unexpected

In the war cameras vs lidar, Tesla has a lot to learn from an unexpected product: the Chinese aspiring robot

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Light detection and ranging. Or, what is the same, detection and measurement of light. These are the words behind Lidar. This technology uses light pulses to map the environment and discover each and every corner of a stay or an open space almost in real time, as well as to recreate 3D environments with enormous precision. To understand how a lidar radar works, I recommend watching Mark Rober’s video in which it tells the differences between a car equipped with this system and its tesla, which exclusively uses cameras to detect the obstacles that you can find along its path. Beyond the controversy arising in relation to the tests that Rober does, the video explains well Why Lidar is such a complete system. In a simple way, the system takes advantage of the speed of light to emit infrared pulses. These bounce in the object in question and the system calculates how far that object is using the time that the pulse of light has taken to go and return. As light pulses have a very small size and, as we said, it takes advantage of that very high speed of light transmission, can map the objects almost in real time. In recent days, after Mark Rober’s video, the controversy of whether it is better to use an LIDAR or one system that exclusively use cameras and recreations by software is better or worse to guarantee the best behavior in terms of autonomous driving. A controversy that has left people trying launch your tesla against a wall With a road painted in the purest shyesty style. And it is a long time since it made it clear that I would bet everything on the use of cameras for manage your driving aid systems Or, in the future, completely autonomous driving with the robotaxis that wants to put in the streets. At the time, home vacuum robots also lived this moment of indecision. And along the way, Irobot who was the leading market leader has ended up giving millionaire losses and has seen how Chinese manufacturers have eaten much of the market. The secret of the latter: they use lidar instead of trusting everything to the cameras. What can you learn from a vacuum cleaner “We have substantial doubts”, with these words Irobot owners responded to the question of whether they could move forward with their operations. My partner Javier Pastor explained A few months ago when Amazon raised the purchase of Irobot in 2022 (which fell into regulatory terms) The company had a value of 1.2 billion dollars. In the third quarter of 2024, the calculation was about 200 million dollars. Shortly after, The situation has not improved a lot. In 2024, Irobot lost more than 145 million dollars. However, they had reduced their losses by 52%. The company faced a perfect storm. After spending the worst of pandemic, spending on home robots and other products (such as computers) They collapsed. That coincided with the launch of new Chinese products that were faster and faster than Irobot’s: they used the lidar sensor. This system is ideal for improving the capacities of a vacuum robot. It detects better obstacles, mapping the house more precisely and that translates into faster and more effective work. The result is especially good if it is combined with the cameras and artificial intelligence systems to discover smaller obstacles that can go unnoticed or create confusion. In recent years, that has been the trend of the market in cleaning the home. The combination of this system with a more attractive price He has triggered the sales of Chinese aspiring robots, to the detriment of an Irobot that accumulated more than 60% market share. The comparison with Tesla and the electricity car market is evident. The latter are using Lidar sensors in their cars and offer a product equal to or better than Europeans and Elon Musk’s for a fraction of their price. He Xiaomi Su7 and its wide reception He is being a good example of this. Tesla has long since defends that Lidar are not necessary to improve autonomous driving systems but studies say that, as in the case of vacuum robots, the best performance is signed When both technologies are combinedLidar and cameras. In the case of Xiaomi, the videos shown from How your total autonomous driving system operates They are impressive, with very human behavior and managing the smallest spaces very well. This is possible because, among other things, A lidar is better when calculating distances And suffer less when the light falls. Neither does the risk of the camera be dazzled, At least not intentionallygenerating Ghostly brakes. So far, everything indicates that Tesla does not seem willing to return to anything other than the “All Chamber” To save costs. At the moment it has worked but you have to demonstrate that it is as effective as more advanced systems. And there is also the largest electric car market in the world. In China, where foreigners are suffering from the local product, Tesla is hitting a good batacazo in 2025. Photo | Tesla and Irobot In Xataka | “It’s like living millions of lives”: Tesla trusts their own drivers to advance Waymo and Cruise and shoot their value

The US strategy before China’s unstoppable naval growth has an unexpected protagonist: Japan

