simple

How a simple comma was enough to put a Steam game on the ropes

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The bug fixes It is one of the most frustrating tasks in video game development, especially when a failure seems to occur completely randomly and without following any pattern. The world of bugs in video games is very curious, and if not tell the guys at Atari, who when trying to center the company’s logo on the game ‘Tempest’ they ended up implementing a bug which allowed infinite games to be played. Well, something along those lines has happened to Black Beach Studios, developer of Iron Rebelliona mecha shooter for virtual reality. The studio spent months facing an enigma: players kept complaining on Steam and in the Meta Quest store about unexpected closures in the game. The problem was that in the automatic bug reports absolutely nothing appeared. It wasn’t until the team began recreating very specific game situations that they came up with a chain of errors so absurd that, in retrospect, it almost seems like a joke despite making all the sense in the world. Two Germans, a fight and a fall to the left Screenshot of Iron Rebellion | Image: Black Bleach Studio According to they explain the developers themselves in a video posted on TikTok, the origin of the problem lay in an extremely specific combination of events. The game crashed exactly when the following happened: A mecha was destroyed. The remains of the mecha were falling to the left. The combat took place at a very specific point on a specific map. And there were always exactly two German players participating in the game. Given this, the team asked the logical question: how is it possible that the players’ language causes the game to break? Those of you who know computer science will already be guessing the reason: the decimalsthat the devil carries them. In computing, decimal numbers are a delicate matter. While in the English-speaking world the point is used as a decimal separator (for example, 1.99), In countries like Germany, the comma is used by default (as we do in Spain, for example, with 1.99). If this is not taken into account, the ingredients for disaster are in place: due to the German localization, the game, for some reason, converted decimal points into commas when calculating physical positions. Image | Black Beach Studio When the mecha fell to the left at that specific point, the game sent the position data in network packets to the rest of the players. Due to locale settings, these packages contained commas instead of periodswhich caused the other players’ network code to not know how to interpret the information. The data could not be processed and the game would crash completely instantly. The problem has already been solved and the game is fully functional, but it is not the first time something similar has happened. In fact, something similar happened in a very beloved game: ‘The Witcher 2’. The game had a bug in memory management and font encoding with German texts, so every time I tried to process a character with Umlaut (ä, ö, ü) or ß, it would break. Furthermore, it happened in any context: when played in subtitles, in the inventory… The community had to come to the rescue with an unofficial mod. Via | Gamestar.de Image | Gamestar.de

China is already experiencing a fever for ultra-technological electric caravans and the reason is simple: they are better than combustion ones

