test

WhatsApp will test a way to punish those who insist without a response

by

WhatsApp has been part of our routine for years. It is one of the first applications that we install when changing mobile phones and the one that we use the most to keep in touch with family, friends or co-workers. What started as a simple channel for personal messages has become a much broader space, where groups, communities and companies coexist. Today, between notifications and pending conversations, it is common for us to receive messages that we did not even expect or from people we do not know. As WhatsApp has grown, so has the feeling of overflow. The conversations multiply and, among them, more and more messages that are not of our interest sneak in. From announcements to service reminders. For many users, distinguishing what is important has become a constant task. That scenario has led the company to explore new ways to limit abusive shipments and regain some of the lost control. New message limit. As confirmed by the companyis testing a feature that restricts how many messages can be sent to contacts who don’t reply. In practice, this means that both users and companies will have a maximum monthly number of attempts before they are unable to continue writing. The counter is only reset when the recipient responds. With this, WhatsApp seeks to stop spam without affecting normal personal conversations. Notice within the app. TechCrunch notes that When a user or company is close to reaching the monthly limit, WhatsApp will show a notification with the exact number of messages sent to contacts who have not responded. The notice appears in a pop-up box that acts as a reminder to avoid temporary blocks. The company has not yet specified what the exact limit is, as it is testing different values ​​before implementing it definitively. Test in several countries. WhatsApp has confirmed this test will be active in several countries in the coming weeks. The company insists that most users will not notice changes, since the cap is designed for those who send mass messages or do not receive a response. In principle, the measure seeks to affect only behaviors considered abusive, not the daily use of the application. The new limit is not an isolated movement. Over the last year, WhatsApp has launched various tests to stop abuses on its platform. In July 2024, it began experimenting with limits on the number of marketing messages a company can send per month. It has also extended caps on broadcast lists and bulk messages. Doubts to resolve. As we say, WhatsApp has not revealed the exact number of messages allowed or how long the test phase will last. Nor has it detailed whether the limit will be the same for individual users and business accounts. Meta is testing different values ​​and seeing how it affects user behavior before deciding on its final implementation. In the end, many of us know what it’s like to open the application and find several pending messages. Some matter, others we don’t even know where they come from. The test will tell if you really manage to put a stop to excess without complicating daily conversation. Images | freepik | Daniel Korpai In Xataka | MrBeast has been giving money to his followers in his videos for years: now he wants them to be the ones to give it to him

Apple maintains strong control even on third -party stores. The test is the elimination of Ititorrent in Altstore Pal

by

IPhone and iPad users in the European Union can do something unpublished in the rest of the world: Install alternative application stores and download apps directly from the developer website. This opening was not born from a change of philosophy in Apple, but of the obligation to fulfill the Digital Markets Law. The company has always defended its closed ecosystem and has warned that opening the door to external applications compromises security of users. However, it should not be confused: even in this new scenario, Apple maintains strong control about everything that is installed on its devices. The recent disappearance of Iitorrent in ALTSTORE PAL It is the clearest proof. Ititorrent is a Bittorrent customer for iOS who had found a distribution channel out of the App Store. Everything changed when his developer communicated in Github that Apple had removed the ability to distribute the application through that route. From one day to another, Iitorrent ceased to be available for new facilities and users began to point out that they could no longer download it. What happened was not a simple technical failure: Apple had revoked the authorization that allows developers to take their apps to alternative stores, a reminder that the company still has the last word even when it is not about its own store. This is how Apple decides which applications are still alive in iOS That same system of Notarizationwhich is presented as a security review, is also the tool with which Apple retains control. If an application stops fulfilling its criteria or if the company classifies it as malicious software, can prevent it from being installed and even block its execution in the devices where it was already. The same goes for third -party stores: they depend on specific permits that Apple grants and can revoke at any time, which would mean leaving all its users without catalog. In practice, although the installation is done from an alternative marketplace or from the web, each step is still subject to the final validation of Apple, as indicated on its website. Notarization for iOS and Ipados apps is a basic review that applies to all apps, regardless of their distribution channel, and focuses on the security and privacy policies of the platform, as well as maintaining the integrity of the device. As we pointed out, first the developer spoke. He reported that Apple had withdrawn from his account the ability to distribute alternative, which left Iitorrent out of Altstore Pal. He said he resorted to the official support without obtaining clear answers. Then came the official Apple position. In statements sent to 9to5MacThe company said: “The certification of this application was eliminated to comply with the rules on government sanctions in various jurisdictions. We have informed the developed.” The contrast is evident: on the one hand, a surprised developer; On the other, a company that insists that its obligation is to stop apps that can be risk. What happened with Ititorrent is not an isolated fact. Some projects that aspired to reach alternative stores found themselves before with the rejection of notarization. For example, Mini Vmac was rejected and never arrived at Altstore Pal. What is clear is that the company retains the ability to remove apps from the circulation beyond its own store. For some users, the practice reflects an excess of control; For others, it is the way to keep your devices safe. In any case, the European opening does not in any case eliminate the central role of Apple in the process. The first question that many are asked is evident: Can Apple withdraw an application even when installed from an alternative store? The answer is yes. All apps in iOS depend on the notarization and permits managed by the company itself, so that if it revokes that authorization, the application ceases to be installed automatically. The question also arises from what happens to those who already had it downloaded. In principle they can continue using it, unless Apple catalogs it as harmful, in which case the system will not let it open. It is no coincidence: in the App Store torrents have been vetoed for years, and the company has never had a simple relationship with them. Images | ALTSTORE PAL In Xataka | Few digital gardens have the walls as high as Apple’s. Chatgpt has managed to sneak into it