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The United States has been lagging behind in a field that previously dominated with iron fist. Its Marina fleet (sub) has been reduced to the same time as its budget. While China, Russia or even North Korea have been developing A new type of “war” Under the sea giving special importance to the “nuclear” theme in the UUV, Washington was still paralyzed. He Arctic case It is another perfect example. Perhaps for this reason, the approach has turned radically: Japan. Japan as an example. Before the growing Maritime Power of China And the difficulties facing the naval industry of the United States, Congress is evaluating the possibility of Adopt the Japanese model of constant production of submarines. Unlike the American system, where the amount of built vessels varies annually according to the budget, Japan (next to South Korea) has maintained for decades a production rate of A submarine per yearan approach that has provided stability to its naval industry and cost efficiency. The Naval Congress Specialist, Ronald O’Rourke, presented this model at a hearing of the Subcommittee for the Projection of Forces and Maritime Power of the House of Representatives, arguing that the Japanese strategy allows to maintain an constant acquisition rate Without affecting the total size of the fleet. Instead of increasing production, Japan manages the number of submarines in service through the extension of its useful life. The success of the Japanese model. To understand the formula we must go back in time. For decades, Japan has followed this strategy for protect your maritime interestsespecially in the soybeans, Tsugu and Tsushima, key routes where Russian and Chinese ships travel. Initially, its fleet consisted of 16 operational submarines and two training, but in 2010 it extended its objective to 22 submarines without increasing productionsimply prolonging your service time from 16 to 22 years. There is another key: the Japanese system allows Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries alternate the manufacture of submarineswhich avoids fluctuations in the workload of the shipyards and guarantees the maintenance of a highly specialized workforce. This strategy has caused the Japanese naval industry to be efficient, competitive and adaptable to changes in defense needs without generating extra costs or logistic problems. In front of the US decline. On the other sidewalk we have Washington. While Japan maintains its stability in naval production, the United States Navy faces A worrying scenario. The construction of your ships has become increasingly expensive and slowand the data corroborates it, since the total cost of the 46 ships currently under construction was tripled in a single year, from 3.4 billion to 10.4 billion dollars. But there is more. The aircraft carriers, which used to take 8 years to build, now They require 11 years. Here, China is advancing on the right too, As we explain. The attack submarines, whose construction took six years in the 2000s, now take nine. Even the Navy faces the shortage of personnel, both in the shipyards and in the crews, which further aggravates delays. All challenges that make the option of adopting the Japanese approach or that of South Korea, two of the world’s largest naval builders, win traction in Washington, especially when the number of US attack submarines is on the way to decrease in the coming yearswhich could affect the balance of power in the Pacific. Japan as a strategic complement. All this leads us to the proposal of Congress. In addition, the strengthening of the Japanese underwater fleet not only reinforces Tokyo’s defense, but also benefits the United States By having a better prepared ally in the region. O’Rourke pointed out that if Japan decided to expand its fleet to 30 submarines, it could do it maintaining its current production rate and extending the useful life of their vessels at 30 years. The recent delivery of RAIGEI Submarineof the Taigei class, by Kawasaki Heavy Industries to the Japan Ministry of Defense, it is a sample of the efficiency of the system we are talking about. Mitsubishi did the same with him Jingei submarinereflecting a constant production scheme that contrasts with the problems of the American naval industry. The challenge in an uncertain political context. While the Japanese model offers clear solutions, its implementation in the United States is not so simple. The main reason? The American system depends on annual budget negotiationswhat generates fluctuations in naval production and hinders long -term planning. In addition, political and economic uncertainty, including possible commercial restrictions and Threat of new tariffs On the part of the Trump administration, they could further complicate any attempt to stabilize the industry. Thus, the things already measure that competition with China in the maritime field intensifies, the US Congress is forced to reconsider its naval construction strategy. Adopting the Japanese model could represent a viable solution to improve efficiency, reduce costs and ensure that the Navy keeps its position on the global stage. A complicated equation that would require deep structural changes In the way in which the country finances and manages its industry, a challenge that is yet to be resolved. Image | Tom Dennison In Xataka | The US Navy faces an unprecedented threat: China, Russia and North Korea are developing a new type of underwater war In Xataka | Eight Rompehielos have turned Russia into the power of the Arctic. Your secret: Nuclear force to operate all year

In the US they have realized that Covid has had an unexpected effect on its restaurants: it has triggered its production

