fishing and causing concern in the fishing sector in the area,” warned in May last year the Labor MP Daniel Zeichner. And why not take advantage of it? That is the question that the British authorities seem to have asked themselves, who have decided that the cephalopod invasion may be something more: an opportunity. At the beginning of the year Vigo Lighthouse revealed who in London want to promote a formal, regulated and industrial fishery of the octopus vulgaris. In short: make a virtue of necessity and equip yourself with a strategy to gain a foothold in a market that moves billions of euros. Proof that the United Kingdom they are very serious with the octopus is that the Marine Biological Association (MBA) and the Marine Management Organization (MMO), two departments linked to the Government, “are considering how best to collaborate with the EU to learn from existing octopus fisheries.” a few days ago The Voice of Galicia even reported that the country is already looking at the markets of the rest of Europe and Morocco. It makes sense if we take into account that the change on the English coast, with an octopus boom that in turn reduces the population of other traditional species, already affected to the Christmas campaign. Do they have that many octopuses? Yes. In September, after speaking with the manager of a market, Castle talked about the sale of up to 48 tons of octopus in a single day. Official MMO data shows that last year a total of about 1,900 tons of octopus, especially in Brixham and Dartmouth. It is an exceptional fact. First, because it exponentially multiplies the discrete cephalopod capture data recorded so far. Second, because it surpasses the 1,200 t handled in the markets of Galicia. There is sources which indicate that total sales in the UK markets would be much higher. Data from the Xunta on the sale (blue) and price (yellow) of octopus in the markets of Galicia. Is it something new? Yes. And no. It is not the first time that English fishermen have found octopuses wrapped in their nets and pots. Vigo Lighthouse remember that in Devon and Cornwall sailors already encountered similar situations in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, when the regional press came to speak of “a perfect plague” of “disgusting beasts” that “almost ruined” the sector. On this occasion there are signs that suggest that it will not be something temporary. Experts such as Seteve Simpson, from the University of Bristol, slide that climate change is “a likely factor” in explaining the increase in octopuses in southern England. “Our waters are warming, so our little island of Britain is becoming increasingly favorable for octopus populations,” he theorizes. There are clues that suggest he is not wrong. In Plymouth there are fishermen who recognize that they not only encounter adult specimens when fishing. They also see … Read more

now it wants to sweep iOS and Android in quality

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Huawei’s effort to create a completely new operating system, with its own code and compatible with multiple devices, has been titanic. Since the US Administration will block access to Googlethe company was clear about the solution: to be completely independent from the rest of the world. 2026 aims to be a big year for HarmonyOS, a system that according to Richard Yu will have applications at the iOS and Android level starting next April. The point is that, although comparisons are inevitable, Huawei plays in its own league. The breakup. A few years ago, when Huawei had to create an emergency plan to continue operating, it developed HarmonyOS with Android as a base. In other words, the ROM was still EMUI (Huawei’s customization layer), but without Google services. But, from the beginning, Huawei was clear that it would end up creating an interoperable operating system, designed not only for mobile phones, but for cars, wearables and computers. The peak. Not too long ago, Huawei completed its plan. HarmonyOS became a solution based on 100% own codewithout a trace of a single line of Android. The plan has worked, and China is embracing a domestic product that promises to compete directly with iOS and Android. In recent statements, Richard Yu has stated that the quality of the native HarmonyOS apps will equal those of iOS and Android in quality, expecting to reach 100 million updated devices before the end of the year. What exactly is the promise? Achieve parity in terms of raw performance and security, with the aim of eventually surpassing the user experience of the two most used systems in the world. Competing in another league. Having shed the pressure to sell outside China, Huawei can compete in a different league. One in which the fragmentation problems that Android has been suffering for years do not exist (in fact 90% of Huawei devices of recent years are already updated), and with an ecosystem that makes much more sense in its native country. HarmonyOS is no longer an emergency exit in the face of a veto, it is a show of technological muscle in the Chinese software industry. Far beyond Android. HarmonyOS Next is owned by Huawei, but HarmonyOS is an open source system operated by OpenAtom. The company has played its cards so that its operating system is not just a commercial solution, but a huge ecosystem “independent” of Huawei and integrated within other companies. The key? Huawei, at least in China, It’s at the point I wanted– It’s not just a rival to Android and iOS, it’s much more. It is proof of its technological independence in terms of software, a blow to giants like Google (which have been trying to dominate other sectors for years, such as software in vehicles with solutions like Android Automotive). Image | Xataka In Xataka | Huawei Pura 80 Ultra, analysis: the dethroned king returns to recover his crown with a telephoto lens

