thinking

The V16 beacons have a SIM with connection for twelve years. We know what you’re thinking

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If you haven’t bought it already, you have two months left to get one V16 beacon to carry in the car. It is a signaling device with a light and is also connected to share your position. How is this done? With an integrated SIM that offers connectivity for at least 12 years and for which you will not have to pay any fee. It is inevitable to think about it: How can I use this for my mobile? “Free” connectivity. It is one of the requirements that the DGT has set for the beacons that we must all carry in the car starting January 1, 2026. Once connected, the beacon transmits our position to the DGT in order to “protect you, spreading the fact that there is an accident vehicle to the rest of the vehicles that approach the accident site.” The beacon must guarantee connectivity for at least 12 years and its cost will be included in the price of the beacon itself. That is, you buy it and that’s it, you have a connection for years without having to pay more. The dismantled beacon. Image: Iván Linares, Xataka Móvil Well I put it on my mobile. For that you will first have to remove it and we already told you that you will not be able to. Our colleague Iván Linares, from Xataka Móvil, has dismantled one of these beacons and has verified that it is not a SIM card like the ones we have in mind, but that it is soldered to the board. The SIM cannot be separated from the beacon. In fact, it doesn’t even have the usual shape, but rather it is an industrial sim-on-chip, integrated into the circuits of the board, so putting it in your mobile or tablet is not possible. Furthermore, accessing this plate has not been easy either and in order to remove the beacon, Iván has had to unsolder two tin points. Limitations. Although we could easily remove it, it is a specific SIM for this device and has technical limitations. The main one is that it does not have access to the internet, but rather connects to a private network that connects only to the DGT 3.0 connected platform. If we managed to install it on a mobile phone, we would not be able to do anything other than connect to that network. There is more. Even if we manage to overcome all the obstacles, there is an insurmountable barrier. The network used by the beacons (NB-IoT) is designed for a specific use: an emergency device that connects sporadically. If it were to suddenly connect constantly, misuse would be detected and it would crash. So no, the twelve years of “free” connectivity does not apply to mobile phones. Image | DGT In Xataka | Madrid had one of the most complex underground labyrinths without GPS. Google and Waze have tamed it with 1,600 Bluetooth beacons

We have been thinking all our lives that prices end in “.99” out of pure psychology. The reason was much more earthly