This Europe map is the test

by

There is still almost a month ahead, but the summer of 2025 will already be remembered as The fire. You have to go back three decades ago, to 1994to find a year in which the flames will devour more forest area. The fire has devastated hectares, lives have been charged, He has calcined houses and Farms and has affected natural icons such as Las Médulasin the region of El Bierzo, now dyed black. Despite the strength of all these images there is one that even more resounding the scourge of fire in Spain: The map that compares the open surface this year in our country with the burned in other nations, such as France or Italy. What happened? If we talk about forest fires, the saying that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is more true than ever, although the strongest images do not always show flames, calcined trees or smoke columns. Recently The World in Maps, a community with more than 700,000 followers on Instagram, published A map of Europe in which the surface razed in several countries of the continent. And the difference from Spain with respect to some of its closest neighbors, such as Portugal, Italy or France, is overwhelming. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Why’s that? Because it shows that on August 19 in Spain more than 348,000 hectares had been burned compared to 216,200 in Portugal, the 125,400 of Romania, 65,100 of Italy or 35,600 in France. Each nation has a different extension (only quintuplica peninsular The surface from Portugal), but still the comparison is eloquent. Spain is the one that has seen carbonized more hectares, surpassing other more extensive countries from afar, Like France. Where do the data come from? The World in Maps does not need it, but its estimates correspond more or less with those of Effisthe European Forest Fire Information System, included in the Copernicus program. The graph was prepared with data a week ago and EFFIS table It is constantly updated, so that the drawing has changed slightly since then, but the differences between nations remain more or less stable. What do they show? Right now Effis speaks of 415,300 hectares in Spain, 271,000 in Portugal, 126,000 in Romania, 72,100 in Italy and 35,600 in France. Eduardo Rojas, spokesman Official College of Engineers of MontesRemember that these figures should be handled with some caution. At the moment it is only “an advance”, an area estimation affected by the flames made with satellite data but that may not correspond exactly with reality. “Not everything has burned and not everything is forest terrain, there are reservoirs, roads …”, he warns. Effis also shows that, beyond the number of hectares razed, if we talk about the percentage of national surface affected Spain It is not the worst stop. In that case, the most tragic balance has it Portugal and Chipre. But … how is the difference explained? They are more or less precise, which reflects the map of The World in Maps (and The tables of EFFIS) is the clear difference of burned surface in Spain and other countries in Europe. So the question is obvious … What is the reason for that challenge? Rojas recalls that a key factor in the case of the Iberian Peninsula is climatology. Drought and heat waves like those suffered throughout July and August “exacerbate” fires. “Meteorological severity has a huge effect and causes hectares to vary.” Spain is not in fact the only one that has suffered fires more voracious of the usual. In early August, in full heat wavesouthern France saw them with its worse forest fire since the end of the 1940s. And it is not the only one. Portugal has also dealt with a Historical scourge In their mountains. The climatic, temperature and humidity differences in the different regions of the continent are an important factor that influences the voracity of the fires. Is it the only explanation? No. Rojas remembers that “the basic problem” is really another: progressive abandonment from rural and the accumulation of biomass and weeds that, at a given time, can feed the flames. The spokesman of the College of Engineers of Montes dimiates in fact to go beyond the data of each year and assess “the trend”. And in that case what is observed is a more or less stable number of fires and the effect of the effort to reduce landfills and control agricultural burning, although they are still present in Spain. Recently the Professional College itself He pointed out as a successful model the “ancestral forest management” of the Pinares regionbetween Soria and Burgos, where despite the enormous wooded surface there are no fires as devastating as those he has suffered The triangle formed by Ourense, León or Zamora. The reason? Partly the system of “Good luck of pines” That its inhabitants apply, a method that traces its roots to the Middle Ages and allows local communities to favor the care and management of forest masses, while also reinforcing their link and feeling of belonging. Is it something expected? The answer is affirming again. Javier MadrigalMontes engineer and researcher at the Institute of Forest Sciences of the CSIC, insists on the importance of meteorology but points to “structural reasons” in the background. “It is summarized in the abandonment of forest and agricultural management in Europe, which in a climate change scenario makes a year of adverse meteorology as this is being in the Iberian Peninsula we have broken surface records burned since 1994,” slides: “This trend was predicted by all models.” “The one in different parts of the Mediterranean is a cyclical process that depends on the meteorology,” abounds the ICF-CSIC expert, who remembers that already There are studies which show that the fire regime is not the same in different Mediterranean countries. “At country scale, the meteorological reasons more influence than socioeconomic, also seeing very aggressive fire regimes in Algeria, Greece and Türkiye, for example,” he concludes. Images | Ume … Read more