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The Covid has not sat badly at the US bars. At least if we talk about productivity levels. Even though pandemic He hit with viciousness to the hospitality of half the world (including the Spanish), He sank the billing From the sector and condemned not a few businesses at the close, American premises reached during the health crisis a level of labor productivity by 15% greater than they had before COVID, a notable increase that has not been diluted. The explanation is very simple: express visits. The Covid heritage. That the pandemic was devastating for the hospitality and forced to close Many businesses It is clear. However, however, a group of researchers from Chicago and New York universities asked a question that goes a little further: Did Covid-19 influence the productivity of the premises? And if so, in what sense? Is that effect still maintained? Their conclusions were reflected in A study that has just published the National Bureau of Economic Resarch (NBER) with a quite eloquent title and that gives a clue to which direction its findings point to: ‘The curious increase in productivity in US restaurants’. A percentage: 15%. The team of economists has not only found that effectively the performance of restaurants seemed to increase during the years of the health crisis. Has even encrypted that increase, as they need in The conclusions Of its report: “We verify that, after being practically constant for almost 30 years, real work productivity in restaurants increased more than 15% during the Covid-19 Pandemia.” The data is interesting because it does not only reflect a specific and past reality, related to the worst years of the Coronavirus. After sliding that percentage (15%) the researchers clarify that this turn has not yet diluted its effect. “This increase has been maintained even when many conditions have returned to prepondondemic levels.” And what was the reason? Clarified and calculated the increase in productivity, the following doubt was obvious: what was the reason? What did he answer? To answer all these issues, experts examined about 100,000 restaurants distributed by the US, focusing on aspects such as sales or the number of consumers attended by each employee. They also had access to information about visits thanks to mobile phones. The sample is wide, but presents certain characteristics that should be taken into account. To start the experts set in a very specific business profile, the Limited service hospitality (LSR), the one in which the interaction between the staff and the client is minimized, as in many premises of Fast food. The study in fact that focused on three subcategories: restaurants in the style of Taco Bell or McDonald´s, buffets and coffee shops such as Starbucks. For the sample to be wide, they covered more than 600 brands. Why this choice? The study It clarifies that the LSRs represent about 45% of the employment and sales of the sector in the US already throughout the last decades its productivity has evolved in a “very similar” way to the whole of the restoration sector. In addition, limited services offered an extra advantage: economists have complete information on their visits. Combing (thousands of) data. With all that information about the table, economists began drawing conclusions. And the first were striking. “Microdatos reveal significant growth in productivity, already measured in sales per employee or even in a more basic/physical average of the total number of customers per employee,” he says The study Published by Nber, which also rules out that this rebound can be explained by economies of scale, a greater weight of the sector or changes in demand. The experts also found that if the employees sold more it was not because they spent more time in their positions. When they were proven that the average weekly hours worked between July 2022 and June 2024 was 25.1 hours, “the same”, they clarify, that from 2006 to 2008. “In fact the current hours per worker are actually a bit below the pre-covid average from 2018 to 2019”. What is the cause? The rhythm. Or rather, the duration of visits. The researchers appreciated “significant descents in the amount of time” that customers spent in restaurants, with an increase especially pronounced in the group of consumers that remained in the premises 10 or even less minutes. That phenomenon was found during the pandemic years and did not seem to dissipate once the health crisis has been overcome. “The average permanence time of customers decreased and most of the reduction was due to the increase in the percentage of visits that lasted less than 10 minutes,” says the study. Your reading It is therefore clear: the increase in the performance of the restaurants “is strongly correlated” with the reduction of the time that customers pass in business, especially with express visits, which do not reach the quarter of an hour. Beyond the minutes. The data of the minutes clarified part of the mystery about the increase in performance (shorter visits translate into the possibility of attending a greater number of customers without increasing the templates), but letting another equally important question be bumping: why? Why was that increase in fleeting visits, 10 or even less minutes? Researchers are clear: leading food. “The frequency of these carrying food clients increased during the COVID-19, even in restaurants in Fast foodand it has not decreased “, They conclude Economists. The key would therefore be Deliverythe increase in orders made by telephone or customer apps that then collect their orders to eat them at home, office or any other place. “If businesses can satisfy these fast customers, in addition to the usual ones, with the same labor, the data will reflect a clear and legitimate increase in productivity,” economists add in their article. An advance with nuances. The 15% yield increase is positive for business, but there are experts who already invite you to value it with perspective. Douglas Hoktz-Eakin, president of the US Forum of Action, I pointed After examining the study that there is … Read more