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The omnipresence of the price ending in .99 (today perceived as a consumer psychology) actually has a very different origin. Before the bias was studied and exploited, the figure was used by a machine to not only shield accounting, but also to found an entire culture of compliance, auditability and commercial discipline. The origin. In business at the end of the 19th century, the problem was not so much convincing the client, but preventing them from the money would disappear before reaching the owner. The cash passed through the hands of waiters and clerks without a trace, and the temptation to “keep some” was structural. The solution was not more human surveillance, but a luck of prosthesis mechanics: a machine that would require each sale to be recorded and that, when opened to make change, will leave an audible signal and a verifiable trail. The price at .99 made it inevitable to open the box to return the cent, forcing registration and eliminating the gap through which the money was lost. Trader with engineering instinct. The seed was born in Dayton from a tavern owner who already came from a family with a vocation to invent. James Rittyfed up with losses in his businesses, saw how a machine counted the revolutions of a propeller and suddenly understood that the same could be done with sales: if something can be counted mechanically, it can be audited. So, he returned to Dayton, worked with his brother John (an experienced mechanic) and built the first sales recorder: keys that represented amounts, a visible dial to check the figure and, later, a drawer with a bell and a scroll that left a physical mark of each transaction. Reproduction of Ritty Dial, an early example of a practical cash register NCR: from machine to industrial culture. Shortly after, when John H. Patterson buys the invention from the brothers and creates the National Cash Registerthe mechanism ceases to be an Ohio bar oddity and becomes a compliance standard in American commerce. The idea thus mutated in the industry. NCR not only manufactured boxes: manufactured method. It introduced a sales school, scripts, discipline, metrics, incentives and exported that corporate DNA via its graduates to other companies such as IBM and General Motors. The cash register It was not just a device: it was a way of governing the organization through material evidence rather than blind trust. National cash register from the late 19th century The .99 changes purpose. Decades later, when the reason anti-corruption was already solved by design, behavioral economics discovers that the .99 deforms the perception of value: anchors in the left figure, suggests a bargain, reduces psychological friction and stimulates impulsive buying. The same accounting gesture was now used for a very different war: it was no longer against theft, but against mental resistance of the buyer. The convention is stabilized because it generates economic margin even when the risk of theft has fallen due to digital processes. The .99 mutates from an anti-fraud technique to persuasion toolmaintaining its validity for a reason radically different from the one for which it was born. The device survives not because of tradition, but because it continues to generate economic advantage under a different paradigm. It survives because it works. The truth is that the .99 has lasted a century and a half because solved two problems different at two different times: first it prevented the seller rob the ownerand then helped the owner persuade the buyer. This double utility explains its persistence. If you will, it is proof of how in commerce what begins as compliance engineering ends as behavioral engineering. And every time today we see 4.99 or 9.99 in sales, we are actually reading (without knowing it) the fingerprint fossil of an invention originally created to close a hole economic before consumer psychologists existed. Codifying discipline. Thus, the box that was invented to catch petty theft It altered the physics of commerce: it introduced traceability, professionalized sales, and bequeathed a pricing convention that still programs how we read money in modern societies. A prosaic problem (a waiter who keeps some coins) inaugurated a causal chain that ended up shaping an entire century of business practice. And in reality, the bell that rang to warn the owner more than a century ago, now also rings, silently, in the consumer’s head every time he sees that .99 and decides that “it is less”…than it really is. Image | Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez, National Cash Register Company, Wmpearl, Biser Todorov In Xataka | The psychology of pricing: a gigantic list of strategies In Xataka | Psychology has explained why it is so difficult for you to leave a job even if it is toxic: the sunk cost fallacy

We have been thinking for years that, after the midlife crisis, old age is synonymous with happiness. This researcher thinks it’s a hoax

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We are happy during adolescence and late youth, but as the years go by we become increasingly sadder, more unhappy, more miserable. At some point, in our late 40s to early 50s, we hit rock bottom. And once there everything tends to improve. “It’s statistics,” we said. What we did not suspect was that the statistics could be ‘trick’. Happiness is U-shaped. “Happiness is a slippery slope until we hit the bottom at some undetermined point in middle age. From there, it climbs back to the levels of youth.” That’s what I said a 2008 study than by Blanchflower and Oswald with data from more than half a million people. Over the following years ( here an example from 2017), studied in some detail how firm this U-shaped trend was; Everything seemed to indicate that this was the case. Until Fabian Kratz and Josef Brüdel from the Ludwig Maximalian University of Munich they realized of a small – possible – problem. Wonkblog A fundamental problem. What if happiness steadily decreases with age and what we see in the aggregate graphs is just a statistical effect? Kratz has been studying for years happiness and, as explained in New Scientistis increasingly convinced that the U simply does not exist. Reviewing the scientific literature, the authors found studies that justify a “stability“in happiness throughout the years; a”increase” or progressive descent; a inverted U; a U normal; and a curve like of waves (promotions, relegations). The problem is “that all studies on age and happiness have incurred biases that have distorted their results.” The other form of happiness. By correcting them, Fabian Kratz and Josef Brüdel came to the conclusion that it is true that happiness shows some stability around the last 50, but it does not rise at any time. Kratz and Brüderl (2021) But why? It is important to keep in mind that this work is essentially methodological. But Kratz’s central idea is that previous studies they didn’t realize that “after a certain age, happiness seems to increase only because unhappy people have already died.” The least happy people they tend to die before, which would cause an overrepresentation of the happiest at older ages (literally, as said our colleague Andrés Mohorte, pure survivor bias). According to this theory, “that old popular story” through which retirement would open a window towards a fuller and more satisfying life is just that, a story: a lie. Or, perhaps, a strategy. Because, in short, “there is a lot of evidence about how humans experience a bassoon psychological in middle age” (Blanchflower and Oswald, 2007; Steptoe, Deaton and Stone, 2015; Graham and Pettinato, 2002), but there is very little about the relationship between that downturn – that unhappiness – and quality of life. As we said quite a few years ago“we’re about to see what happens to the millennials when they become unhappy” and maybe that is behind a part generational battles. But facing the future with the certainty that things are going to improve is not the same as facing the future with the certainty that things are going to get worse. The science of happiness has never been so depressing. Image | Garloncio In Xataka | If the question is “where is the secret to happiness,” an expert believes it is hidden in these 15 statements

