surprise

China has presented its X-36 aircraft to dominate the air. And then he took him to a secret base where the real surprise was.

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The public appearance of the J-36 and later a “twin”, marks a turning point in Chinese military aviation, placing Beijing in a direct race for air supremacy in the 21st century. Until just a few years ago, the US lead in stealth fighter development seemed assured. However, the new Chinese platforms, first shown on flights captured without censorship and now visible in satellite images in a secret base near Lop Nur, indicate that China has not only advanced in technology: it has decided to demonstrate it. The sixth generation. It became official on October 31, 2025, when several videos shared on chinese social networks and internationals showed what was identified as the new J-36 stealth plane 6th generation Peking flying in formation with a J-20probably the two-seat J-20S, near the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation facilities. The disclosure deliberate imagesoperational integration with J-20S fighters already in service and the parallel deployment of two different sixth-generation designs suggest that China is not simply testing isolated prototypes, but rather building a deeply interconnected aerial ecosystem, conceived to coordinate manned fighters, heavy stealth platforms and swarms of advanced drones in penetration, supremacy and airspace control missions in highly defended theaters. Design break. The J-36the most visible and talked about aircraft, stands out for its queueless configurationa trait extremely difficult to stabilize without advanced algorithmic and computational assistance. Its wide fuselage, long chord wings and air intakes positioned both on the top and on the sides indicate an absolute priority: minimize the radar signal from any angle and operate for long periods within denied zones. This type of design, compared by analysts to a crossover between stealth fighters and bombersis not only aimed at air-to-air combat, but rather at acting as a tactical node in the air: monitoring distributed sensors, coordinating unmanned platforms and providing range and persistence in deep missions. The evolution between the prototype seen in December 2024 and the one shown in 2025 (with modifications to nozzles, landing gear and control surfaces) aims for rapid iteration and a high testing rate, characteristic features of aeronautical industries with mature design cycles. The J-20S bridge cone. He use of the J-20Sthe two-seat variant of the Chinese fifth-generation stealth fighter, as an escort and supervision platform in mixed flights with the J-36it is not a minor detail. The additional cockpit of the J-20S is optimized to manage sensors, data links and control of autonomous systems, making it the “human piece” that oversees what will, in the future, become increasingly automated. This pairing reflects the American operating concept for your NGAD programin which a very high-level fighter does not replace existing models, but rather coordinates and amplifies them. China, similarly, appears to be preparing mixed attack packages: the J-36 opens the way and establishes an information bubble, the J-20S protects and directs, and unmanned platforms execute saturation, deception or attack. Installation near Lop Nur Satellite image providing an overview of the entire facility near Lop Nur, as seen on November 3 Chinese Area 51. And after the show, the J-36 was stored in an unknown location until a few hours ago. The appearance of another prototype alongside the J-36 (the smaller but still heavy one called like J-XDS) at a remote base near the historic Lop Nur nuclear site revealed something crucial: China is transferring the testing phase from manufacturer facilities to an advanced experimentation center, similar in purpose to the US Area 51. The track of more than 5 kilometersnew hangar installations, expansions and projects under construction suggest an environment designed for intensive testing of sensitive systems, stealth operations and doctrine validation. That both models were parked outdoors, knowing that they would be captured by commercial satellites, reinforces the interpretation that Beijing seeks to show capacity and leave it to Western intelligence to fill gaps and debate roles, sizes, engines, automation levels and actual missions. Put another way, ambiguity is part of the strategy: forcing the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia to prepare for several simultaneous scenarios, which disperses resources, planning and budgets. A future combat ecosystem. The key does not lie only in manned aircraft. China is expanding rapidly parallel programs from autonomous and collaborative stealth drones, from naval UCAVs like GJ-11/21 to operate from aircraft carriers to “loyal wingman” type CCAs of similar size to that of a light fighter, planned for accompany the J-36 such as range multipliers, sensors and ammunition. The goal is to create a spectrum of interdependent systemswhere the sixth-generation fighter acts as the aerial brain, while swarms of drones execute risky tasks, absorb fire, open access corridors and saturate long-range defenses. This, in theory, fits directly into Western Pacific scenarios, where any operation requires penetrating dense and deeply integrated networks of surveillance, over-the-horizon radars, satellites and naval missiles. A challenge for Washington. The presentation and the transfer of evidence to one top secret base They underline a reality: China is not building a single aircraft, but rather preparing a complete doctrinal architecture to contest (not just balance) American air superiority. For the United States, Japan and allies, the concern arises not only from technical progress, but from the calendar. Washington plans to deploy its first NGAD fighters towards 2030, but Beijing is already flying prototypes in experimental operational configuration accompanied by mature fighters. Yeah the J-36 or that twin pragmatic J-XDS reach levels of availability and credible doctrine sooner, the aerial map of the Pacific could undergo a profound transformation. What for decades was a question of “whether China would reach the fifth generation” has now become a different and much more pressing question: what the hell will air combat look like in the next decade. Image | Planet Labs, Chinese Social Media In Xataka | China appears to be molding a huge stealth aircraft called the J-36. This image is emerging as proof of his ambition In Xataka | We have been tying ribbons to suitcases for years to identify them at the airport. Your employees warn that it is a bad idea