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China wants to attract tourists. And he wants his tourists to bet on the national tourism. The objective, evidently, is to attract money and promote internal consumption in the country. So much so that in 2025 tourism generated 16% more income than the previous year, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The movement, of course, has promoted the use of the train or the plane. But it has had an unexpected effect: the fever of electric caravans. “To take a nap”. It is, according to Daniel Wu, global director of brand and marketing at XPeng, what some people do when they finish their work hours. “Many people go to their cars to take a one-hour nap. After work, they stay in the car for an hour before returning home, doing things they like—for example, playing—simply because it is a very comfortable space,” he explains in words reported by Bloomberg. And the American media has focused on the Chinese camping fever. Since the Covid-19 crisis, this type of tourism has spread throughout the country as it offers an alternative to much more expensive hotels and adds the flexibility inherent to this type of tourism. The reasons for prioritizing camping tourism are exactly the same ones that we have defended in Europe and that have fired these types of proposals since the confinements due to the coronavirus crisis. The difference is that, in the Asian country, manufacturers are specializing in making the interior of the car its own space where the wheels are the addition. In Xataka Spain changes the rules of the game for motorhomes: they will be able to park where any car parks best electric. The big difference is that a good part of this fever is being channeled through fully electric or extended range vehicles. These types of vehicles allow functions such as “camping” or “sleep” modes to be incorporated, making life easier for the user who finds greater flexibility in this type of vehicle. In fact, the chinese media themselves They highlight that the boom is concentrating on models that offer more “high quality and comfort” options. According to their data, in 2022 this business moved 113.47 billion yuan but in 2025 it reached 250 billion yuan. A good part of this result lies in the fact that users increasingly opt for this type of vehicle when they have to rent them. To understand the fever for this type of vehicle, in ChinaDaily They reported that orders for “new energy” vehicles (as they call electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles there) are growing at a rate 10 times higher year after year and the rental period is increasingly longer. In Xataka Pebble has created the mother of all electric caravans. It parks itself and has a propulsion system A substantial advantage. Both in Bloomberg like in chinese media like People They highlight that these electric caravans are more sought after because their huge battery expands everything that can be done with the car. Users rateFor example, being able to carry appliances and all kinds of cooking utensils that only require a gigantic battery on wheels. There are some that even use 4K projectors inside so that passengers can enjoy wherever they go. A good example of this is this caravan that they collected in esquire with the interior space divided into two floors, refrigerator and induction hob, a compact toilet and karaoke, a highly sought after feature in all types of cars. Or this other one from Changan capable of fording rivers wave Geely Farizon. In addition, the possibilities for keeping the interior at a constant temperature are much greater than in a traditional vehicle, making it especially interesting for those who travel with pets. In Xataka It is no longer enough for luxury motorhomes to be huge. Now they have their own garage (with a car inside) The Millennials. One of the reasons given for this increase in the use of electric caravans is, evidently, the savings they represent compared to hotels. They are the travelers born from the 90s those who travel the most with this type of automobile. In fact, 53% of travelers were born during this decade. During May Day holidaysrentals of this type of car skyrocketed again but not only among caravans. And it is that car manufacturers are increasingly likely to include camping modes of use and sell a greater number of accessories to make these cars a realistic option with which to go camping without having to invest in a motorhome. In Xataka If the question is whether you can live in your caravan due to impossible housing prices, the answer is simple: it depends. Chargers everywhere. Of course, all this would not be possible if the charging network were not there. And the huge batteries that serve refrigerators and kitchens would no longer serve their main purpose (moving the car) if, for example, they did not have a dense network of chargers. They collect in Bloomberg that the country has filled gas stations and rest areas with plugs at a devilish rate. Growth is sustained at over 50% each year and there have already been more than 21 million chargers distributed throughout the country. Photo | Geely In Xataka | This image of a Tesla pulling a trailer hides a secret: an entire house in a ridiculous spaceeither (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news China is already experiencing a fever for ultra-technological electric caravans and the reason is simple: they are better than combustion ones was originally published in Xataka by Alberto de la Torre .

Anthropic was accused of stealing books to train its AI models. Their solution has been simple: pay

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A federal judge in San Francisco has given the final green light to the $1.5 billion agreement between Anthropic and a group of authors and publishers that They reported her for using her books without permission to train Claude. And after extracting millions of books from digital libraries without authorization, and from physical bookstores to scan and destroy en masse, everything has ended up being settled with money. What has happened? Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin definitively approved this Monday the agreement that Anthropic reached with the plaintiffs, as collect Reuters. The figure was already known since last year, when Judge William Alsup gave his preliminary approval, but this last step was missing for the money to begin to be distributed. How we got here. A group of writers sued Anthropic in 2024 accusing her of using copies of her books to train Claude without her consent. Judge Alsup ruled in June 2025 that training AI with copyrighted books falls under “fair use,” a decision that set an important precedent for the entire industry. The judge also clarified that, although training with those books was legal, Anthropic had broken the law by downloading more than 7 million copies from digital portals without authorization and storing them in a kind of internal library that was not necessarily intended for training, according to explains Reuters. That specific point was going to be decided in a separate trial, with compensation that could skyrocket to hundreds of billions of dollars. So to avoid this, Anthropic preferred to make an agreement. Between the lines. As we explained some time ago, the court documents that came to light revealed the real scope of the project, baptized “Panama”, and with which the company came to physically buy and scan millions of bookscutting their loins to digitize them and then recycling them. Before going this route, Anthropic employees, including its co-founder Ben Mann, had downloaded books directly from unauthorized repositories such as LibGen. The company has always maintained that this content was never used to train a business model, but it was precisely that part of the process that took it to court. How much and to whom. The distribution is made at a rate of about 3,000 dollars per work, out of an estimated total of 500,000 titles between authors and publishers, according to details TechCrunch. Aparna Sridhar, deputy general counsel at Anthropic, said in a statement that the company reached this agreement in 2025 after the ruling that recognized training with books as fair use, and added that more than 91% of the affected authors and publishers have already claimed their share of the payment. For his part, Justin Nelson, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, has called the settlement “historic” and has stated that it represents the largest copyright recovery ever achieved, according to collect also Reuters. Not everyone is satisfied. Some authors have raised objections, arguing that the amount was insufficient, benefiting plaintiff’s lawyers too much or unfairly leaving out certain rights holders. Judge Martinez-Olguin has rejected these arguments, considering that they did not realistically reflect the risks of having gone to trial, and approved fees of more than $101 million for the lawyers, below the $187.5 million they had requested. according to Reuters. Some authors and publishers directly opted out of the agreement and have their own lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing. Why it is important. This closure does not resolve the underlying legal debate for the rest of the sector. And since it is an agreement and not an appealed ruling, Alsup’s decision on “legitimate use” will never reach an appeal court, so it does not constitute binding jurisprudence, as underlines TechCrunch. Each judge is free to interpret similar cases in their own way, and that is just what is happening with the lawsuits opened against Google, Meta, Midjourney and OpenAI for similar reasons. Cover image | Anthropic, edited by Xataka In Xataka | It took 15 years for computers to improve the productivity of companies. AI may take longer for one reason: sabotage

