Microsoft opens up its Windows Insider preview for Business

Since Microsoft launched its Insider Program a few years ago, millions of people have signed up to test out upcoming versions of Windows 10 on their devices. One small issue, however, was a limitation forcing users to sign up with their personal accounts, even though many users either work in IT or have business laptops/software they need to test out. Now, following up on an announcement from February, Microsoft has opened up the Windows Insider for Business program, so people can sign in with an Azure Active Directory account (the used for stuff like Office 365).

You will need admin rights on your machine to start testing out preview builds, so look out for that. Still, since the point of this program is to find any incompatibilities or issues before a wide release, getting permission and access may not be that hard. Microsoft says more tools for businesses are on the way — a necessary thing if it wants corporate environments to pick up the pace on upgrades from older versions of its operating system.

Oh, and even if you’re not a business user, there’s a new Preview build available to test — Redstone 3 awaits this fall — while most folks wait (or, don’t wait) for Windows 10 Creators Update to start rolling out on April 11th.

Source: Windows Blog

Making the case for WhatsApp as a digital payments platform in India

WhatsApp isn’t just a texting app. It’s an all-encompassing platform.

WhatsApp usage is ubiquitous in India. Out of 1.2 billion global users, 200 million are located in India, making the country the largest market for the messaging service. Over the course of the last two years, WhatsApp evolved from a barebones messaging app — which is how it gained prominence in India — to a full-fledged communications platform that supports voice calls, (/whatsapp-officially-launches-video-calling), easy backups to Drive, a web client and desktop apps for WIndows and Mac, GIF support, and numerous tweaks to the interface.

The service hit 1 billion users early last year, and shortly enabled end-to-end encryption for all users. A key reason for its success was that it was lightweight, making it a viable texting app on phones with limited resources; and its availability on all mobile platforms. The former allowed users from markets like India that were making their way online for the first time to get started with the service, and the latter ensured that they could communicate with their friends irrespective of whether they were on Symbian, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone, or iOS.

While WhatsApp managed to amass a huge number of users, the one thing it has failed to do was monetize. When it neared a billion users, the service announced that it would get rid of the annual subscription fee it collected in a few markets, instead opting to roll out tools allowing businesses to connect with customers. As we haven’t seen anything on that front, it looks like Facebook — which bought the service in 2014 for $19 billion — couldn’t figure out an effective way to do so.

With digital payments, Facebook may have finally figured out a way to monetize WhatsApp.

With no effective strategy to monetize its vast userbase, it now looks like WhatsApp is exploring digital payments in India. It’s a smart move when you take into account the current situation in the country. On November 8, 2016, the Indian government devalued high-denomination notes (₹500 and ₹1,000), rendering 86% of the active cash useless. The move was a way to curb corruption and weed out hoarders of illicit cash, and with issual of new notes in short supply, India witnessed a meteoric rise in digital payments services.

The biggest benefactor of the demonetisation move was mobile wallet provider Paytm, which saw its user base shoot up to 200 million users. The Indian government has since rolled out new initiatives aimed at easing digital payments, with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) being at the forefront of that change. UPI is a bank-agnostic payments platform that relies on a unique identifier — called a Virtual Private Address — to transfer and receive funds.

WhatsApp will use the Indian government’s slick new payments platform for digital transactions.

WhatsApp will rely on UPI to facilitate peer-to-peer transfers. Building a digital payments interface within the app is a logical move for the company, as there are several hundred communities already on the service dedicated solely for selling goods. If you haven’t started using WhatsApp yet, you should know that there are groups for everything. There’s even a journalist in North India that’s using the service for broadcasting news and making money from it.

The biggest hurdle with a new payments service is customer acquisition. WhatsApp doesn’t have that problem. Its user base is intensely loyal, and the kind of usage it sees in India rivals that of Facebook in most markets. It is the most-used app in the country by a long margin, and although UPI doesn’t give WhatsApp the ability to monetize quickly (it’s free for most transactions), Facebook has the resources to play the long game.

Initially, payments will be a convenience play as other UPI-based solutions in the country are clunky, but Facebook can use that as a foundation for other services in the future.

Tesla owners can expect easy access to all discovered Easter Eggs

Over the years, Tesla has snuck a number of quirky Easter Eggs into OTA updates for its cars. That includes everything from Ludicrous mode enhanced acceleration to a James Bond send-up, or even an impressive holiday-themed light show. Today CEO Elon Musk tweeted that soon, there will be a feature giving owners “one touch access to all discovered Tesla Easter eggs.” That removes the need for key combinations or passcodes once you’ve unlocked them once — helpful for the EV owner who just can’t stop showing off.

