Julián .

France has made planned obsolescence a criminal offense, becoming one of the first countries in the world to treat deliberate product shortening as a serious crime. Manufacturers caught intentionally designing electronics, appliances, or other goods to fail prematurely or become unusable—whether through hardware flaws, software updates that slow performance, or other engineered limitations—now face steep penalties: up to 2 years in prison and fines reaching €300,000, or as high as 5% of their average annual turnover in the most serious cases. This landmark law, building on France’s earlier consumer-protection framework and reinforced by high-profile scandals (such as the 2017–2018 investigations into smartphone “battery-gate” slowdowns), explicitly targets both physical and digital tactics used to push consumers toward frequent replacements. The legislation is more than just punishment—it’s a cornerstone of France’s broader “right to repair” agenda. By criminalizing practices that drive premature disposal, the government aims to: - Slash the massive environmental footprint of electronic waste, - Protect consumers from hidden “forced upgrades,” - Encourage manufacturers to prioritize durability, repairability, and longer-lasting support. France’s tough stance sends a clear message to global tech and appliance companies: the era of disposable-by-design products is ending. By leading the charge on sustainability and consumer rights, the country is helping shift the world toward a more circular economy—one where goods are built to last, repaired when needed, and discarded only when truly necessary.

A new cosmic eye has opened on the roof of the world. In the Chilean Andes, atop Cerro Chajnantor, the six-meter FYST telescope (pronounced "feast") has been commissioned. The observatory is installed at an altitude of almost 5,600 meters above sea level, higher than Everest Base Camp. Everyone who ascends to the observatory is given an oxygen tank and undergoes a pre-climb medical examination. These sacrifices are no accident. FYST detects submillimeter radiation—wavelengths between infrared light and radio waves. Water vapor in the atmosphere absorbs these waves almost completely, so these signals can only be used in the driest and highest places on the planet. The Atacama Desert is ideal—it's one of the driest places on Earth. Hidden inside is a clever Crossed-Dragone optic: two mirrors are positioned at an angle to each other, without a shared axis. The design eliminates interference and produces a clear image over a wide field. The main instrument is the Prime Cam camera with seven interchangeable detector modules, totaling more than 100,000 superconducting sensors. FYST's sky imaging speed is ten times faster than its predecessors. The project's goals are ambitious. Searching for traces of primordial gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background radiation. Mapping galaxy clusters throughout the history of the Universe. Observing the birth of stars within dust clouds. And then there's the Epoch of Reionization—the moment when the young Universe became transparent. Submillimeter light passes through dust, which completely blocks visible light, so FYST will see what conventional telescopes cannot. The structure was assembled in Germany from Invar alloy, which is virtually unaffected by temperature changes. Then everything was disassembled, shipped across the Atlantic, and driven almost 500 kilometers along the Andes mountain roads. It took 34 years from the first drawings to the launch.