His startups are born thinking of global

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Factorial announced a few days ago that It has already reached 100 million dollars of recurring annual incomebecoming one of the twenties Scaleups European that achieve this figure in the last decade. The human resources startup founded in Barcelona by Jordi Romero, Bernat Farrero and Pau Ramon already serves more than 14,000 companies in ten countries. Why is it important. This figure marks a change of mentality in the Spanish ecosystem. For many years, the country startups have focused on the domestic market of 48 million inhabitants (since this year already 49), Treating international expansion as an optional second step. Factorial is different: since 2019 he thought of global, not local. “We are equally ready, handsome, high and strong anywhere in the world,” Its founders have said. A phrase that summarizes the new attitude: Spain as a trampoline, not as a final destination. In perspective. Other recent cases reinforce this trend: Lingokids He has raised 120 million dollars to climb his global educational product. Ultralyticswith headquarters in Madrid and London, it processes 2,000 million daily inferences in 200 countries. Wallboxborn in Barcelona, ​​quotes in New York and sells electric loaders in more than 80 markets, although it has been collapsing for years. Jobandtalent It has expanded strongly in the United Kingdom and the United States After consolidating in Spain. Glovo demonstrated the ability of a Spanish startup to expand to dozens of countries in record time, although it is in the hands of Delivery Hero. There are also less brilliant examples, such as Faver, today turned into a global reference of entertainment, which failed in his first attempt to internationalization and had to forward his strategy before growing again. Cases that show that going out soon is an opportunity, but also a risk. The context. Talking about the “49 million” is to fall short: it is not only the size of the market, but its fragmentation. Climbing a B2B product in Spain is to face regulatory barriers, client dispersion and a purchasing power lower than that of the greats hubs Europeans There is the difference with markets such as Germany, France or the United Kingdom, where many startups can grow at home before going outside. In that sense, Spain is approaching the logic of small countries where unicorns proliferate, such as Lithuania (Vinted, Nordvpn) or Norway (Opera, Remarkable), forced to be born global. Between the lines. The change goes beyond the strategy. It is a mental revolution that leaves behind the “Spanish imposter syndrome”. In 2000 and 2010, success used to be selling a foreign buyer (such as Tuenti to Telefónica either Social Point A Take-Two). Today, the horizon is different: Maintain independence. Quote in the bag. Become buyers instead of acquired. Factorial has rejected purchase offers and plans to reach 1,000 million income without selling. The threat. This new ambition also uncovers the shortcomings of the ecosystem. They are needed … Funds capable of leading rounds of 50 or 100 million. An international talent that still does not flow with the same ease of Madrid or Barcelona as towards London or Berlin. And a investment culture more willing to assume long -term risk. The Spanish venture capital market has grown, but is still limited to the hubs Dominants from Europe. Deepen. Spain, however, has structural advantages to sustain this turn: Spanish connects with 500 million speakers and opens a natural bridge to Latin America. The geographical position places the country as a hinge between Europe and America. Talent costs remain competitive in front of large European centers (Aka “We are cheaper”). In a world where teleworking allows you to attract engineers and managers from anywhere, Spain can become an attractive pole not only to create, but to retain global companies. At stake. The turn to the global is a change of role for Spain in the digital economy. Spain can become an exporter of technology with a global influence capacity, or resign to remain an acquisition nursery for foreign multinationals. The difference will be made by the maturity of its venture capital, the ability to attract and retain international talent and the ambition of its founders. Factorial and its contemporaries have shown that it is possible, now it remains to be seen if they will be exception or precedent. In Xataka | The Spanish unicorn that does not stop growing: the unstoppable promotion of factorial within the technology industry Outstanding image | Factorial