Feature coming soon that allows one touch access to all discovered Tesla Easter eggs pic.twitter.com/oWU6oq9Jqb

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2017

Source: Elon Musk (Twitter)

US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton drone prepares for deployment in 2018

The last time we mentioned the Navy’s long-range MQ-4C Triton drone was in 2013, and the project is still creeping towards eventual deployment. Northrop Grumman announced this week that it has completed formal lab testing, and also successfully flew for the first time with a software upgrade adding “Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), multi-aircraft control and additional Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS) radar modes.”

Once it’s ready, this autonomous vehicle is intended for providing intelligence and recon during flights that can last up to 24 hours at a time, allowing it to monitor 1 million square miles of the ocean. The plan now is for the MQ-4C to enter “Early Operational Capability (EOC)” deployment next year.

Source: Northrop Grumman

Uber must leave Italy in 10 days after nationwide ban

Trouble seems to follow Uber wherever it goes. A court in Rome has just banned the ride-hailing service in Italy for contributing to what it says is “unfair competition” faced by the local taxi industry. Uber must now stop promoting its services and cease all operations in the country within 10 days, unless it’s willing to pay a $10,600 fine for each day it remains active after that grace period. While Uber’s $70 billion valuation makes that amount sound like chump change, it hasn’t exactly been profitable and actually bled billions in 2016.

Uber’s situation in Italy is the same problem it typically deals with, albeit on a different day and in a different country. The company faced similar pushback from local taxi associations in France, the UK and other places around the globe, and it’ll no doubt happen again and again. In fact, this isn’t the first court battle it lost in the European country: a couple of years ago, a court in Milan banned the company’s UberPop application.

Nevertheless, the company said in a statement that it’s “shocked” by the court’s decision and will file for an appeal. It added: “Thousands of professional, licensed drivers use the Uber app to make money and provide reliable transportation at the push of a button for Italians.” Until it changes the court’s mind, though, Uber’s Black, Lux, Suv, X , XL, Select and Van phone applications will have to say “ciao” to Italian commuters.

Source: Reuters, The Guardian

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2017) review

Research Center:
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2017)

The PC’s shift from cutting-edge luxury to everyday device has brought with it a mundanity that becomes more entrenched with each year. Many of the best laptops no longer see significant revisions each year, as is still common with smartphones. In fact, some laptops go many years before they’re completely replaced.

Apple’s MacBook Pro started that trend, but Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon was among the first Windows alternatives to follow it. First released in 2012, the Carbon has received yearly updates, but today’s model doesn’t look all that different from the first. The Carbon remains a thin and light laptop that stands out from competitors because of its 14-inch screen, and continues to try and out-maneuver alternatives by combing durability with one of the thinnest, lightest designs around.

More: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon: Our first take

You might expect a high-end Lenovo ThinkPad to be expensive…and you’d be right. Pricing starts at an intimidating $1,329, and that’s for a model with a Core i5 processor and 128GB SATA hard drive. Our more impressively configured model, with Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB PCI Express drive, rang up at $2,123. That’s a lot of scratch. Is it justified?

An old design that stands the test of time

Browse Google for images of the previous ThinkPad X1 Carbon, then look at the latest model. Notice the difference? No? We have a hard time spotting it as well. There are minor touches, like smaller display bezels and a thinner overall profile, but the two models are otherwise identical. The 2017 model even retains the same power button location and hinge design, despite tweaks to the chassis.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Yet the Carbon still looks modern. Is it exciting? No – but ThinkPads aren’t purchased for their looks. What’s important is the overall footprint and quality, and in these areas the Carbon continues to excel. Though it has a 14-inch display, it’s now similar in size to many 13-inch laptops. The MacBook Pro 13 with Touch bar and HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 both shave less than a half-inch in width and depth. Dell’s XPS 13 is the only rival that shrinks itself to a size that’s meaningfully different from the Carbon. At .63 inches thick, the Carbon is also far from the thinnest laptop, but within range of its competitors.