The price of oil faces a perfect storm and an unexpected country has been placed in the center: Kazakhstan

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The oil market is experiencing one of Your most unstable stagesfrom internal disputes within the OPEC+ to the production policies of great powers outside the organization. In this scenario, the role of Kazakhstan has gained great relevance, but the real danger can be what is to come if it is combined with the focus of other international actors, such as the United States. Overproduction. A month ago, Kazakhstan was news because had to accelerate its nuclear development to address your growing shortage of energy., Approveing ​​your first nuclear power plant. Now, this country that had always maintained a low profile in oil matters It has been increasing Production in recent weeks, overcoming what is estimated by OPEC+. According to A recent reportKazakhstan produced 1,767 million barrels per day (BPD) in February, a notable increase compared to 1,570 million BPD in January, and well above its quota in the organization, which It is set at 1,468 million BPD. The problems multiply. In the Tengiz deposit, operated in collaboration with Chevron, it has exceeded expectations being the largest within the OPEC+. This situation has caused a challenge in the goals of the oil organization to maintain a balance in production. In an attempt to stabilize prices, the oil organization had decided to increase gradually production after years of cuts to boost crude oil prices. However, with the price of oil collapsing, it is in need of reviewing its strategy. Russia’s threat to reverse the decision to increase production and internal disagreements about production quotas are complicating the situation even more. The imminent crisis. The price of crude has suffered a strong collapse in recent weeks, with a fall of more than 13% from the peaks reached in January. While this decrease It can be attributed to factors As the excess supply in America and a weaker demand, the Kazakhstan factor is acting as a catalyst that could deepen the crisis. Its excessive production could be an important factor for OPEC+ to not sustain its agreements and face a review of its strategy. Without significant correction, the market could face an even deeper price crisis. United States following closely. With Trump’s arrival, oil has resurfaced again in the United States. The current president has promoted a large -scale oil production policy, his famous: “Drill, Baby, Drill”. In this operation to continue producing to keep prices below $ 60 a barrel, experts They have pointed out That Trump has intensifying competition in a saturated market, affecting all crude -dependent economies. The worst is yet to come. The growing production of Kazakhstan and the United States is creating An uncertain panorama For the oil market. If the supply continues as the demand does not grow to the expected rhythm, the crude oil prices They could collapse even more, affecting both producers and oil -dependent economies. The point will be if the OPEC+ can balance these external pressures or if the market will be dragged into a price crisis. Image | Flickr Xataka | The era of the “renewable transition” has died as soon as it starts: BP leads the replication of the great oil companies

The last time that US invaded Panama did it with an unexpected strategy: Guns’n’rose as a psychological torture