A man gave up his image for $ 750 without thinking too much. Your double digital now “sells” horoscopes and supplements

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Scott Jacqmein charged $ 750 and a trip. In return, she delivered her image for an external agency to make her a Avatar Digital For a year. That avatar has appeared in Tiktok Selling horoscopes, supplements and insurance in Spanish and other languages, although Jacqmein lives in Dallas and has not recorded any of those ads. His face, without his usual beard, continues to circulate in videos generated by artificial intelligence. With the contract he signed, he has no simple ways to stop him. The man signed a license to use his image for twelve months, without royalties, and without legal representation to advise him. The agreement was not with Tiktok directly, but with an external agency that, According to The New York Timesgathered actors material to create avatars for advertising purposes. At the time, he saw that recording as a professional opportunity. Today, he acknowledges that he did not fully understand how his digital image would be used or in what kind of campaigns would appear. AI AVATARES: Licenses, Control and Business Seeing his double digital speaking another language and moving with an expressiveness that is not his was, for Scott Jacqmein, a disconcerting experience. The only real thing in those pieces is the original source: the face and voice that delivered an agency under contract. Although videos include a “Ai-generated”the realism of avatars makes this warning easily pass unnoticed, probably pending as authentic testimonies in the Feed of users. According to the American newspaper, the Jacqmein avatar is part of a catalog that Tiktok offers companies as an advertising tool. Advertisers can choose between several profiles, age, gender and appearance, and Generate videos directly from the platformno need for filming. These avatars are free for brands and are used in Tiktok advertising service, within a creative suite called Symphony. Jacqmein does not have clear contractual mechanisms to stop the use of his avatar. The license he signed with the agency was for a year, although it has not been made public at what exact moment of 2024 was formalized. Until this month, he says, his acquaintances continued to warn him that they saw him in Tiktok ads, which suggests that his image is still active in recent campaigns. The actor regrets not having negotiated restrictions on products, languages or environments in which his avatar could be used. On the left, Scott Jacqmein’s avatar created by AI for ads on Tiktok. On the right, the actor in a real image taken during a walk Jacqmein’s story is a reflection of the type of situations that may arise in an environment where artificial intelligence It allows to replicate faces and voices easily. We do not know if all agreements of this type are managed the same, but this case shows what can happen when the terms are not clearly defined. In a digital world where opportunities multiply, the consequences of what we sign can also do. In the prominent image that accompanies this article, the avatar generated by AI appears on the left and the real photography of Jacqmein, on the right. Images | Scott Jacqmein | Tiktok capture In Xataka | Duolingo believed that AI was his ally. GPT-5 has just demonstrated that it can be its mortal competition

We have clicks on ‘Cancel Subscription’ in Correos without thinking. It is just what many cybercriminals expect