As its name suggest, the Carbon’s chassis makes some use of carbon fiber, paired with the magnesium alloy that’s common in many ThinkPad products. These materials are extremely durable, and provide a soft-touch texture that feels inviting and adds extra grip. Unfortunately, the material is more flexible than metal, so it doesn’t provide the illusion of rigidity you’ll find in an all-aluminum laptop like the MacBook Pro 13 or HP Spectre x360. This is not a durability problem, but it will turn off those who think a laptop this expensive must feel luxurious. That’s likely why Dell’s XPS 13, which also has a carbon fiber chassis, uses a metal outer shell.

Plenty of ports

Lenovo has modernized its port selection with two Thunderbolt 3 / USB Type-C ports, which can be used to charge the laptop. That’s a welcome change, as Lenovo has stuck with its own proprietary charging solution in recently reviewed systems.

It obliterates the competition in Geekbench 4 multi-core.

There are also two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, one HDMI port, one micro-Ethernet port with adapter, a combined microphone/headphone jack, and a MicroSD card reader with Micro-SIM card slot.

Overall, this arrangement makes the Carbon exceptionally easy to use for a thin-and-light laptop. Most of its competitors either rely entirely on new connection types, as does the MacBook Pro 13, or make a compromise that results in relatively few ports overall, as is true of the Dell XPS 13. Lenovo has an edge here.

Good keyboard, tiny touchpad

Keyboard quality is always a tricky subject with ThinkPads – not because they fail here, but because they’re good, and fans expect the best. The Carbon is always in a tough spot because its thin profile can lead to a cramped typing experience, but we noticed no issue with the 2017 model. Key travel is substantial, which leads to a pleasant flow when typing at a high rate. We did think the key action felt a touch vague as it bottomed out, but it wasn’t enough to bother us.

Compared to alternatives, like the Dell XPS 13 or HP Spectre x360 and its EliteBook variant, the Carbon feels as if it has more key travel. It’s also more spacious in layout, because the 14-inch screen leads to larger overall dimensions. The new MacBook Pro 13 also feels spacious, but its poor key travel puts it far behind the Carbon in typing pleasure.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Keyboard backlighting is standard, though it offers just two brightness options. This is an area where Apple is still the leader, as it offers a wide range. There’s significant light leak from behind the Carbon’s key caps – more, in fact, than in any competitor in recent memory – and that can be distracting in dark environments.

The Carbon’s touchpad is smaller than its competitors. As always, the Trackpointer can be blamed. This tiny red nub in the middle of the keyboard allows use of the mouse without moving away from a normal typing position, but it also must be paired with physical, discrete left/right mouse buttons above the touchpad, which cuts into its usable space.

What you think of this arrangement depends on what you think of the Trackpointer. We enjoy it, and find its implementation on the Carbon satisfactory. Users who prefer the touchpad will find it cramped. The Carbon supports Windows Precision Touchpad standards, at least, so it can handle all the operating system’s multi-touch gestures.

More: Dell XPS 13 (Kaby Lake) review

You’ll have to get used to it, because a touchscreen is not supported even as an optional upgrade. Anyone looking for a touchscreen should instead consider the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga.

One of the best anti-glare displays around

Give its 14-inch size, you might expect Lenovo to cram a 4K or at least QHD panel into the latest Carbon. Instead, the company has opted to stick with a 1080p, non-touch screen with anti-glare coating.

It’s a choice that focuses on practicality. Users who care about display quality most of all may scoff at the resolution, and for good reason. All the Carbon’s potential competitors, from the Dell XPS 13 to the MacBook Pro 13 to even Lenovo’s own high-end IdeaPads, offer a 3,200 x 1,800 or 4K panel option. These panels can hurt battery life, however, and as we’ll discuss later, Lenovo’s decision to stick with 1080p does reap rewards in that area.

Aside from its modest resolution, how does the screen stack up? Extremely well, as it turns out.

We recorded a contrast ratio of 990:1 at maximum brightness, and 1210:1 at 50 percent of maximum. These figures are very solid. Apple’s MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar hit a contrast ratio of 1200:1 at maximum brightness, and the Surface Studio with Performance Base hit 1410:1. But most other laptops, including the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360, fall well behind the Carbon.

The Carbon packs reasonable color quality. Its gamut is not that impressive, as it renders 95 percent of the sRGB gamut and 72 percent of AdobeRGB. These figures are exactly average, and behind the best laptops, which can render over 90 percent of AdobeRGB.

However, the Carbon boasts an average color error value of 1.5, which is great. Lower values are better in this test, and anything below one represents an error that’s hard for the human eye to notice. Apple’s MacBook Pro line can produce a value below one, but most laptops come in above two. The Dell XPS 13 with 1080p display, for example, produced an error value of 2.65.