Thousands of people bought the “romantasy” fashion book because it was cute. An unpleasant surprise awaited them.

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The consumerist desire that invades any area of ​​our lives also contaminates our hobbies. We are no longer talking about your identity being determined by your style when it comes to dressing or the music you listen to; Now, not missing the latest literary viral phenomenon in #Booktok also forms that identity that is built through what we consume. And if not tell everyone who bought ‘Catabasis‘, the author’s new novel RF Kuangfor its colorful edition and supposed themes related to a whole legion of readers, only to end up with a disappointment that leads them to abandon it after a few pages. Be aware of the latest news and let your private library be ground zero of your literary diogenes, full of those decorated songs so instagrammableis a new aspect of consumerism. The essential thing is not to search and select a book that suits your taste or surprises you, but to look for that pompous edition in trend on Tiktok. With the rise and increase in the number of readers has given way to a community on social networks that consumes books, mostly from a specific genrehe romanticasyand that follows like a mantra literary fashion of the month. As we have mentioned, marketing strategies can confuse the public and in order to attract the largest number of buyers, sometimes blur categories and genres that should be delimited. The fever for colored songs As a regular reader, it is healthy to get out of that nebula and inform yourself well about the reading you are going to do or, on the contrary, go with an open mind and let yourself go when starting those new pages. Because if you don’t, you can come to ‘Catábasis’ looking for a romance within an academic-fantastic environment and end up with your head full of equations, formulas and philosophical postulates. If we dive in reviews from ‘Catábasis’, we will find an alleged romance Dark Academia with the clichés of rivals to lovers (rivals to lovers), forced proximity (forced proximity) or one bed (the famous trope of rom-coms where the protagonists are forced to share a single bed). This would lead us to place our perception of the work in an erroneous perspective. The novel has been sold as if it were addressed to the general public, when It’s niche. Doctoral thesis, graphic description. RF Kuang is not your typical romance writer. In his previous books such as the ‘Poppy War’ trilogy (named by Time as one of ‘The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time‘) we find an epic fantasy of Asian inspiration; in ‘Babel’, a criticism of British imperialism; and in ‘Amarilla’, a satire on the publishing world. Perhaps it is from there that we have to establish the starting point of ‘Catábasis’. It may be that the public has been launched en masse to buy Kuang’s new novel infected by expectations, but just look at social networks to see that the outcome has been disappointing for not a few. The result of this phenomenon is curious because the criticisms of Kuang’s novel are based, for the most part, on issues that have little to do with its theme or the characters. It seemed that part of the book’s audience, directly, I didn’t know what he was facing. On this occasion the #Booktok community was a victim of “what goes” and an elegant and striking edition: but, dear readers, not everything has to be romance and romanticasy. This lucrative sales strategy that consists of labeling all the literary novelties under clichés that are associated with romance to attract more attention ends up being a double-edged sword for books like Kuang’s. hell is a campus In this new novel we find the story of two Cambridge doctoral students who, after the death of their thesis advisor, decide to travel to hell to look for him and obtain a letter of recommendation that will determine their professional future. And yes, we can accept the label Dark Academia since it has several of its elements, just as we also find a romance that floods and emerges throughout the story; but ‘Catabasis’ (a Greek term that refers to the descent to hell and subsequent exit from it), is about something else. RF Kuang, in essence, uses the underworld as MacGuffin to create a critique and a satire of the academic world through a raw and realistic vision. Sounds good, maybe not so good. The author shoots us with scenes in offices that cause more chills than Dante’s own inferno; while talking about toxic rivalries, directors who abuse their power, gender inequality and academic obsession with knowledge. And, despite fantasy and a system of magic based on logic and paradox, these unreal situations trigger a conversation and social criticism about the academy. While the protagonists Alice and Peter wander through the “eight circles of hell” we are immersed in numerous philosophical and mathematical elements. Dante, Piranesi, the myth of Orpheus or the scrolls of Hecate are part of the daily narrative. The book is full of mathematical theories, academic references, and terms that will make you stop several times to do a Google search. The fact that for some doctoral students hell is, literally, their own university, already makes us suspect that we are not facing a rivals to lovers to use; not even in the face of academic criticism of Ali Hazelwood style. ‘Catabasis’ is dense and requires active reading; In fact, we can say that it is an essay disguised as a novel that sometimes sacrifices the rhythm of the plot or its development in favor of the style and ideas it wants to convey. With an acidic, witty and harsh tone, Kuang uses Alice as the epicenter of the narrative. A character who is not designed to make you like him, but to embody the loss of health and identity caused by the pressure of his tutor and the academic environment. The message that we can filter is quite clear: Sartre said that … Read more