It is a fire test for your update policy

by

All manufacturers have a huge challenge ahead: offer a minimum of five years of updates. It is a European policy that applies to everyone equally and that, however, has a small print: five years of updates is not the same as five years of major updates. That is why Samsung’s last movement is striking with his New Galaxy A17a low -end terminal that not only complies with European law, but goes one step further offering six years of operating system updates. And that is a fire test. About the mobile. It is an entry range terminal with four or eight Gigas of RAM, 128 or 256 GB of internal storage, a processor Exynos 1330 For the 5G model and a Mediatek Helio G99 For the 4G model. The exynos dates from 2023, while the Helio G99 began to see it in 2022. In other words, they are somewhat old components and with little power whose objective is to maintain the relatively low price: 230 euros For the 4/128 GB version and 309 euros For 8/256 GB. Thus samsung money earns: the secret is on the iPhone Samsung Galaxy A17 5g | Image: Mediamarkt The software issue. It is where the crumb is. The device is launched with one UI 7 based on Android 15 and an ambitious promise: six years of operating system updates. That is, who bought this device aspires to try Android 21. This is something that, to date, was only possible in high -end mobiles. The difference is evident: a high -end mobile as the Z fold7 It has an engine with power more than enough to endure what they throw for a long time. The Galaxy A17 is another story. The challenge. Updating a mobile is not pressing a button. It is a work that requires precise optimizations adapted to the hardware of each terminal. In addition, it is a job that will have to be done in more devices, since the Galaxy A17 5G of 2025 surely follows the Galaxy A17 (or A18) of 2026, the one of 2027, 2028, etc., which, in turn, will also have to be updated. Update devices will accumulate over the years, which will make this task even more complex This concrete model will have to add all the others that, at least in Europe, will have to update for at least five years. In this way, the Samsung of the year 2030 will be updating tropecient mobiles that not only have to receive the update, but to continue working properly. Not only have to update Android 17 to Android 18, but to do so that the terminal remains usable. Where is the challenge? In hardware. While a Snapdragon 8 Elite Or their Mediatek counterpart they have more than plenty of to endure the pull for five, six or seven years, an exynos 1330 or a Helio G99 have it more raw. It is not just that the processor already starts to fall short, but that a high -end device has faster memories (RAM LPDDR5X, UFS 4.1 memories…). In the long run, a low -end mobile, however updated it is, will begin to fall short of The constant glotton of the functions of the operating systemapps and games that, update after updating, demand more resources. Samsung Galaxy A17 5g | Image: Mediamarkt The fire test. The Galaxy A17 is, therefore, a device that is worth not losing sight. Not because of the device itself, but to see how a terminal of these characteristics evolves by being exposed to an ambitious update policy that, to date, only applied to the high -end terminals. Because remember: Samsung promises six years of operating system updates, while the EU demands a minimum of five years of dry updates. They do not specify that there are five Android jumps. What Samsung puts on the table is much more juicy. The promise. Anyway, we cannot forget that this promise to offer five, six or seven years of Android updates is quite new. And above all, it is still about to fulfill. Removing Apple and Google, whose update policies speak for themselves, the rest of the brands have much to demonstrate. Samsung He started offering seven years of updates from the Galaxy S24. Honor the same from Magic7 Pro Honor. Xiaomi promises Six years From the Xiaomi 15. Motorola five years From the EDGE 50 PRO. Oppo and Realme, on the other hand, four years in some of its most powerful mobiles. We cannot analyze this now, a year after these ads. We will have to do with this in 2029, 2030 and 2031. It will be then when we leave doubts and we will see whether or not the promise are fulfilling not only in the high range, but in the low and medium range. Cover image | Mediamarkt, Pexels In Xataka | The promise of the seven years of updates has a small print and we are already beginning to see it