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At the end of 2024, in Panama you surely breathed calmer. As soon as the new year starts, the enclave has gained an unusual geopolitical importance. While the country has stressed that “its” channel is a neutral territory, Donald Trump’s statements and China’s movements They put the focus on a space and their crossroads between two global powers. It is possible that it does not pass from rhetoric, but if finally the United States tries to “invade” the territory, history reminds us that there was already a similar event with music to every pill. Invasion to Panama: pumps and rock. In December 1989, United States launched the so -called Operation Causa Causaa massive military invasion in Panama with the aim of overthrowing the dictator Manuel Noriega. With an overwhelming demonstration of war power, Washington sent 26,000 soldiersbombarded parts of the city of Panama and finally submitted Noriega through an unpublished psychological war tactic. Context: The American friend. Noriega had been A strategic ally of the United States during the Cold Warserving as a CIA informant about drug trafficking and regional issues. Despite his links with organized crime, Washington tolerated him for years due to his usefulness in the fight against communist influence in Latin America. However, in the late 80s everything changed, and its growing autonomy and the possibility of shaking ties with the Soviet Union began to worry the White House. Although Noriega was accused of drug trafficking and electoral fraud, the murder of an American soldier for Panama’s defense forces was the perfect pretext that triggered the invasion. The administration of George Bush decided that it was time to actdespite the opposition of agencies such as the CIA and the DEA, which still saw in Noriega a valuable source of intelligence. Operation Cause. Panama’s invasion was a disproportionate force display. Panamanian defense had just 3,000 soldiers with light weaponswhile the United States deployed furtive airplanes, helicopters with artillery and thousands of marines and army troops. The American offensive devastated entire sectors of the city of Panama, with a balance of hundreds of dead and scenes of bodies shattered through the streets. Historians tell that the brutality of The invasion was influenced by the so -called Vietnam Syndromea doctrine that prioritized the use of overwhelming force to avoid long and expensive interventions such as Vietnam. To seal the capture of Noriega, the Navy destroyed her yacht and her private jet, eliminating any escape route. And the decibels arrived. After the US invasion of Panama, Noriega took refuge in the Vatican Embassy in Panama Cityrefusing to surrender despite the presence of American troops surrounding the building. As international law prevented them from entering the building, the United States Army implemented an unprecedented psychological war strategy to break their resistance: They installed speakers in military vehicles and began bombing the area with a sound wall without stopping. The repertoire, carefully selected by the military station Southern Command Network, included songs with ironic messageslike I FOUCHT THE LAW OF THE CLASH, PANAMA DE VAN HALEN, ALL I WANT IS YOU OF U2 AND IF I HAD A ROCKET LAUNCHER DE BRUCE COCKBURN. And above all, the two -band classics: Guns N ‘Roses (Welcomo to the Jungle were heard dozens of times) and The Doors. The thunderous sound was such that the Holy See formally protested against tactics, which led to music after three days without stopping. By then, Noriega (who was also an opera lover) had already undergone extreme psychological pressure. On January 3, 1990, he finally delivered. Torture or tactics? US military forces have always defended the practice, arguing that musical torture is a non -lethal technique that, like sleep deprivation, does not leave permanent physical sequels. However, former detainees have testified otherwise. I counted a while ago to the BBC Binyam Mohamedformer prisoner of Guantanamo, to have endured 20 days of music at full volume, including The Real Slim Shady by Eminem and Forgot About Dre by Dr. Dre, causing several detainees to lose their reason. Another prisoner, Haj Ali, described how he underwent the constant repetition of the Babylon phrase … Babylon … Babylon … by David Gray, until he feels that his head was going to explode. In this regard, organizations such as Amnesty International consider that musical torture is a form of inhuman and degrading abuseprohibited by the UN and the European Court of Human Rights. According to expert Sara Macneice, This technique has nothing to do with music In its traditional sense, it is a sound assault designed to intimidate and break the victim psychologically. Consequences and legacy. Yes ok The fair cause was a strategic success for the United Statesthe international community condemned the violation of Panamanian sovereignty and the brutality of the attack. The invasion left between 500 and 4,000 deadaccording to different sources, and the destruction of entire neighborhoods such as Chorrillo. Political level, Washington adopted Panama’s invasion as a model for future interventionsinfluencing the military doctrine used in Iraq, Afghanistan and the so -called war on terrorism. That said, its impact on national sovereignty and international law remains a matter of debate. It was the day that it was shown that bombs are not needed to bend the enemy, and that Even music can be an instrument of war. Image | Carlos Varela, Nara, LLS In Xataka | China and the US want the same territory of South America. China has offered an ambitious project, Trump enters by force In Xataka | Mexico plans 3,000 new kilometers of train for goods and passengers. The big question is what happens to the drug traffickers

The Plan of Spain for leading green hydrogen has been faced with an unexpected problem: Zamora