Today at Lidl (and half price) simple wireless headphones that are ideal for this summer

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Walking into Lidl is, most days, finding a good deal on some type of device. Today’s is ideal for those people who are looking for good, pretty and cheap wireless headphoneswhether as an all-terrain option for traveling or for sports. These are these Anker Soundcore, reduced right now to half price: they go for 19.99 euros. Anker Soundcore Headphones The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Whether you don’t get this offer or prefer an alternative, you also have discounts on Xiaomi Redmi Buds 8 Lite. They are very economical headphones with good autonomy and active noise cancellation that are coming out right now. 19 euros. Wireless headphones for less than 20 euros at Lidl These Anker Soundcore are very simple headphones and ideal for the tightest budgets. They are perfect for less demanding users who simply want wireless headphones without spending too muchwhether for traveling, for sports or even if you want “spare” ones. What we can highlight most about these wireless headphones It is, without a doubt, its autonomy. They offer up to 10 hours of playback per charge, which we can increase to 30 hours if we add the battery in the case. Furthermore, the manufacturer promises Up to 2 hours of autonomy with a quick charge of 10 minuteswhich is ideal if you forget to charge them before leaving home. To all of the above we can add a simple design that makes them comfortable and a light case that has a carrying strap. They also have two integrated microphones for making calls and an AI system to reduce outside noise during calls. Besides, We can download an app on our mobile to configure the sound and use a function that will make them emit a loud beep in case we lose them. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: Anker Soundcore offer ✅ THE BEST They don’t reach 20 euros: They are very cheap headphones, ideal for tight budgets or for users who are not at all demanding when listening to music. Very good battery life: Including the case, the battery of the headphones reaches up to 30 hours. And they have fast charging. ❌ THE WORST Without active noise cancellation: They do not have ANC, something that we will notice especially in noisy environments. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for very cheap headphones and you want them to have plenty of autonomy. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… Do you prefer an option that has active noise cancellation or do you prefer that it offers a higher level of sound. You may also be interested Soundcore P20i Wireless Bluetooth Headphones by Anker, 10mm drivers with Big Bass, Bluetooth 5.3 Headphones, 30H Playback, IPX5, 2 microphones for clear calls with AI, Custom EQ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links CMF by Nothing Buds Pro 2 Wireless Headphones with HiFi Sound, 50 dB Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation, 6 HD Microphones and Spatial Audio Effect, 2025 – Light Gray The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Lidl, Anker In Xataka | Best truly wireless earbuds (TWS) with noise cancellation. Which one to buy and seven recommended models In Xataka | Best wireless over-ear headphones. Which one to buy and five recommended models

The plan to stop the melting of the Arctic is so simple that it sounds crazy: freeze it again