OpenAI teamed up with NVIDIA and made circular financing fashionable. Anthropic has returned the ball with a surprise girlfriend: Google

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Let’s see if we were going to believe that OpenAI was going to be the only one to look for powerful allies. Nothing of that: Anthropic just did the same and has announced an eye-catching agreement with Google. The AI ​​startup will have access to up to one million Google TPUs in a pact that is worth “tens of billions of dollars.” Less noise, but a lot of nuts. The figures of the agreement are modest if we compare them with those that OpenAI has managed in its circular financing agreements with NVIDIA, amd either Broadcombut here Anthropic seems to take a very different position. Compared to colossal projects like Stargate, Anthropic’s idea is focused on execution. Without making much noise, the company led by Dario Amodei has been gradually conquering the business sector. More than 1 GW of computing capacity. On CNBC indicate that this investment will allow the creation of a data center with a computing capacity greater than 1 GW and have it ready in 2026. It is estimated that a center of these characteristics would cost about 50,000 million dollars, of which about 35,000 million would be dedicated to AI chips. It may not be comparable to Stargate and the idea of ​​investing $500 billion in data centers, but the alliance between Anthropic and Google is significant. More than circular financing. The partnership certainly features elements of circular financing, but it is more of a symbiotic relationship with that cross-investment component. The dynamic is simple and is now completed with that commercial return. The agreement requires Anthropic to buy or rent infrastructure services from Google Cloud. Virtuous circle. With its original investment in Anthropic, Google helped that company grow, which in turn allows Anthropic not only the ability to grow, but the need for enormous computing power… provided by Google. In essence, some of the money Google invests in Anthropic returns to Google Cloud as revenue. The vicious (or virtuous, as they say in the US) circle is complete. Anthropic diversifies. Anthropic’s AI models are trained and used using infrastructure from various manufacturers. Thus, they use both Google TPUs and Amazon Trainium processors and NVIDIA GPUs: each platform is assigned to a specialized workload. In the case of Google’s TPUs, according to Anthropic the focus is “its strong price/performance ratio and its efficiency.” Promising successes, but… Anthropic’s growth is evident, and its annualized revenue rate (ARR) is now estimated to reach $7 billion. Claude Code, its developer assistant, managed to generate 500 million dollars after just two months on the market. But as always, that revenue can’t hide the fact that Anthropic, like other AI startups, you continue to spend much more money than you earn. Amazon is your other great ally. In fact, the company led by Andy Jassy has invested around $8 billion, when official data indicates that Google has invested $3 billion. AWS is still considered the largest infrastructure provider for Anthropic, and its supercomputer Project Rainierbased on the Trainium 2, allows you to have a large computing capacity for every dollar invested, they point out on Amazon. The company’s influence is not only financial: it is structural. Image | Wikimedia | Fortune Brainstorm Tech In Xataka | You thought you had an amazing connection on Tinder, but you were actually chatting with ChatGPT

Rosalía paralyzed the center of Madrid yesterday by surprise because she is no longer promoting an album: she is selling a great event

