Airbnb is buying a scam-fighting background check technology

Airbnb is getting more serious when it comes to keeping fraudulent listings and shady renters off the website. According to Bloomberg, the short-term rental platform is buying Trooly Inc., a startup specializing in background checks to fight off scammers. Airbnb has been using Trooly’s service to authenticate user identities since 2015, but now the company is making its tech an integral part of the platform by purchasing its intellectual property and its engineering team.

The publication says Airbnb has been having trouble controlling the presence of listings created by bad players posing as home owners, as well as guests trying to bypass it and contacting hosts directly for almost a decade. Trooly tries to prevent both instances by analyzing data from any public record of the host or renter it can find, including social media and other sources. While Airbnb’s spokesperson refused to talk about specifics when he confirmed the acquisition to Bloomberg, we hope this move leads to even fewer scams on the website in the future.

Source: Bloomberg

Uber sends apology email to its NYC riders

Uber’s list of “issues” seems to grow with each passing day. Even when it tries to turn things around something goes wrong like one of its board members making a sexist remark and ending up leaving his seat. But it’s still trying to convince its customers that it’s willing to change and has even started emailing riders an apology.

Some New York City customers received an email from the ride-hailing company Friday afternoon according to Business Insider that notes, “ultimately, the measure of our success is the satisfaction of our riders, drivers, and employees — and we realize that we have fallen short.” The company says that because it expanded so quickly it “failed to prioritize the people that helped get us here.”

It continues by citing how quickly Uber’s board reacted to the workplace harassment post written by former engineer Susan Fowler. The company asked former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the law firm Covington & Burling to look into the matter. The investigation yielded a report on how to turn around its toxic workplace environment.

At the same time an investigation led by law firm Perkins Coie ended with the firing of 20 employees. A week later VP Emil Michael left (although it’s not known if he quit or was asked to leave). Michael once said that Uber should be able to dig up dirt on journalists that were critical of the company and according The Information had accompanied CEO Travis Kalanick and others to an “escort karaoke bar.”

The apology email also doesn’t note that Kalanick is taking a leave of absence. But the digital mea culpa does say that the company will be adding independent members to the board.

Today’s email probably won’t do much to win back the roughly 200,000 former customers that took part in the #DeleteUber campaign, but it might convince those that haven’t jumped ship to stick around. At least until something else happens.

Source: Business Insider

‘Spider-Man’ is the latest big-budget flick to get a VR tie-in

Peter Parker and his web-slinging alter ego seem to be everywhere these days. Sony showed off a lengthy gameplay sequence from the upcoming Spider-Man video game at E3 this year, and the company’s reboot, Spider-Man: Homecoming, arrives in theaters this July. It’s no surprise, then, that Sony Pictures has decided to hype the movie with a free “multi-platform promotional VR experience” for Oculus, Vive and PlayStation VR platforms on June 30th.

Whether fans will connect with a VR experience that includes a “helpful artificial intelligence unit” built into a virtual Spidey suit is debatable, of course. The trailer for the VR experience shows a fairly low-stakes experience, with players suiting up as Spider-Man and targeting various training orbs with their web shooters. Sony promises that you’ll be able to “sling high above New York City,” which might be pretty cool in VR, of course, as well as a chance to confront Spider-Man nemesis The Vulture, played by Michael Keaton in Homecoming.

This isn’t the first promotional virtual reality initiative, of course. The Blair Witch Project offered a trailer in VR, Lionsgate created an interactive VR session for Nerve and Fantastic Beasts had a somewhat disappointing entry, as well. Even Disney put out a Cardboard VR experience to promote Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

While the latest Spider-Man VR experience isn’t a full-on game, messing around as Spider-Man could make for a compelling, fun time in virtual reality. If you can’t wait until the 30th to try Spider-Man VR out on your own, you’ll be able to don a pair of VR goggles at select Cinemark Theaters in the US as well as at the CineEurope trade show in Barcelona.

You don’t have to be an engineer to appreciate the world’s most radical bridges

You likely use them every day, but have you ever stopped to consider the engineering marvel that is the bridge? They’re massive spans of concrete, metal, and wires which weigh thousands of tons yet remain standing — many even during destructive and violent natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.

Bridges are also key to the way we move and serve as an important tool for many commuters. Despite this, how often do you read a piece extolling the greatness of a bridge, or hear an ode to their wonders? Not often enough, by our measure. Let’s correct that, shall we? Here are seven of the most impressive bridges out there.

Longest suspension bridge — Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

Location
Year completed
Length
Architect
Japan
1998
2.4 miles
Satoshi Kashima

Suspension bridges are, arguably, the most interesting type of bridges. Think about it: A giant structure of wires and pylons manipulating tension and compression to allow for a single span of heavy material to be suspended in air, thus letting it bridge wide chasms and bodies of water. The Golden Gate Bridge is perhaps the most iconic of this style of bridge, but it’s Akashi Kaikyo Bridge — aka the Pearl Bridge — that holds the title for the world’s longest suspension bridge. This 2.4-mile-long bridge reaches across the Akashi Strait, connecting the city of Kobe on the Honshu mainland with Awaji Island. Since 1998, the bridge has carried six lanes of traffic and approximately 23,000 cars a day between the two towns. The impressive central span ranks as the longest in the world at 1.24-miles long.