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Global warming does not affect everyone the same way. Without going any further, Europe is the continent that most is warming according to the World Meteorological Organizationbut there is another place where the heat has turned the turbo: the Arctic. The North Pole heats up four times faster than the global average. Additionally, sea ice is at historic lows since records began 125 years ago. Faced with this climate emergency, a research team has come up with something so logical that it is surprising for its apparent simplicity: is there a lack of ice? Well, we manufacture more artificially. So they have left the laboratory and gone to the field to see if it is possible. The idea. The company Real Ice, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, drills into sea ice in the dead of winter and pumps seawater onto its frozen surface. The water, when exposed to that extreme cold, freezes immediately and adds an extra layer of ice. Now that they have the base mechanism, Real Ice is adapting pumps used on skating rinks or oil platforms to power them with renewable energy. According to The GuardianIn a recent test, the team pumped 50,000 tons of water onto 1.5-meter-thick ice at -40ºC and managed to increase its thickness by 0.50 meters. Why is it important. Although emissions reduction is the only long-term sustainable solution, while it arrives it is necessary to explore techniques to save time because the Arctic melting is a problem with chain consequences that affect different scales: At the local level it poses a threat to Inuit ways of life and fauna such as the polar bear or the walrus, in addition to destabilizing the ecosystem. At a global level, it can alter weather patterns. Sea ice is a kind of planetary air conditioner: its white surface reflects solar radiation, something that the dark ocean does not do (albedo feedback). That extra warming of the Arctic is also related to a wavier, slower jet stream which can lengthen and promote heat waves or floods. Furthermore, the thaw goes hand in hand with the thaw of the permafrostwhich releases methane and further accelerates warming. Context. This project is part of the program RASI (Re-thickening Arctic Sea Ice), a public – private initiative in which the University of Cambridge and two private companies, Real Ice and Arctic Reflections, carry out research that combines rigorous scientific models with real experimentation in the Arctic. As a curiosity, it is not the only proposal: there are others more controversial that propose dispersing sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight. In detail. The first study in the last 2024/2025 campaign has confirmed that the test areas ended the winter up to 32 centimeters thicker than the control areas. According to the study, this difference is similar to what the Arctic has lost in the last 50 years. Furthermore, at the end of the winter campaign they observed that this new ice remained whiter and brighter during the melting season, so it seemed to melt more slowly, improving the albedo. Yes, but. On paper it looks very good, but the scientific community has its doubts. An analysis of several of these proposals published in the journal Frontiers in Science concluded that they did not successfully overcome the criteria of feasibility, cost, governance and environmental risk. The underlying criticism is that it could give the false sensation that there is a technical shortcut that relaxes the pressure to reduce emissions. On the other hand, a test in a specific area is one thing and the price of scaling this technique to the entire Arctic is another. In Xataka | Living 1,300 kilometers from the North Pole: a Catalan tells of his experience in the northernmost city in the world In Xataka | There is a corner of Spain where global warming is wreaking havoc: the Pyrenees are becoming “Mediterraneanized” Cover | Annie Spratt and Jan Antonin Kolar