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The entrance tray of our email usually becomes chaos. Or, at least, in a digital landfill where messages that we have not asked or want. The reasons are simple: in almost any online procedure, however innocent it may seem, they ask us for a Mail address. From registering on the website of your electric company to connect to the free wifi of a cafeteria, the email always goes ahead. Then there comes a time when we decided to put some order in this personal space. One of the most obvious ways to start is to stop receiving emails that do not interest us. And for this, the most logical step is usually clicking on that link that some messages include at the end. It can appear as “cancel subscription”, “if you want to discharge, click here” or the classic “Unsubscribe”. The promise is clear: pulses and that sender disappears. That click to stop receiving spam can take us just where we didn’t want to enter The problem is that, although this function is legitimate, it can also be used for malicious purposes. According to DNSFilterthere are hundreds of cancellation links that actually lead to sites potentially dangerous. And that turns a harmless gesture – whispering an annoying email – into an entrance door for much more serious problems. A real example of the ‘Cancel Subscription’ button that appears in many mails. In this case it is presented as ‘discharge’ When we click to cancel a subscription we are leaving the controlled environment of our mail supplier. It takes us to an external website, and there begins the risk. The link may not have us to lower us, but to confirm that our address is active. Like those calls that hang instantly: If you answer, you know you exist. Something similar happens here, but by email. With that simple verification, who is behind can bombard us with more advertising to launch attacks on Phishing or more elaborate scam attempts. And that’s not all. There are other even more dangerous possibilities. Some malicious links can try to inject malware In our system. It is technically complex, yes, but not impossible. It is also frequent that they redirect us to pages that mimic legitimate services. There, we can end up introducing our credentials or sharing personal data under a false promise of cancellation. At this point, the doubt is inevitable: and then what do we do? Do we resign ourselves to a saturated input tray of trash emails? The answer is no. There are alternatives that allow to maintain control without assuming so many risks. The first step, as we have already mentioned, is to be aware of danger. Understanding it allows us to act with head. Let’s look at some others. Use the integrated function of cancel subscription. Some mail services, such as ICloud, Gmail or Yahoo, incorporate this option directly into their interface. It is a safer alternative than clicking on the message links. They usually appear at the top or lower part of the mail, and are part of the supplier’s environment, not the sender. Gmail (above), Mail of iOS (center) and Yahoo Mail (below) include integrated buttons to cancel subscriptions from the app itself, without the need to open links inside the mail Mark the message as spam. Another option is to point out the mail as unwanted. The effect is immediate: the message disappears from the entrance tray and the system learns to block future similar emails. But be careful, it is convenient to use this tool only when we are clear that it is spam. Otherwise, we would be training badly to the system. Use disposable email addresses. It is a very useful third way, which we analyze in depth in the article ‘How I learned to use several email addresses to keep all my protected digital accounts’. Logic is simple: if the problem is to share our real direction, the most effective thing is to avoid doing so. And for that there are tools such as the “hide my email” function of Apple. The option ‘Log in with Apple’ allows you to hide your real email and use a random address that you can delete at any time from ICLOUD Those who use apple brand devices can activate this function by registering in a service. The system generates a random direction that forwards the emails to the main account. If you start receiving annoying messages, you just have to check which of those temporary addresses are coming and eliminating it. It is worth remembering that this function is free, but those who have Icloud+ They can create new ones addresses at any timenot only during the registration process. This gives even more margin to protect privacy and improve security. All this adds to the classical recommendations: maintain updated software and have a protection tool against malware. They are not absolute guarantees, but security layers that make a difference. No, we will not be 100% safe. No system is. But we can be informed and take some measures to avoid falling into the traps that cybercounts have. Images | Mariia Shalabaieva | DC Studio In Xataka | New drug traffickers do not need boats or borders. The major in Europe directed its empire from a Barcelona floor In Xataka | Password managers: which are the best to protect and remember all you have

We had been thinking that creatine served to train better. It turns out that the greatest benefit was in the brain