Numbers are just part of the equation, though. How they come together is important, and the Carbon’s figures ultimately total up to a great display. The 14-inch screen is a reasonable fit for 1080p resolution, so images looks sharp enough in most situations. Colors are vibrant, and overall contrast is strong enough to provide a sense of depth in movies and games. The anti-glare coat, while not the most aggressive, minimizes reflections and keeps the bright screen usable even outdoors. Most colors are highly accurate, except for blue hues, which are more prominent than they should be. This is a common flaw of modern backlit LCD displays, as the backlight technology tends to make the overall image look cooler and more sterile than it should.

More: HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 (2016) review

There are better displays. The MacBook Pro 13 and Surface Book are in another league. However, they both suffer a hit in usability due to the extreme glare their highly reflective screens can cause. The Carbon’s screen is solid overall, and its high points are what the target audience will desire.

Speakers that focus on Skype

Lenovo has placed a pair of stereo speakers in the bottom front of the Carbon. This is the typical placement for laptops in the Carbon’s category. It allows for compact size and decent volume when the laptop is used on a flat surface. However, a more malleable surface – like a lap, for example – can block and muffle the speakers.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2017) Compared To

Acer Aspire VX 5-591G 5652

Dell Latitude E5470

Razer Blade (2017)

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (2017)

Lenovo Yoga 910

Asus Zenbook 3 UX390UA

Lenovo ThinkPad X260

Dell Precision 15 3510

Lenovo Ideapad 710S

HP Spectre

Acer Aspire S 13 S5-371-52JR

Dell Latitude 12

LG Gram 15 Z960

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro…

Lenovo IdeaPad V460

The quality of the speakers is clearly tuned with preference for clarity over depth and volume. Voices come across sharp and easy to understand, which is great for video calls with co-workers. The deep bass of an explosive action movie, however, falls flat.

Intel’s fastest laptop dual-core is, in fact, the fastest dual-core

While the base model of ThinkPad X1 Carbon comes with a Core i5-7200U, our tricked-out review unit arrived packing the Core i7-7600U. This is a dual-core processor with a 2.8GHz base clock, and it represents the high end of Intel’s mobile dual-core chip line.

The Core i7-7600U provides an excellent showing in GeekBench, a shorter synthetic benchmark. There, the Carbon leaps to a lead in both single-core and multi-core testing. In fact, it obliterates its competition in Geekbench 4 multi-core, where it scores over 1,000 points better than its next-closest peer, the Dell XPS 13 with Core i7-7500U.

Handbrake has more to say in the Carbon’s favor. There, the laptop crammed through an encode of our 4K h.265 test clip in under 17 minutes. That’s the second-best result we’ve seen in a laptop, coming in behind only the Microsoft Surface Book with Performance Base. The Carbon’s result is one to three minutes faster than most its peers, beating the Dell XPS 13 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 with ease.

A screaming fast new Samsung hard drive

Our review unit arrived with a Samsung PM961 solid state drive connected over PCI Express, and boasting 512GB of storage. This is a major upgrade over the base model of Carbon, which unfortunately has a mere 128GB SATA solid state drive. That’s a major problem for a $1,329 laptop.

The benefit of upgrading to the larger, faster drive are clear. With it equipped, our test unit screamed to a write speed of almost 1.9 gigabytes per second, and a read speed of just over 1.5 GB/s. These numbers easily defeat the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre x360, two laptops that are no slouch in the hard drive arena.

Not a gaming machine, but better than most

Intel’s HD 620 integrated graphics hardware came alongside our review unit’s Core i7-7600U processor. It would be reasonable to expect performance similar to the Core i5-7200U and Core i7-7500U, both of which also have HD 620. Yet that’s not what happened in our tests.

3DMark Fire Strike finds the Carbon has a reasonable advantage over Dell and HP competitors with what’s supposedly the same graphics solution. The Lenovo wins by a margin of about 15 to 20 percent.

Why? Because it’s not the same solution. While Intel HD 620 shows up in a variety of chips, it doesn’t operate at the same speed in every situation. The Carbon’s high-end Core i7-7600U has a faster version of HD 620, with a maximum core clock of 1.15GHz.