living a happy and successful life comes down to three simple tips

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If only to survive the management of one of the largest technology companies in the worldBill Gates had to learn some productivity tricks to optimize your time as much as possible and prevent work from ruining your personal life. As Bill Gates himself has recognized on occasionhas been acquiring these habits to live a happier life throughout your career based on mistakes or receiving advice from your friends. With the publication of his latest autobiographical book ‘Source code: My beginnings’Gates has once again reflected on these same principles. The question is more important than the solution. One of the keys to problem solving is having the right answers, but much more important for Bill Gates is asking the right questions to find the right answers. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the millionaire published on his website some thoughts on how to find the solution. “Since I was a teenager, I’ve approached every big new problem the same way: starting with two questions. I used this technique at Microsoft and still use it today. I ask these questions literally every week about Covid-19.” According to Gates, two of the first questions we should ask ourselves are: Who has dealt with this problem well before? And what can we learn from them? Reinventing the wheel. In summary, what Bill Gates suggests is that it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel again and again, when someone has already found the solution to that problem. The best thing is to find a “wheel” that can adapt to your case and apply it. That approach does not require unlimited creativity, intelligence, or resources. It is simply about observe and learn in someone else’s head. Control time. Gates recognizes that time control, especially in the early years of Microsoft, was not his strong suit, and that is why he spent long working days programming and developing the brand’s first products. Until one day, his friend and investment magnate Warren Buffett: “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” In one intervention on the Charlie Ross showboth millionaires talked about the topic. Empty diaries. Bill Gates reflected on the veteran investor’s admirable command of time: “The fact that he is so careful with time, he has days when there is nothing on (his agenda)… sitting and thinking can be a priority much older. It is not an indicator of your seriousness that you have occupied every minute of your schedule.” This point is key since if you really want to achieve your goal, it is not enough to fill your work agenda. That will keep you so busy that it may prevent you from getting what you really want. So set priorities and say ‘no’ to the rest. Patience is the key to motivation. When Bill Gates founded Microsoft, he was barely a twenty-something with no knowledge about business or even notions of how to manage the company’s employees, so tended to be a somewhat toxic boss that with A look at the Microsoft office parking lot I could tell which employees were working and which had gone home. Over time, he realized that prioritizing results over always controlling what each employee did at all times was a better option both for his relationship with his staff and for his personal life. “Patience is a key element of success,” he said on one occasion. Learning lessons. Gates admits that this lesson was difficult to learn, but believes the key is to persistently work to put yourself in a good position and simply wait for the opportunity to arrive so you don’t miss it. This has also helped him improve his relationship with his employees. He discovered that by showing patience and trust towards them and their talent, improved their personal motivation and they wanted to do their best so as not to disappoint that person who had trusted them. In the end, both results and relationships benefited from the change in attitude. A version of this article was published in February 2025 Image | Lukasz Kobus In Xataka | “In five years they will have to pay taxes”: Bill Gates has pointed out the elephant in the room of AI and humanoids In Xataka | Bill Gates has been talking about AI for years. Now he thinks we are making the same mistake as with the arrival of computers

More and more people are going to concerts with AirPods in their ears. The reason is simple: they function as a stopper

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For some time now, it has not been a completely strange image to see someone at festivals or concerts with AirPods. You’re not listening to Spotify (that would be weird, frankly), but using them as earplugs to muffle the noise. The trend has spread to such an extent that Apple now has an official name and has cataloged the trend with technical documentation. But… do they really work? Since when? On October 28, 2024, along with the first wave of Apple Intelligence, iOS 18.1 arrived. In that updatethe AirPods Pro 2 received three new functions: hearing test, OTC hearing aid mode with FDA authorization and the one that interests us: Active Hearing Protection. Apple had been presenting it for months in keynotesbut finally, with the software came the legitimization of the company that they had been observing the behavior of users at concerts for some time. How it works. Apple’s official documentation Sets three levels of protection depending on which mode is active. Transparency, which lets you hear the stage through the microphones, attenuates between 11 and 15 decibels. Adaptive mode, which mixes Cancellation and Transparency depending on the environment, raises that figure to between 25 and 29 dB. Pure Active Noise Cancellation averages 27 dB according to eardrum measurements from 2023, although the attenuation is not linear: at low frequencies there are notable improvements compared to the first generation; At mid and high frequencies, performance varies with the physical fit of the headphone. No more than 85. And there is an even more specific mode: the algorithm in Adaptive Transparency (an activatable mode within Transparency) detects the 85 dB threshold and compresses everything above it. In a room at 110 dB (usual level at rock concerts or electronic festivals), that means reducing the peaks to around 82-85 dB. The subjective result described by media such as TechRadarwho tested them in a room with 114.7 dB peak, is that the sound is comfortable and with good nuances for bass and percussion. On the AirPods Pro 3, released in September 2025, the dynamic range even improves. Of course, if the volume consistently exceeds 110-115 dB, even with 25-29 dB of attenuation, the user is exposed to hearing fatigue after ten minutes using AirPods Pro 2 in adaptive mode. That is to say: AirPods reduce damage and are a better option than going to the concert without anything. But they are a worse option than a calibrated hi-fi plug. The fashion of the plug at concerts. According to Loop manufacturer datathe main users of hi-fi earplugs at concerts are young people millennials and Gen Z. Videos with tags like “hot girls wear earplugs to raves“, and the earplugs appear in lists of “rave essentials” as a meme. Hearing protection is no longer a thing for older people or sound engineers, and is now a hallmark of festival identity. In fact, it is Loop itself, founded in Belgium in 2016, that has pushed this change. Their Experience models reduce 17 dB with flat attenuation, which means that the tonal signature of the concert is maintained: everything sounds the same but at a lower volume. The comparisons point Because Loop lags behind specialty brands like EarPeace or Alpine in pure attenuation quality, but the difference is negligible to the non-music user. Design, as with Airpods, plays an important role in its success. Of course, the difference is that people already have the Apple device for other purposes. Why Airpods are not earplugs. The most relevant technical difference between a hi-fi earplug and AirPods is not in the number of decibels, but in how the sound reaches the ear. A plug like Loop or Alpine attenuates acoustically: the physical material absorbs sound energy before it reaches the ear canal. AirPods, on the other hand, capture external sound with microphones, process it digitally and reproduce it modified through the headphones’ speakers, so there is a dependence on the battery and the physical fit in the ear, just as Apple itself warns. In Xataka | Gen Z has become so disengaged from addiction that it is holding daytime raves with coffee and sound healing.