assault in sound quality and for being the most comfortable headphones

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Now that Samsung has finally announced the new generation of its headphones, what better way to explore what they offer than to compare them with models from other brands. Are they better than Apple’s? To do this, in this article we are going to put the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 with AirPods Pro 3. The differences between the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 and the AirPods Pro 3 The design, which one do you prefer? It is evident that one of the most important points when using headphones is the design. The Samsung Galaxy Buds4 they have a open, padless design while the AirPods Pro 3 They come with a set of five pads. And this may interest you a lot when buying headphones or others. Each person is different and headphones may be good for one person, but not for you. The good thing about AirPods is that with the pads you can customize the headphones so they fit better in your ears. Samsung does not allow this as it has an open design and no pads, so in the worst case you could feel some discomfort if they are too big for you or they simply fall off when walking, running or exercising. Best for lossless audio The AirPods Pro 3 may be the perfect headphones for an Apple user, but not everything is pretty: the headphones support the AAC codec (256 kbps), so if you use platforms that offer ‘Lossless’ sound quality you will not be able to have the best possible experience. Things change with the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 that support the codec SSC-UHQ (24-bit / 96 kHz). In this case you can take advantage of the ‘Lossless’ quality offered by many platforms such as Tidal or Spotify. If you are looking for the best possible sound quality, these are the ones that may interest you the most. Samsung wins in autonomy, but with nuances Both the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 and the AirPods Pro 3 offer good autonomy, up to 30 hours for the former and up to 24 hours for the latter. But if we remove the charging case from each one, things change. If you have active noise cancellation on, the Samsung headphones will last you just under five hours, while with the Apple headphones almost you will be able to last almost an entire day of eight hours of work. This is not to say that Samsung headphones are worse. Simply you have to take into account when you are going to use them: If it is for training or listening to music for a few hours, Samsung headphones may suit you well. If you listen to music for many hours to work, Apple headphones win here. What happens if my headphones get wet? Although it is always better to avoid water to ensure proper functionality of the headphones, both the Galaxy Buds4 and the AirPods Pro 3 are water resistant, although not in the same way. Resistances are usually measured by the degree of IP certificationand in this case the headphones come with: IP54 certification on the Samsung Galaxy Buds4: protection against water jets. IP57 certification on AirPods Pro 3: protection against complete immersion in water at a depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes. In any case, both headphones are durable enough to function properly when used while exercising or in the rain. In the event that, for example, they fall into a puddle of water or into the bathtub, the AirPods Pro 3 are protected for these situations. A little extra that can change your choice Although it is something that we can find in other devices such as smartwatches, it is worth mentioning that the AirPods Pro 3 have a sensor that we do not see in Samsung headphones: the heart rate sensor. It is not a simple addition that we are going to avoid because we already have a watch, since there is a good reason why Apple has decided to introduce it in headphones. Beyond the reliability provided by sensors in devices such as smartwatches, it is medically more reliable for a device to take vital signs from the ear than from the wrist. If you exercise and are looking for greater control over the measurements, this AirPods sensor may interest you. In summary: which Bluetooth headphones to choose according to your tastes and needs Why choose the Samsung Galaxy Buds4 The Samsung Galaxy Buds4 arrive in style, offering a very competitive price. Where they stand out the most is in: Your SSC-UHQ codec. If you are going to use them to listen to music on platforms that offer ‘Lossless’ quality, these are the ones we recommend. If you listen to music sporadically. The headphones alone have less autonomy than Apple’s, but with the charging case they get a higher figure. If you use them for sessions of no more than four and a half hours, these are the ones that may interest you. If you want the cheapest. It is inevitable to compare prices on these headphones, so if you want to spend as little as possible, the difference of 70 euros is quite attractive. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Why choose AirPods Pro 3 The AirPods Pro 3 were launched a few months ago and continue to be one of the best purchase options in their price range. Where they stand out the most is in: The design. That it includes five pads is something very interesting if you don’t know very well how they are going to fit in your ears. With them, you can adapt the headphones so that they do not move, something especially interesting when walking, running or exercising. Your autonomy. The autonomy of the headphones (without charging case) reaches eight hours, so if you listen to music while you work, these are the ones that may interest you the most. Better water resistance. It’s not every day that we drop our headphones into a puddle or pool, … Read more

For centuries price has been a sign of quality. Generative AI is breaking that rule in dozens of sectors