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Beyond her music, which in these cases always takes a backseat, it is clear that when we talk about Rosalía’s ability to sell her stuff, we are dealing with an artist who is one step ahead of her compatriots. In fact, in a certain sense Rosalía plays in a league of teasers, previews and management of expectations that places her closer to Taylor Swift either bts that together with Van Gogh’s Ear. What happened. Rosalia paralyzed the center of Madrid last night with a presentation as brief as it was chaotic of their new album ‘Lux’, turned into an unexpected act of performance urban: at 8:45 p.m., Rosalía began a live on TikTok in which he announced that something would happen at 10:00 p.m. in the Plaza de Callao. Thousands of fans turned out within minutes, drawn by the promise of a performance. The artist, who was personally driving a white car through Madrid while it was being recorded live, briefly appeared running along Gran Vía before taking refuge in the Capitol Hotel.​ Make yourself Lux. Shortly after, all the screens in Callao and the theaters in the area faded to black to finally show the cover of ‘Lux’: Rosalía dressed in white, with a kind of straitjacket and veil, golden lips and a blue background with the title of the album in the center, and with visual reminiscences (the posture of a certain serenity, the headdress, the title of the album) that clearly recall a nun. The album will be officially released on November 7, it is the artist’s fourth studio after ‘Motomami’ and comes preceded by some visual clues in recent days, such as the artist’s presence in Times Square or the enigmatic presentation a few days ago of a score. Not Kings, but a queen. The launch of Rosalía’s new album, Lux, began with a great promotional action in Times Squarein New York, on October 19, 2025, where his image and the title of the album occupied the iconic light screens of the place.​ There the images that we ended up seeing in Callao were shown for the first time in the chaotic (but very studied) presentation yesterday. About the sheet music. More enigmatic was the publication in your newsletter of some scores apparently titled ‘Berghain’ (which suggested a musical turn towards string arrangements, apparently opposed to the electronic spirit of the Berlin club with the same name as the scores). Thousands of fans began to interpret the score with different instruments and upload their versions to TikTok and X, turning the enigma into a collective experience of musical creation. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the way in which, before the release of ‘Desphá’Rosalía already showed for the first time her ability to play with expectations and not follow the hitherto immovable rules of marketing, all based on leaks and direct and apparently improvised communication with fans. New narratives. Rosalía is a good example of a new way of promoting albums, which have ceased to be isolated musical works and have become a constant call for attention. Taylor Swift is the ultimate example: months before the launch of her ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ we have had promotion on social networks, a wedding announcement and a successful documentary. Rosalía already is giving interviews in which he talks about a personal turn in recent years that will be reflected, of course, in the new album. The personal and the professional blur, with clues that the album could have religious content, anticipating an intimate and profound transformation. And very profitable. In Xataka | Rosalía released a statement to avoid the controversy about Gaza. There are those who think that it has not been clear enough

A geologist explains why natural disasters continue to surprise us

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How can an eruption on the other side of the planet cause a “year without a summer”? Why does an apparently small earthquake devastate a city while a larger one goes almost unnoticed? The answer is not always in magnitude of the phenomenon, but in the place where it occurs, in the number of people exposed and in how the risk is managed. Understanding it is not just a scientific question: it is a way of looking at the planet with different eyes. ‘Science and aside’ It is the space where we talk about science with experts. It is part of our YouTube channel and is also available as a podcast on Spotify and iVoox. In her fourth episode, Ángela Blanco interviews Rosa María Mateosgeologist and director of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME-CSIC), a reference voice in the study of natural disasters. With decades of experience and a doctorate focused on this field, his vision helps us understand what is happening on Earth. When science faces the fury of the planet The conversation starts with a seemingly simple question: what is the most damaging natural disaster? The interviewee responds calmly: “It depends where you are and where you live.“In his explanation there are no hierarchies between volcanoes, earthquakes or tsunamis, but nuances. “Living in the Canary Islands, which has a high probability of a volcanic eruption, is not the same as living in Madrid, where the probability is zero.” The danger changes with the map, and understanding it requires looking at the geology of each place before its history. “Among the great episodes that marked the history of the Earth, Rosa cites one that was on the verge of erasing our species from the map. “We are talking about 74,000 years ago, which probably was on the verge of ending the Homo sapienswith our species.” It refers to the eruption of the Toba volcano, a megaeruption in Indonesia. Rosa explains that not all earthquakes are measured the same and that their magnitude can be misleading if you do not understand how it is calculated. “The magnitude of the earthquakes It is measured on a logarithmic scaleto. This means that an earthquake of magnitude four is not twice as strong as one of magnitude two.” The difference, he clarifies, is exponential: each point on the scale multiplies the energy released, and that is enough to turn an earthquake into a colossal force. Some historical episodes demonstrate this better than any graph. Rosa remembers the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 not only for its magnitude, but for what it represented for science. “The waves reached the coasts of Finland.” The phrase summarizes the scope of a phenomenon that destroyed the Portuguese capital and left traces throughout the Atlantic. From that disaster a different way of thinking was born. To understand why some catastrophes are devastating and others are barely mentioned, the expert introduces an essential distinction. “We geologists talk about two very different concepts that we often confuse. One is the danger… and another thing is the risk.“In the video he explains what each one consists of, their scope and also the consequences of confusing the terms. The conversation with Rosa María Mateos shows that natural phenomena cannot be avoided, but their effects can be reduced. In this episode of Science and apartthe geologist explains how observation and knowledge help to anticipate risks and live better with them. A talk that leaves open the door to continue learning about the planet we inhabit. Images | Xataka In Xataka | The Nobel Prize in Medicine illustrates the importance of the “story” to win it: a story that Spain has been losing for years