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Creatine is the star sports supplement and one of the most studied. As with the coffee and caffeineis surrounded by Myths And we have been investigating its benefits for decades when practicing sports. AND studies More recent have placed up to creatine supplementation by pointing out that the muscles are not the only ones that benefit from their effects. The brain also appreciates it. Physical performance. Creatine is a nitrogen compound that occurs mainly in the liver and that humans also obtain through the consumption of meat and fish. Although there is controversial studies in this regardcreatine really is stored in the form of phosphocreatine, acting as a booking Immediate energy. This means that, when the muscles are subject to intense efforts such as a sprint or a weightlifting, phosphocreatine acts to regenerate the essential energy molecule for muscle contraction. This allows muscles to maintain high performance for a little longer. It also increases cell hydration and stimulates protein synthesis that leads to cell growth. Enhancing the brain. Being such an studied supplement implies that numerous ways have been found in which creatine benefits our body, reducing inflammation, oxidative stress and muscle catabolism. And, along the way, they have found benefits additional that have not to do with the growth of our most ‘visible’ muscles. It is increasingly recognized for its general health benefits, including cognitive function and healthy aging. Although the brain is not a muscle, it also stores creatine and can benefit from its energy effects, such as supplying energy quickly to neurons. A applicationfor example, it is the good brain function in times of lack of sleep. Essential. This is something observed in several investigations, being carried out by the team of Dr. Richard Kreider, director of the Exercise and Sports Nutrition Laboratory of the Texas A&M Universityone of the last to contribute to the conversation about its benefits. According to Kreider, the regenerative paper and as a rapid “fuel” is relevant for both muscle and brain. “When the body is stressed, as in exercise or in metabolic conditions such as those caused by some diseases, phosphocreatine is needed to maintain cellular energy,” says Kreider. Neuroprotection. Others studies They point to added benefits, such as acting as a neuroprotective, helping in the recovery of brain injuries and showing potential to reduce mitochondrial dysfunction, key factor in neurodegenerative diseases. It also helps reduce the feeling of tiredness, maintaining alert and performance in demanding cognitive tasks. How much? One of the big questions when creatine begins to be taken how much is necessary to fulfill its function correctly. It has been experienced with several doses and there is a kind of agreement that would have to be taken between 0.07 and 0.1 grams per kilo of weight per day to optimize physical performance. For a 70 kilos person, this is equivalent to 5-7 grams per day. Kreider fits those accounts by resorting to that ‘cycling’ practice that was recommended a few years ago. Thus, the researcher indicates that about 20 grams would have to be taken daily for a week to “help load the muscle”, but later it could be taken between 5 and 10 grams a day to maintain creatine reserves that contribute both to the muscle and the brain. In Vegans and vegetariansIn addition, it is essential because for a omnivore It is difficult to fill the phosphocreatine reserves with your diet, not consuming meat or fish the difficulty is even greater. Security. Due to the myths that we commented before (such as hair loss or that it is an anabolic substance, among many other discharges about creatine), it is easy for people to not trust this supplement. Kreider states that “there is absolutely no data that supports any negative side effect reported anecdotally on creatine,” reaffirming that it is “safe and important to all, not only for bodybuilders and athletes.” Images | Xataka, Scientifanimations In Xataka | Tell me what color is your banana and I will tell you what it is for: the importance of maturation point at nutritional level

Chinese mobile manufacturers are already thinking about 2050. And that is why they are not thinking about mobile

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It was 2021 and Xiaomi looked the blanket at the head. He confirmed that he would manufacture electric cars and invest 10,000 million dollars in that project. Surely not many believed that I could do something in this market, but three years later the firm amazed the world with the Spectacular Xiaomi Su7. Meanwhile Apple, with many more resources, canceled his project Titan: Where they failed, a Chinese mobile manufacturer had triumphed. Capital surprise. Losing. A year after their presentation, the accounts at the moment do not come out in the electric car division. In the fourth quarter of the year 2024 They lost 700 million yuan (85 million euros) in that segment. This quarter have lost 500 million (almost 61 million euros), so things have been slightly better. Not good, but better. But, but. In that result, Xiaomi’s strategy with the electric car is demonstrated. It is a copy of Amazon: Lose money now to dominate later. It is what the company created by Jeff Bezos in Electronic Commerce did, and as Tesla would later do in automotive. Xiaomi plays in the long term, and the EV division already represents 16.7% of the income, something exceptional taking into account how little the firm carries the firm. And the mobiles, what? They are still very important, of course. Together with its IoT devices – connected to all kinds – income grew by 8.9%, which is not bad. But that growth – now takes advantage of the commercial war and that recovered love for national devices – has been slowing down for years. The mobile is a product too mature, too much to walk at home, so the solution is clear: diversify. The electric car has been the absolute exponent of that decision. There are many. Xiaomi is not the only one who has looked for plans B. A few days ago honor Huawei spin into 2020announced that He threw himself to the segment of humanoid robots. It is in fact Just what Huawei announced recentlyand now its ex -devision – consideration or not – will bet on this market. In honor they see the Humanoid robots as part of the comprehensive commitment to the AI ​​they made last March. It was then that they pointed out that they would invest 10,000 million dollars, a colossal figure. China’s obsession with this type of robots It comes from afaralthough his promise – which in 2025 would reach an advanced level and would be produced in mass – was too optimistic. Growing. Both in one and another, the striking thing is that both companies already had a solid business in the field of mobility. Especially Xiaomi, what According to IDC It grew 2.4% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period a year ago and is the third manufacturer of the world by volume. Honor is not part of the first five of that ranking, but it is still one of the protagonists. Even in spite of this, both have wanted not to stagnate and launch into new business fields. The mobile remains the focus at the moment, but be careful, because if the electric cars segment is massified – growth is clear – and that of humanoid robots ends up curdling – here there are many more doubts for the moment – those bets can go out very well to these Chinese companies. In Xataka | It is no longer science fiction: China has celebrated a kickboxing tournament between humanoid robots, and is as real as disturbing