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The countdown for the passage of the H2Med corridor It is underway. The one that will be the first clean hydrogen corridor of the European Union will be underway by 2030, but, as in any project, it is not exempt from controversy, since the section that goes from Zamora (Spain) to Celorico da Beira ( Portugal) has aroused a conflict. The controversy. The Duero Hydrographic Confederation (CHD) He has authorized A INARI SOLAR SL The extraction of 117,000 cubic meters per year of groundwater of the Natural Reserve of Las Lagunas de Villafáfila. The initiative will supply a 40MW green hydrogen production plant. Located in Moreruela Granja (Zamora), the Unión del Pueblo Leonese party (UPL) has warned about environmental impact of this project in a protected wetland. For this reason, divisions between neighbors, environmentalists and politicians have not been expected, between those who support it and who fear its consequences. In addition, the controversy has reached the Unesco Through the Ramsar agreement, an international treaty for the protection of wetlands. The decarbonization process. Spain It has different green hydrogen pointsbeing Zamora one of the most strategic points for the installation of infrastructure for the production of this renewable. However, producing green hydrogen requires large amounts of water, an increasingly scarce resource in Spain. In fact, 82.5% of the water It is used for agricultureand the country Face an accelerated desertification process. For this reason, the choice of the Villafáfila aquifer as a source of supply has generated outrage. The process. The CHD granted The concession in January after a period of public information of a month that, according to the agency, was closed without allegations or reports against. The Confederation argues that the extracted water will be minimal compared to the total of the aquifer, representing only 0.1% of the available resources. In addition, the concession will be 25 years, allowing a maximum flow of 3.8 l/Sy will capture by means of a 70 -meter depth survey. However, environmentalists in action, among other organizations, He has questioned These data because they point out the devastating impact on the wetland. In addition, he has denounced the lack of transparency in the process and has pointed out that authorization has been done on a place where restrictions for agricultural irrigation. From the town. Social discomfort has grown rapidly and already circulates In Change.orgunder the motto: “#Salvemosvillafáfila! A natural treasure in danger of disappearance.” The initiative accumulates more than 7,000 signatures, denouncing that water extraction will endanger an ecosystem necessary for bird migration and the local economy. From the political sphere, and as we have pointed out above, UPL has resorted to authorization before the Junta de Castilla y León and has taken the case to Ramsar agreementwith the aim of opening the door to a possible international review. In favor. From the Popular Party, the president of the Diputación de Zamora, Javier Faúndez, He has shown Your support for green hydrogen, but Reject the choice of aquifer as a water source. In addition, he argues that there are more viable alternatives, such as the Esla River or a nearby reservoir. While from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, on which the CHD depends, has defended the concession ensuring that the regulated procedure has been followed and that the impact will be insignificant. However, the authorization must still pass the filter of the Junta de Castilla y León, which has promised a rigorous evaluation of environmental effects. Forecasts The conflict continues to climb and everything indicates that there will be citizen mobilizations in the coming weeks. The Junta de Castilla y León has the last word, so if the authorization continues, the debate could reach European instances. All this would test the compatibility between the EU climatic ambitions and the conservation of the environment. Image | Akiv and designed by Freepik Xataka A Japanese study is being able to transform methane into a clean energy source: turquorogen turquorogen

In an unexpected turn of events, Apple TV+ has reached Android. It is a necessary movement

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In an unexpected turn of events, Apple TV has officially landed on Android. Since its launch in 2021, the platform had been exclusive to Apple and, although we paid the subscription, it was only possible to reproduce the contents on Apple devices. There was only one exception: Google TV. As of today, Apple TV is available on Google Play Store, so you can download on Android devices (tablets and mobile phones). Thus, it will be possible to subscribe to the Apple TV+ service from these devices. Apple needed this movement, a lot. Available in Play Store. Apple TV in Play Store, see to believe. The app can be downloaded for free, allowing APPLE TV+subscription. It is available for all devices with Android 10 or higher, and has practically the same basic functions of the app that we find on Apple devices. The main difference is that, in Apple TV for Android, purchases or rentals that we have active through iTunes Store will not be shown. This simplifies the design of the app, optimized for tablets and mobiles. Apple needs scale, no exclusivity. Apple likes that its products are within its ecosystem but, like every company, it needs its products to generate money. Apple TV+ has been facing a few storms and temporary for years, and increasing the number of users seems essential to clean up the situation. 1,000 million a yearthis is the figure that Apple was willing to spend on films that wanted to take cinemas, Like Napoleon. Failures like ‘Argylle’ Nor did they help, an ambitious comedy blockbuster who failed to reap hubble successes. Apple TV remains a very minority platform, to the point of having less viewed a month than Netflix in one day. The translation? Production cuts, Price increases of subscriptions, and Little optimistic numbers. Bad times for streaming. The streaming economy It is broken. The current race is to maintain a audience without this platform migration, and bring Apple TV to Android is precisely Apple’s plan for users to start migrating from other platforms. Shown that The price increase is not as harmful as it could be thoughtthis movement in search of the mass public is the logical and necessary for Apple. Moment of aiming the date and starting counting until next year, to check whether or not the strategy has felt. Image | Xataka In Xataka | How to convert your normal TV to a smarttv: guide with what you need, main devices and how to choose the best for you

Elon Musk launches an unexpected offer to acquire OpenAI for almost 100,000 million dollars