Surprise with the first offer on the iPhone Air, the Kindle go down price, chollos in Xiaomi mobiles and more, hunting bargains

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October begins, the month of Halloween and terror, but also of campaigns such as Prime offers party of Amazon. There are only a few days left for the arrival of this campaign, something that both the Amazon and other stores have taken the opportunity to launch many offers. In this article we will review the Better offers of the week in Kindle, Fire TV Stick, Xiaomi mobiles and much more. Kindle Colorsooft by 184.99 eurosthe last ereader released by Amazon with color screen and a good battery. iPhone Air by 1,169 eurosApple’s thinner mobile receives its first offer. Fire TV Stick 4K by 35.90 euroshe Dongle With a better value for money from Amazon, it returns from offer. Xiaomi 15t by 549 euros In cart, Xiaomi Top’s mobile in quality-price ratio comes with a gift tablet. Bose TV Speaker by 160 eurosan excellent sound bar at the lowest price that Amazon had so far. Kindle Colorsooft As usual, there are a few days for the Amazon campaign, the store has advanced some offers of its own products. Among them, we have some discounts on ereader and the one that stands out is the one that has the Kindle Colorsooftthe last model he launched just a few weeks ago. By 184.99 eurosWe talk about an ereader that incorporates a seven -inch panel. Its screen is color, which is enough to Underline colored text for the different characters in a novel. In addition, its performance has improved with respect to previous models of Amazon and its battery offers an autonomy of up to 8 weeks. These are the Kindle that we can find on offer: The price could vary. We obtain commission for these links iPhone Air The concept of iPhone Air It is not new, but interest enough if we take into account some of its specifications. Apple’s thinner mobile It also has a good battery, something not too common in the field of ultradelgated mobiles. After very little time since its launch (very few weeks), the surprise of the week has arrived with its first offer that leaves it for 1,169 euros. The iPhone Air is the thinnest mobile of those of Cupertino, but it is also one of the most powerful thanks to the Chip A19 Pro. It comes with 256 GB of internal storage (the new minimum configuration of the current generation) and a 6.5 -inch screen. In addition, it is light and offers a Theoretical autonomy of up to 27 hours of video playback. The price could vary. We obtain commission for these links Fire TV Stick 4K Next to the Kindle, Amazon has again launched a good assortment of offers in the different Fire TV Stick (in the three that are now available in the store). And once again, the Fire TV Stick 4K It is the one that has the best value for money, since it has dropped to the 35.90 euros. He Fire TV Stick 4K It is an ideal device for those who seek to watch content of streaming platforms on any TV (whether or not Smart TV) with an HDMI port. But it is also to have a stable operating system and with good performance. Offers 4K resolution and compatibility with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Visionbut only if the TV admits. These are the Fire TV Stick that are offer: Fire TV Stick 4K (last generation) The price could vary. We obtain commission for these links Xiaomi 15t It is not that it is an offer that has been launched this week, but it is good enough to remember and take it into account when renewing the mobile. He Xiaomi 15t It is still available in stores with its launch offer: 100 euros discount along with the Redmi Pad 2 Pro tablet. In Mediamarkt, for example, you can buy the mobile next to the tablet by 549 euros; The discount is applied automatically when adding the mobile to the cart. These are the two Xiaomi mobiles that are offer: Xiaomi 15t (256 GB) + Redmi Pad 2 Pro (128 GB) The price could vary. We obtain commission for these links Bose TV Speaker Having at home a Bose sound bar does not always imply making a large disbursement of money. From time to time, stores throw quite sweet offers that leave them at a very good price. The Bose TV Speakerfor example, right now he is offer in Amazon by 160 eurosthe current minimum historical price of the store. The Bose TV Speaker is a compact sound bar without wireless subwoofer. Includes technologies to improve the quality of the dialogues, it can be combined with the brand speakers (such as the Bass Module 500 or 700) and have Bluetooth and HDMI connectivity. The price could vary. We obtain commission for these links Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | Amazon, Apple, Xiaomi, Bose In Xataka | Best electronic books. What ebook buy and 11 recommended models In Xataka | Best iPhone. Which to buy in 2025 and recommended models based on budget, tastes and quality price