I have played the ‘Nintendo Switch 2 Welcomme Tour’ thinking that it was a payment manual. It turns out that it is a science museum

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The presentation of Nintendo Switch 2 In April it was curious. In the event they revealed a lot of details and interesting games that excited the players, but after it, the Batacazo arrived. The console prices, of games and accessories. The monetary hangover lasted a few days and the lace was the ‘Nintendo Switch 2 Welcomo Tour’. This collection of mini -games was like the “manual” of switch 2 … of payment. 9.99 euros, specifically. It is not something I like in the community, but after trying it, I am clear that it is much more than a Nintendo Switch 2 user guide. 1-2 switch. When a console arrives with innovative characteristics, the best way to test them is through demos. With the launch of Switch in 2017Nintendo came up to launch a game that, for 19.99 euros, allowed to experiment with the control infrared sensor, with the HD vibration or with the movement sensors. Called ‘1-2 switch‘, it was curious, but nothing more, and accompanied in the launch of the machine by’ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild ‘, because little attention was going to monopolize beyond the one granted by curious eyes. Welcome to Switch 2. literally. Nintendo Switch 2 is not that it is the pinnacle of innovation. It is a rather continuous console, than It is just what Nintendo needs After the resounding success of the predecessor, but as they know that many people may want to get on the train of the new switch, they have prepared something similar to ‘1-2 Switch’: ‘Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour’. The problem? That since it was announced, this collection of mini -games to know the technical details of the machine was more like a manual than as a video game. And, worse: a payment manual. I’m already Testing Nintendo Switch 2 for analysisI have mine on the way and what was clear was that this game did not call me or the least. Luckily I had to play it to see how wrong I was. A Science Museum. Because … yes and no. ‘Welcomome Tour’ is the console manual as long as it teaches us all the details of it. We review the command, we review the screen, all the buttons of the Joy-Con and every millimeter of the system and some of its peripherals, but we do it as if we were in a museum. As a child, the museums bored me, but when my parents took me to a Science Museumthe thing changed. That of pulling levers, moving a giant wave, seeing gears and ‘moves’ in motion was something that excited me. And, precisely, that is this game. We chose an avatar, we queue to enter a Nintendo Switch 2 giant and Ale, to explore. Each piece of the system has an information panel that rewards us if we find it, there are mini -games that allow us to explore how certain buttons and modes and also informative panels are used on hardware elements. If we want, we can spend a kind of exam to get prizes and move on the virtual console, and it really is fun. Cheat. At this point, I know how haptic vibration works, I know how the optical sensor allows the joy-with in mouse mode (very precise, by the waybut incompatible with some hands) and they will not discover anything at the technical level of the machine, but without being the target user of this, I have fun collecting the collectibles, and beyond for this test, I will continue playing. I think that, in addition, it can be a very didactic title for all types of audiences that buy the console and want to learn more about it and about technology in general. In addition to enjoying seeing how they explain one thing and, to the second, you can put that into practice. The problem is that … well, there are two problems. And it comes with controversy. One is that you cannot get 100% of the game only with the console and the Joy-Con. There are some mini -games and demonstrations that require a 4K television that can be common in homesbut … there are also those who need the Pro command (90 euros) and the camera (another 60 euros). Nintendo already specifies it in the game website With a “for certain technical demonstrations, additional accessories are required, for sale separately”, but it is curious. Minigame to test the mouse mode And another to experience vibration Oh, the precedents … And the second controversy comes with the price. Not so much for having to pay those 10 euros, but because it will mean a barrier for many people to enjoy this title. With the launch of PlayStation 5Sony included a demo, that of ‘Astro’s Playroom‘. Not only was it a precious tribute to the history of PlayStation, but a really fun platform video game. Liked that their developers had green light to develop a complete game, ‘Astro Bot‘, who ended up taking the award to’ Best Game ‘in the’The Game Awards‘of 2024. ‘Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour’ would have been not only a perfect gift for Nintendo Switch 2 buyers to have something to play as soon as the console should turn on, but also the opportunity for more people to discover this game so curious and ‘cuckoo’ in which a few developers have been working. Because it shows that there is a lot of love in this “payment manual”, but precisely that it is paid and that it looks like a manual is what can be a wall for many users. And it’s not just ‘Asto’s Playroom’: Wii had ‘Wii Sports‘Included, and it was a huge pilar on which The success of the console was cemented. Images | Xataka In Xataka | The Switch 2 comes with a protector that many would remove without thinking. Nintendo has a warning for users