California will test a “co -pilot of AI” at one of the most sensitive points of its electricity grid. Can go very well … or very bad

by

There is a less visible part of the electricity grid: the one that goes out on purpose. From time to time, whole teams must disconnect by maintenance. They are routine tasks, but their coordination and validation are decisive so that the system continues to work. In California, that work falls to the California Independent System Operator (Caiso) human team. Now, an artificial intelligence will begin to collaborate with them. Caiso has launched A pilot project with the firm Oati. The objective is to verify how a language model, similar to the one that drives Chatgptcan attend in a critical mission: manage requests – especially the scheduled – that come daily to perform maintenance in the network. Artificial intelligence to attend a task that cannot fail Many of these requests imply, although not always, temporarily disconnect key assets. If the information is incomplete or incorrect, the consequences can be felt in real time: from Network instability even alterations in the electricity market. Therefore, although part of the flow is already automated, the final review remains manual and exhaustive. Between 2020 and 2025, internal graphs show a high volume of applications, with clear spring and autumn peaks, the usual maintenance windows. That seasonality, added to the total number of requests, converts maintenance management into one of the most complex operating challenges in the system. The tool is called Oati Genie and is raised as a co -pilot of AI. Detect anomalies, extract operational information and suggest steps based on previous cases. To achieve this, it combines retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) with a system of multiple agents: operators formulate questions in natural language and receive contextualized answers, with links to documents and records that support them. The operator can, for example, ask what work could affect a certain electric route and obtain a history, procedures and public data such as those of OASIS (Open Access Same-Time Information System), the regulated base that centralizes technical and market information in real time. That consultation, which previously demanded manual searches, now comes with much more agility. The co -pilot does not decide for itself, its role serves to reinforce and expedite the human decision. If everything is going as planned, the tool will enter internal tests before the end of the year. Those who use it may report failures, limitations or improvements and help profile their evolution. It is not an isolated experiment, but part of a broader strategy to Apply to other areas of the system. The plan is underway, but there is still knowing if Oati Genie will fulfill what he promises. It may become a daily ally for operators; Maybe it’s just a step on the road to a smarter network. The only sure thing is that the electricity sector already explores that address. Images | Caiso | Javad Esmaeili In Xataka | Harvest wheat or kilowatts? The new account that many farmers make in Spain

We thought that there would be no going back in the supremacy of AI. Then some kids arrived and an impossible test

by

There is a place in the world where some of the young brains meet every year brighter on the planet. Not everyone goes for the medal: some just want to solve six problems that could despair more than one doctorate. It is the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO), a competition that demands a highly capable mind. Until now, it was a land reserved for humans. But this year, two of the most advanced artificial intelligence models – developed by Google Deepmind and Openai – decided to enter the board. They achieved the unthinkable: A gold score. Even so, something unexpected happened. A handful of students managed to overcome them. And that has revived an inevitable question: will this be the last time someone achieves it? Machines gain ground. Until now, no artificial intelligence model had reached that brand in the IMO. Deepmind had stayed at a single point in 2024 with 28/42 points. This year everything changed. His new AI – an unpublished version of Gemini Deep Think– Solved five of the six problems in natural language and within the official limit of 4 hours and 30 minutes. Openai’s prototype matched the feat: 35/42 points. Gold, finally, is also a matter of machines. Even so, both of them were blank in problem 6: 0 points. {“videoid”: “x8jpy2b”, “Autoplay”: fals, “title”: “What is behind it like chatgpt, dall-e or midjourney? | artificial intelligence”, “tag”: “Webedia-prod”, “Duration”: “1173”} They made history, but they did not win. The results sheets revealed that 26 human students exceeded the two AI. Alexander Wang, a young American, reaped his third consecutive gold with 37 points. But the brightest were read Deng and Hengye Zhang, from China, who signed perfection: 42 of 42, including the dreaded problem 6 that the machines did not solve. Problem 6 raised a 2025 × 2025 boxes. A agreement with Aops onlinein general, the task was to place rectangles – of any size, always aligned to the grid and without overlapping – so that each row and each column has exactly a free box. The question was how many rectangles are needed to get it. NATIONAL RESULTS. With 231 points, China recovered the first position of the medallero – United States obtained 216 and South Korea 203—, According to official results. His six representatives hung the gold; Two of them reached 42 points. The rest added between 35 and 40. As SCMP points outamong them is Qiming Xu, who achieved 36 points competing with cerebral palsy. Above, the Chinese team that led the medal. Below, the American team that was second Rival or tool? Research teams insist that they do not seek to replace students. Thang Luong, leader of the Deepmind project, assures the Wall Street Journal that Its model can be “a new calculator for the next generation of mathematicians.” The reality is that the qualitative leap is enormous: to need days of computation and formal language in 2024, to generate legible evidence in hours. That improvement raises a new scenario for schools and competitions. The last human victory? Alexander Wang believes that in 2026 the AI will already resolve the six exercises; Qiao Zhang sees it to fifty percent; And Thang Luong himself believes this could be the last IMO with human advantage. Not everyone is convinced. Former Midralist Junehyuk Jung – a researcher at Deepmind – argues that problems such as 6 will remain out of reach of the models “at least for a decade.” In Xataka Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia: "I have created more billionaires in my management team than any other CEO in the world" For now, teenagers leave with more than a medal: the certainty that, for the moment, human intelligence still resists. 2026 will say if that margin disappears or if they bend the pulse to the machines with pencil, paper and an idea that no one had planned. Images | Google | Dave Michael In Xataka |Anthropic has seen that their users do not stop using the 200 euros plan a month of their AI. They had to stop their feet (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news We thought that there would be no going back in the supremacy of AI. Then some kids arrived and an impossible test It was originally posted in Xataka by Javier Marquez .