‘Universalis V’ Europe is the most ambitious strategy game in history. And brings surprise: he was born in Spain

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‘Universalis V’ Europe, the last installment of the legendary Strategy saga of Interactive Paradox, is an ambitious jump in depth, realism and complexity for the Fans of the genre. The series, venerated for two decades and competing face to face with giants as civilization It reinvents itself to offer unprecedented historical simulation. But the most interesting of all is that, after four deliveries developed in Swedenthis fifth part is being developed entirely in Spain by the Paradox red study, based in Barcelona. It goes more. We attended the presentation that Paradox red carried out in the Comic-with Malagajust a few weeks after its launch on November 4, and between Sonia Linares (Director of Operations), Álvaro Sanz (Head of Content Design) and Matías Tiscornia (2D Art Coordinator) made it clear that the title was, above all, “” Ambitious. We have people with 7000 hours played at our games, people who live the saga. ” And it is from a superficial first glance: “The fourth install 500 years of simulation. And so with everything: in ‘EU4’ there were 900, and here, 2,000. In the previous delivery, 16 combinations of land (climate, topography and vegetation), and now we will have 672. in ‘EU4’ there were 367 cultures, and in ‘EU5’, 2,000. And if there were only 27 religions there, we will now have 300. 16,000 kilometers of map and more than 500 years of history, from 1337 (the beginning of the War of the Hundred Years) until 1837 (the dawn of the Victorian era). That is, the players will live the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the absolutism, the revolutions and other key periods structured in six ages (traditions, rebirth, discovery, information, absolutism and revolution). Exhausting but infinitely stimulating. Three pillars. To stand this ambition, the game has been based on “three organic pillars: first, A credible world based on systems, mechanical, etc. simulations; Second, an almost infinite rejugability, that thousands of hours occur for the family’s freedom of action; And third, that the game is really from the community: we have spent the last year and a half of development going to the forum every week to be part of the creation of the game, talk to the community directly, ask what they want, to make fixes and changes instantly, all thanks to the community. “ Maximum detail. All this sets in an obsession with absolutely demential detail: for example, the team presented us with a panoramic view of how the game in 1337 was contract according to variables controlled by the player. ” There are mechanics for exploration and colonization of territories, “with the possibility of sending populations to colonize, create commercial companies and exploit resources.” And of course, possibilities of diplomacy and war. Even music. In total, “more than 100,000 lines of content, more than 60 countries with unique content made by hand, more than 8,000 events, 2,000 decisions, hundreds of forms of government, laws, privileges and situations. More than 1,300 historical characters have also been investigated. And that only in 1337 dynamic that changes according to the player’s actions. And much more. And with this we are only scratching the surface of what the game contributes, since decisions have been made of enormous complexity. For example, “if there is an empire that includes different ethnicities within it, it is tried to reflect the genetic and cultural burden throughout the country.” And all this embodied, as the art coordinator told us, in “Illustrations of events, disasters and dynamic organizations, showing the cultural diversity of the game and how the same event can manifest itself differently in different cultures.” That is, a huge and even effort to the ambition of the project, for an entirely developed game in Spain but has an absolutely international scope. So much, which covers five centuries. In Xataka | This war strategy video game has a very special player: the pentagon

There is a new “technological giant” in the US. The surprise is that it is not from the US, but from Switzerland