The Switch 2 comes with a protector that many would remove without thinking. Nintendo has a warning for users

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One of the first gestures we usually release a new device is to withdraw the screen protector that comes from the factory. It is almost an act reflex: remove the bright movie, place a more robust temperate glass and, if it is a mobile, sheems it to protect it from blows. But with the Nintendo Switch 2that custom can play against. This time, what seems like a simple protective film is not there for aesthetics or courtesy. Nintendo has made it clear that it is not convenient to withdraw it. And he has done it even before the official launch of the console, scheduled for June 5. The notice appears in the security manual that will accompany the device on its arrival to the European market. The document, already available on the official websiteincludes a very clear warning: the screen is covered with a movie designed to prevent fragments from being dispersed in case of breakage. The exact phrase, in Spanish, is direct: “Do not withdraw.” Nintendo’s warning, as appears in the official manual This may sound strange if we think of other technological products. After all, we have been getting used to this type of film for years, almost a wrapping. But not here. In this case we talk about a layer with a concrete security featuresimilar to the one that already incorporated the Nintendo Switch Oled. In that device the same target had: prevent cuts and prevent pieces from jumping. The previous consoles did not have this protection. The Original switch and the Lite They used plastic screens and, therefore, did not present that risk. But the change to glass screens has forced Nintendo to take action. It is not just a change in the material, it is a decision that impacts the use, safety and how we should treat the device as soon as they get it out of the box. And it is not something exclusive to Nintendo. In the world of smartphones we have already lived a similar situation. The most remembered example was the Galaxy Fold Samsung original. That first niche of folding mobiles included a layer that many confused with A simple protector. When they withdrew it, Some experienced problems. Not everything that looks like an accessory is. Sometimes, it is part of the device itself. Returning to the Switch 2, the advice is clear: it is convenient not to touch what we do not know exactly what it is for. And even more read the instructions. Because this console, which will cost 469.99 euros (VAT included), it is not precisely a cheap investment (Like your games). Risking to spoil the screen for an automatic and avoidable gesture is not worth it. In Xataka | All the questions and doubts that remain to be resolved from the Nintendo Switch 2 to a week of its launch

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