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He already did it in April 2022 When he offered to buy 100% Twittermovement that ended up specifying In October of that same year after several ideas and coming. Elon Musk gets back in the center of the scene, this time with an unexpected Acquisition offer directed towards OpenAIone of the most important artificial intelligence (AI) companies. As the Wall Street Journal collectsthe businessman leads an investor consortium to buy the organization behind Chatgpt for 97.4 billion dollars. The proposal, which has a hostile nature because it comes without prior negotiation between both parties, has been presented this Monday before the Board of Directors of the company led by Sam Altman. “It’s time for Openai to force the open source And focused on the security that once was, ”said Musk in a statement released by his lawyer Marc Uberooff. The Tesla CEO, which was co -founder of OpenAi, retired from the startup in 2018 and Last year he sued her By, according to him, to have betrayed its foundational principles by moving away from its open approach. In development. Images: Ted Conference In Xataka | OpenAi wants to make the leap to the general public. That is why 14 million dollars have been spent to advertise in the Super Bowl

China has great plans with its “new silk route.” An unexpected corner of the world threatens to truncar them: Myanmar

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China has too many open fronts. On the one hand, the Technological War With the West who is serving to boost your technology industry. On the other hand, the Commercial War which is making natural resources monopolize. Also his impulse to renewable energiesbecoming the main power and growing so much that their companies have beenNzarzado in a price war. To add more pepper to the matter, its great project of the new silk route encounters an unexpected enemy: a neighboring country at war since 1948. New Silk Route. For hundreds of years, the Silk route connected the Southeast Asia with the Mediterranean. It was a series of commercial routes open by China that not only allowed a trade between many countries, but a way of expanding their influence abroad. With the decline of China due to Opium wars Already new commercial routes, in the nineteenth century, the silk route passed to the background. In the 21st century, with the new Chinese economic splendor and the desire to recover that international influence, the country impulse The initiative of the new Silk route. In 2013, President Xi Jinping advertisement His intention to revitalize the old commercial ties between Asia, Europe and in North Africa, this being one of China’s most ambitious strategies. Milmillonaria investment. The advantages seem obvious. Currently, the vast majority of world trade depends on a few maritime routes. The Portenero ships They are a ‘cheap’ solution to transport tons of goods, but they depend on a few points of passage that, if they see interrupted its activity For any reason, They cause world chaos. With a land transport, not only another route is achieved to move merchandise, but you can shorten times. With a land transport from Southeast Asia to Germany, the merchandise would take about two weeks to arrive. With the same route by sea, time is dilated until just over a month. China, being the great producer of the world, has sought to increase its position with this rail transport, something for which you have had to invest Much money in infrastructure deployment and in route width adaptations with certain paths, such as the old Soviet lines with a different path width. HE esteem that this investment has been almost a billion of euros not only in a railroad, but in ports, airports, stations and other infrastructure. Criticism. Countries around the world They benefit of these investments promoted by China. Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia or Vietnam have received important investments in land and maritime infrastructure. Russia has also improved its rail connections, improving trade between two countries (that they are needing so much). Italy and Greece have also received investments in ports. Egypt, more of the same with the strategy of the Chinese economic and commercial cooperation zone. And Panama also signed a agreement for the expansion of the train line (which just had fall After Trump’s arrival) It is one tremendous strategy both for sea and land that involves many countries and, as expected, it does not do it Too much grace. The reason is that they consider that it is a strategy from China to gain influence on developing countries, something that can play against US interests in countries, especially the Middle East, in which they have military facilities. Myanmar. The problem is that they have encountered a civil war. Myanmar, previously Burma, has been in crisis for two centuries. In the nineteenth century there were the Anglo-Birian wars, which continued in 1948 with the civil war of Myanmar. They achieved the independence of the United Kingdom, but their society was fragmented and a tremendous civil war that persists to this day began. Everything was intensified with the 2021 coup d’etat to overthrow the democratic government, which has led to a new war situation with millions of internal displacements in recent years. And, in that lack of lack of control, with internal struggles to control territories and commercial roads, China has encountered an important stumbling block in the development of its new silk route. Rare earth. China and Myanmar share more than 2,100 kilometers of border, being the Chinese province of Yunnan is the most affected. And the problem is that the presence of military groups and ethnic tensions is preventing China Agreements of the new silk route. The area, in addition, is rich in Rare earthsomething that China dominates and wants to continue controllingso the country is showing warm with the situation of its neighbors. China’s role. As we read in BBCChina did not want to get wet in this whole matter, which is now splashing. When the army gave the coup d’etat, Xi Jinping did not condemn him and continued to sell them weapons. However, he also did not recognize the military as the new heads of state. In fact, experts already consider that China is pressing so that things are again as before, not because they want to return to democracy or peace, but because they want to continue developing their commercial strategy. From the Myanmar regime it is suspected that Beijing is playing two bands supporting both the army and the rebels, who use Chinese weapons. But, the only thing China can do right now is to wait and press on both sides to achieve a peace agreement that allows them to continue with their businesses. Meanwhile, and as always, the people are the one who is suffering the consequences, with more than three million displaced and thousands of dead since 2021. Images | Rowanwindwhistler In Xataka | China has been building a megapuerto in Peru for eight years. It has just been released to revolutionize South America