A single programmer, simple mechanics, crappy graphics and Paint interface. And he has earned ten million in a week

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Characters that are generic puppets, aseptic to the point of being experimental, elements in the sets that seem to come from a free library for programming learners, an interface that has completely renounced any hint of design or usability and that seems to come from a ‘Paint’ type application… ‘Meccha Chameleon’ has, however, almost ten million dollars earned in one week on Steamand the only reason is not its extremely low price. The milestones. On June 9, Japanese developer lemorion_1224 launched the game on Steam at a price of only $4.99. Today it has sold more than two million units, that is, it has earned about ten million dollars. Discounting the 30% that Valve keeps, the developer has made 6.9 million in less than a week. And it’s all the work of this solo programmer, in approximately two months. How to play. The central mechanic of ‘Meccha Chameleon’ is simple: at the beginning of each round, some players hide and others look for them. The difference with other hide-and-seek games is that hiders can paint themselves to blend in with their surroundings, like chameleons do (sometimes with hilarious results that content creators are fond of). exploiting thoroughly). The more elaborate the camouflage, the harder the player will be to detect. That is, the ability to replicate the pattern of a wallpaper or a painting comes into play. Those less skilled with the brush have another option: look for dark corners of the map where uniform camouflage is sufficient. The precedent. The game collects ideas from ‘Prop Hunt’, a mode that was born in the mythical and highly cult ‘Garry’s Mod’, and that was later incorporated into franchises such as ‘Call of Duty’. The mechanics are the same: some players start as hunters, the chameleons hide, and those who are discovered go to the opposite side. An option can be activated with which those hidden whistle from time to time to give clues about their position. What is original about this new iteration of the idea is the layer of paint that allows for more effective camouflage. But… who is Lemorion_1224? Certainly not a newcomer. This developer had been experimenting for years with hiding mechanics within ‘Fortnite Creative’, the development platform integrated into ‘Fortnite’ that allows you to publish your own modes and accumulate players at no cost. Among these There is a game where players hide by making themselves extremely thin and another where they disguise themselves as NPCs. Lemorion_1224 has also experimented with mechanics inspired by ‘Dead by Daylight’ and ‘Peak’. ‘Meccha Chameleon’ is, therefore, the distillate of several years of testing. Friendslop it. Meccha Chameleon belongs to what in recent years has been called “friendslop”: cheap games, with a very simple, even tacky, visual finish, designed to be played in a group and shared on social networks. That is, games like ‘Peak’, ‘Lethal Company’ or ‘REPO’. The common denominator is the price (below six dollars in most cases), the viral potential and an approach that can be explained in thirty seconds. But to say that ‘Meccha Chameleon’ is part of a viral trend is to understate it: it had a peak of 200,000 simultaneous playerssomething that many AAAs never achieve. ‘Meccha Chameleon’ is another of the very triumphant successes of the medium that reminds us that issues such as graphics or technical neatness are completely accessory aspects to generate fun. In Xataka | This game has been programmed by only one person, and it is already being talked about as one of the great shooters of the year

The biggest mystery of the World Cup is why all the boots are pink: the answer is very simple to understand