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ANDThe Swiss National Bank (SNB), a traditionally conservative institution, has ceased to be. In fact, it has silenced one of the most important technological investors in the world. The firm has accumulated a portfolio of actions of such magnitude that its value is equivalent to almost a fifth of the annual economic production of Switzerland. What happened. According to records From the US stock and values ​​commission (SEC) of the month of June, the SNB has 167,000 million dollars in shares of US companies, distributed in more than 2,300 positions. That makes the entity a first -order investor in Silicon Valley. Love for Big Five. More than 42,000 million of that portfolio are invested in just five technological giants: Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia. SNB has A special focus on Applecompany in which it has invested almost 10,000 million dollars, and in Nvidia, where it has invested more than 11,000 million dollars. A gigantic entity. The Swiss National Bank is not a sovereign fund as such: its main mission is not active investment to make the country’s money grow. However, its asset balance, which amounts to 855,000 million dollars, places it in a league comparable to that of large investment vehicles from countries such as Singapore or Qatar. Experts, yes, They point that SNB is an entity that does not seek to influence these companies, and only uses its portfolio as a management tool for its currency. Banks do not do this. The SNB approach – which is not owned by the national government – is really atypical. The Bank of Japan For example, it makes use of mechanisms such as ETFs for its operation, and usually also buy shares from your own country. In Switzerland there are requests that the SNB manages that portfolio actively (as an investment fund) to make more profitability. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank warns that shares can be overvalued. And our Bank of Spain? The Bank of Spain, on the other hand, buys governments bonds to control inflation and interest rates throughout the eurozone. They all differ in their strategy, and clearly that of the SNB resembles an investment company than a traditional banking entity. SNB positions in US companies. Source: Financial Times with sec data. Switzerland is small to snb. But the Swiss bond market is too small for SNB operations, and that causes the entity to invest the foreign currencies that it acquires (mainly dollars and euros). He does it in bonds and, as we have seen, in abroad actions, a strategy that some analysts They call “Foreign quantitative flexibility” and that has led him to invest in those actions of technology companies in the US. The powerful Swiss Franco. The argument that defends that strategy is that of the Swiss Franco strengthconsidered a global shelter currency. Having a strong currency is fantastic, but it is not good that it is too much Strong because it slows exports and can cause deflation: the extrin products become very cheap for the Swiss and make the Swiss companies very difficult to compete. To counteract all this, SNB does the opposite of what investors do. Sells francs – adding the offer – and buy foreign currencies that he does not want to have stops, so he invests them in companies such as Apple or Nvidia. Passive-agreesive strategy. Although SNB philosophy is basically passive and does not exercise its voting rights in those companies, this entity adjusts its positions. The sec data reveals a great increase in their participation in NVIDIA or the creation of a new position in Berkshire Hathaway, and a reduction of assets in Meta and Netflix in the last two years. That, of course, has its risksbut SNB does not seem to go bad at the moment. In Xataka | All against Nvidia: the strongest Chinese companies in Chips and IA have created a historical alliance

No one would think of leaving ‘Super Mario 64’ on for 14 months. But whoever will find a surprise

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It is tradition that the classic Super Mario Games continue to provide secrets that, despite the time elapsed are there awaiting to be discovered. Sometimes Easter Eggs They are almost private jokes, sometimes programming errors with funny effects: One of the last discovered requires a lot of patience to float. Specifically, you have to wait 14 months. It has been the youtuber Kaze emanuarExpert in bursting (or improve) Classic Nintendo Games who has made a video in which he talks about failures or curious effects that arise when we leave the game without touching during very long spaces of time, such as the seven days he explains in the video about these lines, or even beyond. And there is a technical explanation. In ‘Super Mario 64‘, Several elements are scheduled to act in cycles using internal counters that constantly increase and determine when they must execute an action. Normally, these counters are restarted every time the element ends their task, ensuring that the movements and patterns are repetitive. But there are some secret counters whose figure is not restored after completing their function; Instead, they continue to increase while the game is active. When one of these counters finally exceeds its maximum value, which only happens after many hours (or even years) of uninterrupted play, causes unusual errors or bugs. For example, Emanuar documented that, if it remains in the star selection menu for approximately 2.25 years without turning off the console, the accountant in question reaches its limit of 2,147,483,648. When overflow happens, the player is blocked in the menu and cannot perform any action for another 2.25 years of real time. Similar situations with Accountant overflows can trigger other unexpected effectss, such as the reproduction of usually inaccessible sounds within the game. Are Easter Eggs technicians who are impossible to find in a normal, but fascinating game for the community of Speedrunners and programmers that examine the strangest limits of the game. 14 months and counting A little -known enemy of ‘Super Mario 64’, the shark called Sushi, lives at the level of the great dock. Sushi emits a characteristic sound that is repeated every 16 Framesbut the sound file is longer than this interval. Therefore, under normal conditions, the clip is never heard complete: when it begins to reproduce, it is quickly cut to start again, leaving the final part of the audio hidden. Emanuar discovered, taking advantage of an internal level timer bug, that if the game is left on for about 14 months (the necessary time for this “secret accountant” to exceed its maximum limit of 32 bits), the system stops sending orders to Sushi. For the first and only time, the shark reproduces the entire sound file From beginning to end, allowing listening to the complete sound effect for the first time. After this reproduction, Sushi is silent, since the logic that controlled his loop is disabled. This detail is the product of the operation of internal accountants who manage physics and events within the game. The same phenomenon occurs with other controlled objects with counters, such as the wings of the flying ships on the path of the rainbow, which stop moving for the same reason after thousands of active hours. These events can only occur in extreme circumstances and emulators have to be tricked to simulate excessive play time, but there are, as curiosities for useless data mining. In Xataka | Mario de Punta blank: If you have $ 1500 for a graphics card, you can play ‘Super Mario 64’ with Ray-Tracing