He has not created a superhero, but radiation has given healing powers to the most unexpected material: to concrete

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It is difficult to imagine a world without concrete. This material has been fundamental in the history of mankind And it is still a pillar in modern construction. Although we are exploring more sustainable alternatives such as woodthere are constructions in which the concrete remains the clear protagonist. An example is nuclear power plants, which need to be resistant and well isolated. And a new study has investigated The effect of nuclear radiation on concrete. The most surprising thing is that radiation bombardment has an effect … curative. The study. The researchers at the University of Tokyo were not looking for a U -cement Self -backreparable concretebut the impact of nuclear radiation on concrete. Being the main structural material and armor in nuclear centrals and reactors, there is a concern about how radiation influences the aging of that armor. Specifically, the objective was to verify what is the impact on quartz, a common material in the rock that is used in the mixture of concrete, regardless of the part of the world in which that mixture is manufactured, and measure the impact on quartz It can help us understand how radiation affects the structure of the building. The good news is that, in theory, these concrete structures are more stable in the long term of what was believed, since radiation induces relaxation processes in quartz that allow some recovery of their internal structure. Irradia the quartz. To carry out the study, the effects of the irradiation of neutrons in different types of quartz were investigated. The synthetic, metacuarcita, sandstone and granodiorite quartz were irradiated at a temperature between 45 and 62 degrees Celsius, with a damage by displaced atom that ranged between 0.01 and 0.23 units. IPPEI Maruyama is one of those responsible for the investigation and Comment That the flow of neutron radiation “distorts the crystalline structure, causing amorphization and expansion.” This would be something negative because it implies that the material is not stable, but the surprising thing is that, due to the role of silicon and oxygen within the quartz grains, a healing process is triggered that mitigates the expansion of the volume of the material induced by Radiation. Self -repair. “At the same time there is a phenomenon in which distorted crystals recover and the expansion decreases,” says Maruyama. This is something that depends on the size of mineral crystals within concrete. For example, the largest grains showed a lower expansion, so the degradation of the concrete, which is one of the current concerns when building and maintaining nuclear centrals, could be less severe than what was thought. Likewise, the researcher confirms that “a lower radiation rate allows more time for self -reparation”, allowing nuclear energy plants to “operate safely for longer periods of time” of which it was expected initially. Next steps. There are still questions to be resolved, since the same team comments that they have a task ahead. The University of Tokyo’s team has been studying the impact of radiation on concrete since 2008, but confirms that it is an expensive field of study, so carrying out extensive research is not easy. Now, with this finding, Maruyama is confident that they will continue to explore the impact of nuclear radiation beyond quartz to, for example, see if that expansion phenomenon occurs in other minerals that make up the concrete. The objective is not only to predict how cracks are formed due to the expansion of minerals that are being bombarded by radiation, but how to select the best materials to create a much more resistant concrete for future nuclear energy plants. Beyond the centrals. We will have to see the next steps of the researchers to strengthen those first opinions of the study, but it is evident that getting a self -realistic concrete is an obsession. Due to CO2 emissions during its productionto what Its maintenance is very expensive Since it is ending world -sand reserves, having a material that repairs itself is something that different teams throughout the planet have been investigating for years. And progress has been made, such as mixtures with sugar either coffee that allow some self -repair of concrete. We will see, yes, what takes to use that new concrete on a day -to -day basis. Image | SAM300292 In Xataka | We use both cement that has become a serious problem. Solution: replace it with garbage

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