Sending electricity without cables seemed to the future. Darpa has done it again, and the test has gone better than expected

by

What are 800 watts? More or less what a microwave consumes running at medium power. And 8.6 kilometers? It is an approximate distance between the stations of Atocha and Chamartínin Madrid. It is actually somewhat lower, but it serves to get an idea. That is the scale of Darpa’s last experiment: a system that managed to transmit real energy with a laser, in a straight line, without cables and with a receiver that turns the light into usable electricity. It may seem little, but it is not. The important thing was not the amount, but the test. And it worked. What exactly Darpa has done. The United States Advanced Defense Research Projects (Darpa) has successfully completed The first phase of a program called Power, designed to explore new ways of transmitting long distance energy. In their most recent test, carried out in New Mexico, they managed to send a laser beam that delivered about 800 watts for 30 seconds to a receiver located 8.6 kilometers. The figure is important because it exceeds the previous records: until now, the best documented result was 230 watts at 1.7 kilometers. Although the agency has not revealed how much power it was originally issued, it is known that the system was able to maintain energy flow for periods even longer than those officially reported. According to those responsible for the project, it was not about demonstrating efficiency, but viability. The essential thing was to check if it was possible to build a functional system in a short time. And they did it in just three months, from the initial design to the final execution. The receiver was developed by Technc Technologies and uses commercial solar cells already available in the market. The objective was not to optimize performance to the maximum, but to prove that this technology can be launched with accessible components and without complex manufacturing processes. How this technology works. The idea behind the experiment is simple to understand, although technically complex: send energy through the air with a beam of light, and that when it arrives it can be used as electricity. The DARPA system is based on an infrared laser that points directly to a receiver composed of a conical mirror and solar cells. The mirror captures the ray and redirects it towards the panels, which convert light into electrical energy. Part of the equipment used during the test The interesting thing is that no exotic components or photovoltaic cells were used to measure, as in many laboratories. Commercial cells were used, ready to use, which reinforces the idea that this technology can be viable out of paper. As we say, the performance, for now, was not the priority. Receiver efficiency is around 20 %. The Power Receiver Array Demo system achieved a new record by transmitting laser energy with more power and greater scope than ever During the test, diffractive optics were also used, an unusual resource in this type of transmissions, and an integrated cooling system was implemented directly in the optical parts, manufactured with additive printing techniques. None of these innovations was scheduled at the beginning. They were solutions that arose on the march, as they faced the challenges of the experiment. Why do it with laser and not with radio waves. Transmitting long distance energy is not a new idea. For decades it has been investigated how to do it with radio or microwave waves, but these technologies have physical limitations that include their effectiveness. As IEEE points outto work, they need large antennas and systems of Beamforminga technique that allows the signal to be concentrated in one direction. The longer the distance, the greater the issuer must be, and the more difficult it is to focus the beam with precision. Compared to radio waves, the laser can focus much better: a narrow beam can be created almost without dispersion, at least in ideal conditions, According to Eric YeatmanVice President of the College of Science and Engineering of the University of Glasgow. Of course, not everything is advantages. The lasers also disperse with fog, clouds or dust. In adverse atmospheric conditions, microwaves remain more reliable. But for certain applications, especially if we talk about aerial networks or transmissions in clear environments, the laser is difficult to match. For the Power project leader in Darpa, Paul Jaffe, if it does not work with optics, it will not work in any way. What does this advance mean (and what is not). Darpa’s experiment did not solve all the challenges of wireless energy transmission. Efficiency remains low, the system is not yet prepared to operate in adverse conditions, and the transmitted power, although notable, is far from what a commercial infrastructure would need. But that was not important. The important thing was to demonstrate that technology can work outside the laboratory, with accessible components and in realistic terms. Images | Darpa (the main image shows an earlier test in 2019, at a lesser distance) In Xataka | Antimony under another flag: the Chinese mineral that continues to enter the US disguised for Thai or Mexican export