In addition to running 3DMark, we loaded Sid Meier’s Civilization VI at 1080p and medium detail to see how the laptop handles a typical modern game. At those settings the game was a slideshow, producing an average of 13 frames per second. Reducing quality to the minimum preset increased performance to an average of 28 FPS, which was tolerable, though the game lost most its beauty as a result.

A class leader in portability

Every ThinkPad X1 Carbon comes with a 57 watt-hour internal battery which cannot be replaced by the user. This is not exceptionally large by modern standards, but it does rank towards the top. Dell’s XPS 13 has a 60 watt-hour battery, while the MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar has a 49.2 watt-hour battery.

This large battery, combined with the power-saving 1080p display, make for exceptional battery life in all test loads. We recorded eight hours and 38 minutes of life in our Peacekeeper web browser benchmark test. A simple 1080p video loop extended that to an outstanding 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Its materials are durable, providing a soft-touch texture that feels inviting.

These numbers are, in both cases, among the strongest we’ve recorded. The Dell XPS 13 with Core i5 processor and 1080p display lasted 12 hours and 43 minutes in the video loop test, while the MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar lasted 10 hours and 24 minutes. It’s clear that Lenovo has made efficiency a priority for the Carbon, and that pays off in real-world testing.

Of course, the laptop is also quite easy to carry. While the 14-inch screen means it’s a bit larger than most competitors, its weight of 2.49 pounds is extremely competitive in its category. The Dell XPS 13, MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar, and HP Spectre x360 all weigh a few tenths of a pound more.

Warranty information

Most laptops come with a one year warranty against manufacturer defects. While the base Carbon doesn’t push the limit there, the high-end review unit we tested has a three-year warranty included in the price. That’s a wonderful extra that helps justify the high price.

Our Take

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is an extremely quick laptop that successfully puts work before play, and its battery life is the envy of all its peers. It’s a shame the price is so high, as it slightly sours an otherwise sweet package.

Is there a better alternative?

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon has many competitors. Dell’s XPS 13 looks nice, and is significantly smaller, but it’s quick. Apple’s MacBook Pro 13 has a much better display and crisp speakers, but falls behind in value and battery life. The HP Spectre x360 and its workmanlike peer, the HP EliteBook x360, are fast and have great screen options, but they’re not up to the Carbon’s caliber in keyboard quality.

The DT Accessory Pack

Anker PowerCore+ 20100 mAh portable charger

$66

Lifewit leather vintage canvas laptop bag

$44

Logitech MX Anywhere 2 wireless mobile mouse

$56

We still think the Dell XPS 13 is the best overall pick among portable laptops, but the Carbon does have many strengths, and is the better choice for people who spend as much time working on the road as they do at home.

How long will it last?

With a seventh-generation Core i7 processor, a cutting-edge hard drive, excellent battery life, and a durable chassis, there’s no reason to think the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon won’t last for the long haul. Also, the more expensive models come with a standard three-year warranty, which provides peace of mind.

Should you buy it?

Yes, if you need a function-first laptop that can accomplish tasks on the go. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon packs stellar battery life and performance, yet falls behind a bit in display quality and design. It’s also extremely expensive. This is a laptop for those who view their computer as a tool, not a toy, and demand hardware that can keep up with hours of serious work, day after day.

WikiLeaks latest CIA dump focuses on malware for Windows

As WikiLeaks continues to extend the mileage from its “Vault 7 cache” of CIA information, its latest release focuses on tools it says the agency uses for hacking Windows computers. While its release didn’t include any source code, manuals described a “Grasshopper” tool used to create custom malware setups depending on the target intended. As CSO Magazine explains, it used some elements from the Carberp financial malware that leaked onto the internet in 2013. The CIA’s Advanced Engineering Division and Remote Development Branch allegedly modified that malware, while the Grasshopper setup allows them to customize its ability to persist on the victim’s computer, reinstall itself and evade antivirus scans.

Documents dated 2014 list what antivirus products and configurations Grasshopper could bypass on Windows XP, 7 and 8.1 systems, with varying levels of success. According to Ars Technica, however, this release isn’t as damaging as last week’s drop, which exposed some of the ways CIA developers hide any signs that could tie an attack to their agency.

Source: WikiLeaks

Adidas shows off the first 3D-printed sneakers it’ll mass produce by 2018

By next year, companies will stop prototyping with 3D printers and will finally start mass-producing.