Baidu has just launched a new AI model that competes with the best. The surprise: it is not Open Source

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Baidu has presented Ernie X1.1, a new generative model that represents a promising qualitative leap and that seems to compete from you to you with their rivals. That is not so surprising. What it is is that we are facing a model that goes against the Chinese trend: it is closed. Why is it important. Being “the Chinese Google” worked very well for Baidu for more than two decades, but in recent times this Chinese technological giant is trying to Do not lose commits in the AI ​​race. His last movement goes in that direction: Ernie X1.1 has just presented, the latest version of a reasoning model that earns whole. The model can be easily tested in the Official Chatbot Website (You have to display the option to use the Ernie X1.1 model if you are not selected). The new Ernie X1.1 competes from you to you with Depseek-R1, Gemini-2.5 Pro and even GPT-5 in various benchmarks Promising. The internal tests published by BAIDU reveal that their new reasoning model offers “significant advances” in terms of precision of the answers (34.8% better than Ernie X1), instructions monitoring (12.5% ​​better) and agricultural capacities (9.6% better). Not only that: its performance in Benchmarks exceeds Desepseek R1-0528, the reference AI model for months in China. It is also able to compete in performance with GPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro, two of the most advanced models today. But closed. While the trend in China is to offer open models in which at least the weights with which these models have trained, Baidu has decided that at the moment Ernie X1.1 will be closed. The model has been offered to corporate clients already developers through the Baidu cloud platform, called Qianfan (via API), in addition to its aforementioned availability in Ernie.baidu.com. Meanwhile, other models open. What it has done is to open the Ernie-4.5-21B-A3B-Thinking model, a version that is somewhat less capable but that has reasoning capacity and that supports a context window of 128,000 tokens. This model uses a MOE (Mixture of Experts) architecture with 21,000 million total parameters although only 3,000 million of them are active to make it more efficient. The model is for example available Through Hugging Face. An AI that accompanies the elderly. As they point out In SCMPduring the presentation of this wang haifeng model, Cto de Baidu, advertisement The launch of an AI agent destined to accompany the elderly. The objective is to help the more than 310 million Chinese who are over 60 years offering information that for example can help them with their health status and also allows us to discern whether the information they find on the Internet can be harmful to them. Counting Erres. In Xataka we have been able to use Ernie X1.1 for a few hours and the first impressions are very positive. The reasoning model is especially careful when answering, and for example when asking “how many” R “does the phrase ‘the San Roque dog has no tail because Ramón Ramírez has stolen it’?” The model correctly replied that 9, when Ernie 4.5, also available on that website, replied quickly but badly: 8. We also ask you to create a table with the 10 countries that had won the most football, and once again The answer It was perfect, something we had not seen in almost any previous model. In other interactions – for example, when creating and analyzing Python code – the performance was also remarkable. In the absence of trying it in depth, these small tests point to a really remarkable behavior of the model. But rivals squeeze. We are therefore before a striking step by Baidu, both for that promising performance and for the fact that the company has given up not opening it for the moment. In front of Ernie X1.1, yes, the competition is fierce. Both QWen3-Max-Preview (Alibaba) and Kimi-K2-0905 (MoNshot) have achieved enter the list Of the 10 most powerful models on the market According to LMarena. There for those who lead are Gemini-2.5 Pro, Claude Opus 4.1, O3 and GPT-5-High, but the advance of these Chinese models is remarkable. It remains to be seen if Ernie X1.1 will also sneak that list. In Xataka | Deepseek has given the starting gun in the race for a cheaper AI. And China starts with advantage

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