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When the referee started a Spain-Curaçao match that should have been a mere formality, nine of Spain’s eleven players were wearing pink boots. Yesterday, as Harry Kane appeared to skate across the Dallas turf, ten of England’s eleven players were wearing pink boots. Shortly after, whoever had the courage to stay to watch the Ghana-Panama game at dawn will have seen that eleven of the eleven Panama players were wearing pink boots. The original and striking become the most standard decision possible. When Mateo Kovacic jumped onto the field to try to build a retaining wall for Kane’s England, a short shot was enough to catch our attention: the boots were black. Complete. What was once the norm has become a countercultural exercise. The feeling of “here we have someone who knows everything.” Without expecting it, Mateo Kovacic became the player who stood out the most on the entire field. In Xataka "It’s a golden cage, the World Cup is being hijacked": Hydration breaks have turned football into a new sport From original to irrelevance The issue of boots in this 2026 World Cup reminds me of wooden bow ties. For some reason still unknown, there was a day when the wooden bow tie became fashionable. At a wedding, a friend showed up with one. Evidently, it was the center of attention at that time when one seems to be facing a fashion show before the first beers begin to flow. At the next wedding the scene was repeated with another protagonist. A couple of years later, up to four people coincided at the event with one of these wooden bow ties. It’s not that the percentage was very high but it was clear that something had broken. The one who thought looked in the mirror before leaving the house to reaffirm that today he was the different one, he had fallen into the trap. He was no longer unique. Not at all. You could almost read the sarcasm in those of us who were witnessing the collapse of a fashion that should never have achieved that status. When Alfonso Pérez Muñoz appeared with white bootsin the late 90s, caused a stir. It was Joma, a Spanish brand, that dared. In a few years, the world’s greatest figures were already combining the classic black with red or blue touches in the mythical and precious Zinedine Zidane’s Adidas Predator. The norm was blown up with the Nike Total 90. The silver and blue of Luis Figo, the white and gold of Wayne Ronney and even the silver and dark gray of Lionel Messi who debuted at FC Barcelona, ​​before moving to Adidas. In the 2000s, almost all schemes regarding the use of color in boots were broken. All that was left was to wear one boot of each color. Spoiler: was also done. In Xataka In Spain-Cape Verde, a small town in Galicia had its heart broken in half: Burela That is why it has attracted so much attention that almost all the World Cup players wear pink boots. Alejandro Mendo, specialist in soccer fashion and creator of the substack Pieces of Fabriccollects the premises of why pink has become the new black. In this thread of X realize that Nike, Adidas or Puma (and even the Skechers that Harry Kane wears) are pink because the marketing message suggests that footballers feel more encouraged and confident in themselves if they wear bright colors that reinforce their personality. But, above all, point to the simple: studies show that the color that looks best on the screen over the green of the grass is pink. Simply put, the companies that dress the players have realized which color stands out the most. And along the way, fashion has become the standard. The pink boot is the new wooden bow tie. Click on the image to go to the original tweet In BBC They point out that it is a mixture of what Alejandro Mendo commented and market studies. They explain that sports brands, like any fashion company, request reports up to two seasons in advance from their trusted consultants to know “what will be worn” in a specific season. And they have all fallen into a pink with a similar tone. Brands like Puma have played to add nuancesas gradients with other colors such as yellow or blue that, in addition, They are independent for each boot (Puma was the first to propose this). Adidas has also played with similar formulas, adding touches of white on the rear. In both cases, from afar the feeling is that we are looking at the same old pink boots. The most curious thing is that this standardization around pink has helped define the campaign of the most special boots since some players stand out from the others for the simple fact of wearing footwear that should be less striking on camera. Click on the image to go to the original tweet We have already talked about Mateo Kovacic but a much rarer case is that of Michael Olise. The France striker has built a story very far from the stereotype of a footballer. A free verse that, in fact, He doesn’t even have a signed sponsorship contract.simply choose boots based on your personal preferences for comfort and your team’s attire. At the moment, we have been able to see him wearing pristine black Nikes. Wear black bootsIn this case, it helps create an image of a differential player that the brands themselves continue to promote. Lionel Messi wears Adidas Último Tango that are reserved exclusively for hima tribute from the German firm to which, we assume, will be the Argentine’s last presence in a World Cup. Of course, Messi doesn’t wear pink boots either and his combination of white and blue shines especially brightly in a tide of bright colors. In Xataka Sneakers have become delicate luxury products, so they have generated a new business: laundry laundries. "sneakers" It is an old strategy among these companies. … Read more