Well, at least Adidas plans to, with a sneaker called Futurecraft 4D. The shoe-maker has been dabbling with 3D printing and manufacturing for a while, but it plans to ramp up efforts by 2018. Its new Futurecraft 4D shoe has a mid-sole that it designed using a process known as Continuous Liquid Interface Production. The sole is pulled out of a container of liquid polymer resin and molded using ultraviolet light.

• 3D printing: Everything you need to know and when it’ll be affordable
• McLaren F1 team will begin 3D printing parts trackside

Adidas

Silicon Valley-based Carbon created the method, which it claimed is faster and better than traditional additive printing, and it uses materials that are more flexible and stronger than injection moulded plastics. Check out the video below to see Carbon’s method in action. It will help make 3D-printing a reality for companies looking to mass-produce. Adidas will use it to make 5,000 pairs of Futurecraft trainers.

The shoes will go on sale sometime in 2017, and then by the end of next year, Adidas will 3D-print another 100,000 pairs. The cost of a single pair is unknown right now, but Adidas has suggested Futurecraft 4D will be a “premium” product with a high price tag.

CNC cutting machine slices through foam like a hot knife through butter

Why it matters to you

Looking for a desktop cutter that’s different? A new machine on Kickstarter allows users to create works using polystyrene instead of plastic or wood.

What does the overwhelming number of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) tools available on the market say to you? If your answer is that “there are clearly too many,” stop reading now. If, on the other hand, your response is “people obviously like them; let’s see some more,” then you’re in luck!

That’s because a new high-precision cutting machine has just arrived on Kickstarter — and it’s bound to be of interest to many of you would-be “makers” out there. Called P400, this is a high-precision desktop cutter with a difference, since the material it uses to slice and dice isn’t your usual wood or plastic, but rather cheap and normally disposable polystyrene.

More: This gigantic CNC router is 8 feet wide, 4 feet tall, and costs less than $500

“We are in a period in which 3D printing leads the market, but we strongly believe that there are a lot of applications in the CNC world that are equally interesting and useful,” co-creator Flavio Prattico told Digital Trends. “Polystyrene is a really poor material, but it is really easy to work, and with few post-processing, you can obtain awesome objects. This is why we love it! [By ‘poor’], I mean it is cheap, not nice as it is — like wood — and in people’s minds is a material just for packaging.”

As with other CNC machines, users create the shape they want to cut out on a computer. The P400 machine then goes to work with its tiny blade by cutting out the pattern exactly. It’s very fast, and impressively accurate — meaning that you’ll be able to not just cut straightforward shapes but also more detailed one such as puzzles, stencils, or even individual words and letters.

The advantage of polystyrene is that, while it’s far from the world’s most durable material, its cheapness means that you can create your works without spending much in the way of capital.

P400 is currently available to pre-order on Kickstarter, with prices set at 299 euros ($316). Shipping is set for September, and supplies are limited.

Google’s crackdown causes fake Maps listings to drop by 70 percent since 2015

Why it matters to you

Google Maps is a tool to get from point A to point B — but it could lead you astray if a fake listing gets through. Since 2015, the company has reduced such listings by 70 percent.

Google Maps is getting more accurate. The internet giant said it has taken a number of steps over the past few years to reduce fake results popping up in Google Maps — and they appear to be working. The number of fake listings has fallen by a whopping 85 percent, and those fake listings, Google says, are identified before they even appear on Google Maps.

Google has also reduced the number of fake live listings by 70 percent compared to the peak reached in June 2015.

More: Watch this astounding trip around the world, made entirely from Google Maps

The fake listings come largely from Google My Business, which itself extends over to Google Maps and even Google Search. Many of the fake listings are an attempt by people to defraud businesses or sometimes to extort customers.

Google also commissioned a study from the University of California, San Diego, to get a little more insight into abuse on Google Maps — so that it could continue to improve listings on Maps.

According to the study, roughly two out of five fake listings were bad actors posing as locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, and so on. Despite the fact that Google routinely discovered and disabled the fake listings, the perpetrators would still cycle through different addresses and VoIP phone numbers.

Around 10 percent of fake listings actually belonged to legitimate businesses — like hotels and restaurants — which scammers then claimed ownership of. These scams affected customers as well. Booking a hotel room online, for example, might seem exactly like the real thing, but the businesses were then being told to pay referral fees.

There are a number of ways that Google is reducing fake listings on Maps. For starters, the company is prohibiting bulk registrations at most addresses, and preventing companies from listing new addresses a long distance away without valid verification.