The test was a success

by

If your basic subsistence needs were covered, would you look for a job? That is an almost philosophical and inherent issue of human nature that many sociologists have asked and Economic policies responsible. Sam Altman, without going any further, raised establish a universal basic income to cushion the Impact of AI on the labor market. In the world different experiments have been carried out on the effectiveness of providing a pay that covers the basic needs. One of those tests It was carried out in Barcelona Between 2017 and 2019 and the participants were delivered up to 1,297 euros per month. The results of that test They have just been published. Basic Universal Income in Barcelona. The city launched one of the most ambitious social experiments that have been carried out in Spain: the B-MINCOME PROGRAMwith a total cost of 4.8 million euros. 822 households from different vulnerable neighborhoods of the city, They received a monthly income (Provision of municipal support for inclusion or SMI, for its acronym in Catalan), which reached up to 1,297 euros for families of four members, or 663 euros for a single -person home. This amount corresponds to an estimate equivalent to 70% -80% of the local poverty threshold. These homes were distributed in two control groups (in principle they were going to be four control groups): Basic rent (SMI) linked to voluntary participation in formative activities and non -supervised social inclusion. Basic rent (SMI) in limited modality, which reduces the benefit to the same extent that a salary is received. Basic rent (SMI) with gradual withdrawal in sections, conditioned to the perception of a salary between 25 % (each additional euro reduced the provision 25 cents of the first 250 euros) and 35 % (each additional euro reduced the provision 35 cents of more than 250 euros). One SMI euro for each euro of salary: the failure. One of the strong points of this study is that researchers could check the Effects of basic income approached from different conditions, and their effects are decisive. The study revealed a 22% drop in the chances of working in the group to which the limited modality was applied. That is, for each euro they received from a salary, a euro of basic income was discounted. That economic loss discouraged the search for a job. This fall not only affected the receiver of the benefit, but also affected the whole of the home, reducing the probability that any adult of the family nucleus seeks a job, perpetuating the dependence of the subsidy. According to the study, in this group both part -time and full -time employment was affected, the latter being responsible for two thirds of the general effect of abandonment of employment. That is, the greater the wage remuneration obtained, the more labor insertion is discouraged. Basic rental with discount. Instead, The results For the group that only received a discount percentage for each salary euro received (between 25 and 35%), the probabilities of labor reintegration increased by 6.5% that those who did not receive any help. That is, by maintaining a certain level of salary increase with respect to basic income, the search for a job to improve family income was encouraged, making compatible and beneficial receive the benefit with developing full -time employment. In addition, this model was more efficient for the administration since in the case of the total withdrawal model, each transferred euro supposed 34 cents of additional public spending. In the discount model, the cost was only 12 cents for each euro delivered. That is, the impact on employment was better and the minor cost when the design applied a partial discount. Work at home and take care. The most striking impact of the experiment was concentrated in homes with children of the group to which the total withdrawal model was applied. In these cases, some adults, especially women, reduced their participation in the labor market to devote themselves to unpaid household workscare of dependent people and children. Researchers speak of a “replacement between paid work for care work.” Some of these families opted for take care of your children or dependent relatives without fear of falling into social exclusion. According to the researchers, this decision “could generate positive externalities, such as improvements in the education and health of children or reductions in adolescent crime”, in addition to improving family conciliation to the rest of the family members. The conclusions coincide with Germany. The results of the B-Mincom are not isolated in the international scene. In Germany a similar project in which being the beneficiary of a basic monthly assignment of the employment situation caused participants to improve their training to obtain better jobs. The fact of Maintain the safeguard From an insured income, the German beneficiaries encouraged to venture to change to better paid jobs, to study and form and even reduced anxiety levels and other mental problems by having the certainty of reaching the end of the month thanks to the vital basic income. However, the most relevant conclusion that the Barcelona test leaves, like the German, is that it is not enough to assign a subsidy to a certain population profile at risk of social exclusion, but the important thing is to apply the appropriate strategy to encourage their progress, not stagnate that group in what the researchers called “Poverty traps“That perpetuates its dependence. In Xataka | Germany believes having found the most German solution to its productivity problems: work more Image | Pexels (Markus Spiske)