A beach in Sardinia has banned umbrellas for people between 10 and 65 years old. The reason is simple: fire

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Summer yes, summer too, dermatologists they insist on the importance of protecting ourselves from the sun’s rays with creams, caps and umbrellas. In Molentis Pointone of the beaches most popular of Sardinia, the bathers they will have to conform however with the first two tools. If they want to plant an umbrella in the sand they will have to meet a series of requirements, beyond paying the 10 euros it costs to access the cove: the parasols will only be available to families with children or people who have already turned 65 years old. The rest have to burn. What has happened? Villasimìus is a commune of Cagliari, in the Italian region of Sardinia, where slightly less than 4,000 people. Despite this, it has been making headlines for days in the media throughout Italy and the rest of Europe, including headlines within the scope of Guardian, cnn either The Telegraph. The reason is not so much the spectacular nature of its beaches and its attractiveness at the gates of summer (which too), but rather the effects of that pull: faced with the avalanche of visitors, the local authorities have decided prohibit that the majority of bathers use umbrellas on the sandy beach. No umbrellas? More or less. Which have decided in Villasimìus is that the majority of the population cannot bring their own umbrellas to Punta Molentis. This privilege is restricted to only two groups: families with children under 10 years old and adults over 65. The large group between 10 and 65 years old that remains in the middle will have to make do with protecting themselves from the sun of the Sardinian coast with caps and a good sunscreen. Not only that. In a statement Posted on its official website, the commune of Villasimìus details other measures that bathers must take into account: the number of vehicles and people that can be simultaneously in the area is limited, as is the influx of bathers arriving by boat. The rules also include time guidelines and a warning: those who go to the beach should know that there is an “environmental ticket” of 10 euros for those who travel by car. If you go by boat the fee remains at 5 euros. But… Why? The authorities insist on the need to protect the natural environment and remember the serious forest fire that the region experienced last summer, when dozens of tourists had to flee in boats. The flames spread so quickly that they burned cars stationed in the area, they blocked land escape routes and caused serious environmental damage, environmentalists warn. “The Punta Molentis ecosystem is one of the most valuable in our territory, but also one of the most fragile. The forest fires of 2025 and exceptional weather phenomena have reduced the capacity of the dunes and put habitats and biodiversity to the test,” warns the commune. “It is necessary to limit the human impact and ensure the protection of heritage for future generations.” Part of the rules disclosed by the Villasimìus authorities. What do people think? The Government argues that it wants to protect the environment and preserve the natural wealth of the beach. Neither one nor the other seems to have convinced bathers, who were quick to use irony to question the ban on umbrellas. “How wonderful, a beautiful day at the beach and 20 hours in the emergency room for burns. I think they’ve tried this ordinance before and it went wrong,” comments sarcastically a user on networks. At stake would not only be the environmental wealth of the coast. A spokesperson for the Villasimìus town council assured this week to CNN that behind the veto of the parasols there are also security reasons: they want to reduce their number to prevent situations like those of 2025 from being repeated. “It is fundamentally because of that fire and the difficulties we had in evacuating the beach due to the large number of umbrellas installed that the city council has established this rule,” recognize from the Italian commune, who remember that in that area there are no paid ‘beach clubs’, so “people place umbrellas next to each other, blocking access, causing risks and obstructing the view of the sea.” The Telegraph precise that in the bathing area you can rent parasols. Does it only happen in Sardinia? Villasimìus’s decision has attracted attention because it is unorthodox, but the truth is that the use of umbrellas (and other beach equipment) on the sandy beaches has not only generated controversy there. In Italy the ‘beach clubs’ have generated debate after, according to Altronconsumo calculationsthe rental of sun loungers and umbrellas has skyrocketed by 24% in just five years. Beyond Italy, in Greece they have just expand your list of “virgin” sandbanks where the rental of umbrellas is prohibited. Here, in Spain, the use of furniture on the beaches (and that includes everything from parasols to tents and windbreaks) also has generated debate the last years. Images | Heather Cowper (Flickr) and Villasimius SRL In Xataka | It is increasingly common to find jellyfish on Mediterranean beaches before summer. And it’s a bad sign

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