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For centuries, price has served as a cognitive shortcut. If something costs a lot it is because, for one reason or another, it must be worth a lot. An Armani suit, Bang & Olufsen headphonesa McKinsey report. The number has always served to convey certain information to us before seeing the product. It was compressed reputation. With the arrival of generative AI, that is ending in many sectors. Today a logo can cost 15 euros or 15,000. And be the same logo. A market analysis can come from a consulting firm with offices on three continents or from a guy in pajamas who knows how to wear Deep Research. The report may be indistinguishable. In fact sometimes the second one will be betterbecause the guy in pajamas understands the sector and the consultant assigned the junior who was free. AI is breaking the link between production cost and final result. Something very similar to what Antonio Ortiz, AI popularizer and former final boss of this house, in “Artificial Intelligence and unlinking effort and result“. If anyone can generate in minutes what previously required teams, weeks, and invoices with many zeros, price no longer communicates much about quality. It’s starting to be noise. and this will force a signal migration. From ‘how much’ to ‘who’, to ‘how’ or ‘why’. The questions that will matter are going to be “who signed this?”, “what process followed?”, “what human decisions were behind it?” That is, the process will become the product. It is already beginning to be seen with design studios that They obsessively document any iterationor consultancies that not only sell you the deliverable but also also access to the reasoning of their partners. More and more we are digital artisans who charge for showing how we work and not only for what we deliver. AI has made production almost free, so we are being flooded with digital content of all kinds, so scarcity shifts to criteria. Knowing what to ask for, what to discard, what makes sense and what doesn’t. to good taste. AI can do almost anything, and what it can’t, it will learn next year. Deciding well what to do and what not to do is still expensive. There, for the moment and luckily, there is no shortcut. Featured image | Xataka In Xataka | The AI ​​of 2026 brings an uncomfortable truth: the most useful will be the one that watches us the most

14 steps to ensure higher quality and better sources

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We are going to give you 14 Tips to Improve Gemini Responsesso that the artificial intelligence Google is more precise. These are tips related to improving the prompts. Geminiand even the way you interact with this AI. Because simply asking a generic question is not the same as giving the proper context or a better structure to your questions. Therefore, we will tell you these things that should be taken into account to refine as much as possible and ensure that the response is closer and better to what you have in mind, whether it is a text or an image. Don’t talk to him like he’s Google AI chats are trained to understand natural language. This means that it is not necessary that you write only using keywords as you do with Google or other search engines, but that you have to write in a more organic and natural way. Come on, when you make a request to Gemini you have to talk to him like you would as a personexplaining well what you want. Yes, if you write to him “best camera phones 2026” he will understand what you mean, but there may be room for errors and misinterpretations that there would not be if you write what you want naturally. Specify well what you want to say The first tip to improve Gemini answers is specify as much as you can the details of the answer you want to get. Your question must be clear and precise, and take into account context and purpose of what you want to achieve. To give you an example, it’s one thing to ask them to write you an email to request something. However, if you specify details such as whether it is in English or the tone that you want to use, as long as it is professional, the result it gives you will be more precise. Details, details, details Sorry, I’m going to insist on the previous point. But it is vital don’t spare details when making requests. Don’t leave anything out, because each of the details you provide will help the AI ​​have a little more context when composing its response. When creating images, every detail you provide will make the results more personal, and the same thing happens with texts: All the details you can give will enrich the answer. You can say who the text is addressed to, the purpose, or how long you want the answer. Also tell him formats such as summarized or by points, what part of an event or topic you want him to explain to you, what event, anything that comes to mind. Go composing prompt by prompt It is obvious that you are not going to come up with all the details you want the first time. Therefore, when an answer is not what you expect, you can ask again using the same prompt but adding things to it. And so, little by little you will compose a much more specific request. Imagine that you ask him to explain an event to you, but the answer is too vague. So, you can ask him to tell you from a specific point of view, then you can add the tone, and little by little improve it. Besides, You don’t need to write the entire prompt either.. If you say something like “make it more formal,” he’ll know you mean the answer he just gave you. Ask me to use the structure you need When you ask Gemini to compose a text, you may have a purpose or a structure in mind, and that the result that the AI ​​gives you is totally different. That is why it is important that you mention that purpose or structure in the prompt. For example, if you want to ask Gemini for a comparison, it is not the same as him making you a short text or making you a list of points for or against. That’s why it’s important to specify it. You can also ask that it be an academic document, that it has a specific format, that it uses bullets, whatever you need. Adapt the explanations to you If you ask Gemini to explain something you have no idea about, it’s possible that if the answer is somewhat technical you don’t understand it too much eitheror that seems a little complicated to you. In these cases, you will be able to adapt it by having it explained to you in a simpler way. A classic when asking for more elaborate definitions is to add something like “explain it to me like a 10-year-old child.” You can also adapt it to other ages, or even to specific school years. When you do, Gemini will change terminology and examples to make them much simpler, basic and understandable. Specify the fonts you want to use When it comes to answering you, Gemini combines a knowledge base with which it has been trained and information it pulls from the Internet. And when composing a response it will use these sources to generate it. However, you can also specify where you want me to get the information from in case you want me to use a specific source of knowledge. For example, asking “what is climate change” is not the same as asking “Explain to me what climate change is based on academic research and peer-reviewed studies.” With this you are asking him not to get the information from anywhere, but only from a specific type of more reliable source, and when giving you the explanation he will include quotes mentioning where he got it from. Mention specific institutions or media In addition to generic font types, you can also ask to use specific sources. This can be institutions or organizations, as well as specific websites or media. You can even ask for specific authors or studies. Because asking them to tell you what the weather will be like tomorrow is not the same as asking … Read more

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