Japan has been a test laboratory for years to encourage birth. And he doesn’t have good news for the world

by

Neither The aid. Nor the facilities for access education. Nor the improvement of working conditions. Not even attempts for Exercise “Casélro” and create new couples. The repeated attempts of the Japanese authorities to reactivate their Merm Birth They are clicking on bone and have not prevented the country from closing 2024 with a bleak demographic panorama. Its fertility rate is minimal, births have fallen below the barrier of 700,000 per year and the number of deaths far exceeds the babies. Thus, the country faces a question that They have been Considering analysts: what can a government really do to encourage birth? Can you avoid collapse by looking for everything to the measures of Economic cut? Birth. 2024 has not been a good year for Japanese demography. His Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Welfare has just confirmed it in A balance Desorator and confirms that, despite all its efforts, the country has not yet found the appropriate key to avoid collapse. Among all their data there are two special worrying and that give an idea of ​​the descending drift that is drawing its birth: the fertility rate and births. Last year the global fertility rate (the number of children that a woman would have if she lived until the end of her fertile life) It stood at 1.15. A bad result twice. Not only is it 0.05 points less than in 2023, but it leaves that indicator in historical minimums. This is the lowest recorded data From at least 1947which further away to Japan from the one known as Replacement ratethe necessary number of children (2,1) to maintain a stable population without taking into account immigration. In Tokyo that indicator It does not arrive Even 1. A fact: 686,000 babies (and down). The other devastating fact for Japanese demography is that of the number of births. In 2024 the Japanese Ministry of Health accounted for 686,000, 5.7% less that in 2023. It is the first time in addition (at least since 1899, when the official registration began) that the number of annual lighting was below the 700,000 barrier. The Japanese authorities already had the birth would cross that psychological red line, but they expected it to do so within several years. The forecasts of the National Institute for Research of the Population contemplated that 2024 be closed with some 755,000 new babies And that the births would not fall below the barrier of 690,000 to a decade and a half, in 2039. The predictions were pessimistic, but they have fallen short: that threshold crossed 15 years earlier than expected. ASAHI remember In fact, the 2024 data has coincided with the worst projection drawn by the body. Losing population. The data of the Ministry of Health show only the photograph of the native population resident in the country, excluding both foreigners born in Japan and Japanese born outside their borders; but reveals a serious problem in the demographic engine of the nation. The reason is simple: more Japanese die than they are born. The 686,061 babies scored in 2024 remain away from the 1.6 million of deaths (1.9% more than in 2023). That translates into a negative balance of 919,237 people, around 70,000 people more than the previous year. To understand what this data supposes in practice, Nikei Slide that equivalent more or less to lose all Kagawa in a matter of 12 years. That hole also adds to those that Japan has been suffering over the last years. After all, it carries almost two decades supporting more death than births, which is reflected in Evolution of its total population. A small ray of light: marriages. Among all these negative data the balance of the Ministry of Health leaves one in positive: the number of marriages. The organism registered 486,0632.2% more than in 2023. They remain at low levels and below half a million, but leave the first increase in two years. And that is very relevant to birth. Although in Spain and other EU countries it is increasingly common That couples have babies without going through the altar, in Japanese society births outside marriage or de facto couples are still rare: Nikei remember which in 2023 represented 2.5% of the total. A matter of state. Japan is not the only nation that dealt with birth problems. Something similar happens to South and China. And like them the Japanese authorities have deployed A wide fan of measures to try to reverse the trend that include from children’s subsidies or measures that facilitate education for initiatives to Promote creation of new couples. “Focusing children related to children and parenting is something that cannot expect or postpone,” warned two years ago! Fumio KishidaJapan’s Prime Minister until last October. The problem worries enough to Tokyo for its executive It would be proposed Raise public aid by son to levels similar to those of Sweden and thus avoid that the nation lost “its ability to operate as a society.” That same year the government announced An ambitious plan to encourage birth to deploying a millmillionaire investment. Can you solve with money? That is the question that leaves the last demographic balance of Japan and that have been raising analysts for a long time, both inside and outside the nation. Are economic -economic policies enough to encourage birth? There are those who indicate that at least these strategies must be accompanied by deeper changes and even A rethinking of certain ideas and attitudes rooted in their culture. In 2023 Tomas Sobotka, deputy director of the Institute of Demography of Vienna, He pointed out some keys that feed the demographic crisis and that go beyond subsidies or married policies. The list includes the delay in the age of motherhood, cultural and social changes that lead to young people choose to remain single and without children, a change in the homes themselves, the greatest presence of women in the labor market and a philosophy of life that prioritizes professional ambitions and leaves little time available for parenting. … Read more

Nostalgia has become the true fuel in the car market. The scamoteable headlights are the last test

by

There was a day that the headlights were hidden in cars. Deportivo, sharp nose … and some headlights that completely broke the front of the vehicle with two huge bulbs to illuminate what was in front. The Ferrari F40, the Lamborghini Countachhe BMW M1 or the most earthly first Mazda MX-5. There are many examples of all kinds. Some of them extremely shocking such as the Porsche 911 Flatnose. Because yes, Porsche came to offer as extra equipment the sneakable headlights In its most iconic sports car, which some sacrilege will seem to some. And what do we say about Carlos Sainz flying along the sofari rally slopes In Kenia aboard his Toyota Celica? And although when we think of scamotable headlights we look almost automatically at the 80s and 90s, it is a much older invention. It is considered that The Cord 80 was the first car that he used this formula in the United States in 1935. Shortly after, in 1936 he would arrive in Europe with the beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C (attentive to this miniature If you are thinking of spending more than 20,000 euros on one of them). Regardless of where we place its origin, the usual as we said is to think in the decade of the 80s and the 90s when we talk about this lighting system. And how everything comes back: are the sneakable headlights back? Mg cyber x concept They come back … more or less Shanghai 2025, MG presents the Cyber ​​X Concept. The prototype is, in the words of the Chinese company, a “global urban adventure toy.” What our eyes see is an extraordinarily square SUV to generate that aspect of hard off -road. Of course, nothing similar to Joseph Kaban Bugatti Veyron, designer of both products. But, beyond this curiosity … What appears on the front? Yes, small and fine sneaky headlights. With two LED squares in each of them, the Cyber ​​X Concept look is projected through some that hide in the body “as a nod to the classics,” they mention in the brand. Mazda Ionic sp Interestingly, it is not the only prototype that has opted for this formula in recent years or months. Mazda presented the IConic SP at the 2023 Tokyo Salon. There they revealed the prototype of a sports car Halfway between Mazda MX-5 and RX-7. What had both models in common? Yes, the sneakable headlights. At least in the First generation of the mythical Miata. With its rounded and fluid forms, Mazda advanced its concept of what its Sports of the future. An extended rank electric that was projected towards the past with A rotating engine to act as a generator And, in addition, with scamotable headlights that make you drool when you see the figure of the car. The last great manufacturer that has presented his proposal of scamoteable headlights was Honda. In the past CES of January, the company presumed two electrical prototypes that advance the formula of its future models. It was what the company called Honda 0 series. Honda Series 0 The formula was striking because it recovered the flat and acute forms of wedge -shaped eighties. According to the brand, it was “applying the thin, light and wise approach to a SUV.” It was promised that an evolution will be seen in the US market in 2026 and, later, in Japan and Europe. But another thing that caught the attention were the headlights of his front. Their light groups were hidden under a small retractable tab They closed to leave a clean hood and retracted to illuminate what you have ahead. A more logical and realistic solution than those of Mazda and Mg. Because the problem of retractable headlights are safety regulations. In fact, although they disappeared for them, they were also the main reason why they became popular. They explain in Diariomotor that in the United States was forced to take the headlights at a minimum height to the ground. The solution went to use these retractable headlights that allowed the height of the headlights to be raised without compromising a front of the front. To this was added the fashion of playing with this device, popularizing in the 80s. But after this fever, that bump when the headlights were deployed was gradually disappearing. A sum of small details ended up killing them inside the industry. First of all for something very simple: the sneakable headlights are a headache. Compared to a traditional optical group, the lighthouse must have a small electric motor, which makes the frontal and more susceptible to breakdowns more complex. The second is that, although closed the car could significantly increase its aerodynamic performance, deployed were a disaster in this regard. Of course, the solution of a lighthouse wall on the front of the vehicle does not seem the best solution. Finally, in the early 2000s, special attention began to be paid to the consequences of the outrage of a pedestrian. Obviously, two huge flat, sharp and outstanding surfaces In the body they were not going to deliver the best results, so he discouraged the manufacturer to set up a component that was already beginning to go down in history. Today, in this Revival That we live in the automotive market, up to three manufacturers have recently presented prototypes with sneaking headlights in recent months. Will we see them again? I say, hopefully. As long as he was not hit by one of them. Photo | MG and MAZDA In Xataka | This lighthouse costs as much as a Porsche 911: it is no joke, it is the lighthouse of a bugatti chiron

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.