Longest cross-sea bridge — Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

Location
Year completed
Length
Architect
China
2017
31 miles
ARUP

China has long cemented itself as one of the leading countries when it comes to bridge building — and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will only further the country’s reputation. Although China’s Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is currently the longest cross-sea bridge in the world, Hong Kong’s forthcoming marvel will be twice as long when it opens in late-2017.

Authorities see the new bridge as a vital connection between Hong Kong and more economically-depressed portions of southern China. Travel time between Hong Kong and Zhuhai or Macau will be slashed to about 40 minutes upon completion, which is significantly less than the current 4.5-hour trek. The hope is that Macau and Zhuhai will benefit from speedy access to Hong Kong’s shipping ports, and strengthen Hong Kong’s position as the economic heart of the region.

Although it will be the longest cross-sea bridge, it actually consists of two sections and three artificial islands. Connecting the two sections is a 1.7-mile tunnel closer to the Hong Kong side, which gives enough space for large shipping vessels to pass through.

Not everything has gone according to plan, however. Construction began in 2009, but ongoing issues with land reclamation has caused major delays. Construction on the bridge ended in late-2016, however, paving the bridge might take up to a year. There’s also the cost: At completion, the bridge will have set the Chinese government back some US$10 billion.

Longest continuous bridge over water: Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Location
Year completed
Length
Architect
Louisiana, United States
1956
23.87 miles
Louisiana Bridge Company

While the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge currently holds the record for the longest over water in aggregate, this entry holds the record for the longest continuous span over water. This distinction was the result of some controversy regarding the two bridges. Prior to the opening of the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in 2011, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway — a 23.87-mile-long, low-level trestle bridge bisecting Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana — had held the record for longest bridge over water for decades. After the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge snagged the record, those behind the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway ascertained that their bridge represented a longer continuous span over water. This turned out to be the case, and thus the two distinct records were created to give props to both structures.

Tallest bridge — Millau Viaduct

Location
Year completed
Length
Architect
Aveyron, France
2004
1.53 miles
Norman Foster, Michel Virlogeux

We’ve given a lot of attention to bridges with impressive lengths, but that isn’t the only measure that makes a bridge noteworthy. The tallest bridge in the world — meaning the furthest the span is suspended above ground — is the Millau Viaduct, located in Aveyron, France. The Millau Viaduct is a stayed-cable bridge that stretches 1.5 miles across the Tarn River Valley, offering 890 feet of clearance below its eight spans and carrying four lanes of traffic since it opened in 2004. The iconic structure has become a fixture of France’s countryside ever since, and is routinely heralded as one of the greatest feats of modern engineering. Both the bridge’s iconic look and the impressive engineering behind it are the result of the viaduct’s cable-stayed design, which uses massive pylons to hold thick steel cables that bear the weight of the structure’s spans.

Bonus bridge — India’s Living Root Bridges

In the Indian state of Meghalaya, in the northeastern part of the country, there is a remarkable practice of training fig trees to grow into bridges. The caretakers slowly but surely manipulate the tree roots as they grow, pushing them along and weaving them into walkways and river crossings. The process can take up to 15 years, but once complete, the bridges are usable for between 500 and 600 years. As the trees grow, the bridges become sturdier thanks to the strengthening and thickening of the roots. The bridges also have to particularly useful attribute of being self-renewing, especially given they don’t require the same sort of upkeep as man-made structures. Plus, they just look cool.

Bonus bridge — Lucky Knot Bridge

Location
Year completed
Length
Architect
Changsha, China
2016
600 feet
NEXT Architects

Another cool pedestrian bridge comes from China-based NEXT Architects. These designers got their inspiration from the Mobius ring — which is essentially a ring that twists — and knotting, a form of Chinese folk art that utilizes knots to create decorative shapes. The bridge passes about 78 feet over a river, and spans more than 600 feet in length. Three pedestrian lanes slink up and down across its spine, connecting two parks on opposite sides of a river.

Bonus bridge — Eshima Ohashi Bridge

Location
Year completed
Length
Architect
Chugoku, Japan
2004
5,577 feet
NEXT Architects

You’ll feel like you’re about to get on a roller coaster while gazing at Japan’s Eshima Ohashi Bridge, but it’s more of an optical illusion than anything else. The Inception-evoking structure quickly became an internet sensation upon its completion in 2004, namely because a slew of viral images made the bridge’s grades look steeper than they actually are. In reality, the grades on either side are about 5.1 and 6.1 percent, and those who have traveled over the bridge say it’s no different than driving over a hill. Still, the actual grades don’t make the pictures any less terrifying.

Nadi X helps improve your yoga skills with feedback you can feel

Why it matters to you

If you can’t tell if you’re getting yoga postures right, these pants can help with silent correction pulses.

Tech comes to the rescue for yoga students. Face it, yoga is tough. Nothing else prepares you for yoga except more yoga. Cross-training is a wonderful concept that often falls short, and never so much as with yoga. Whether you are a football linebacker, a ballet dancer, a Hooligan racer, or a shooting guard on a basketball team — granted a ballet dancer would have an easier time adapting to yoga than the other three — yoga can help your performance. Yoga is also good for your health, but it will humble you first.

Founded in Sydney and now New York City-based, Wearable X‘s new Nadi X-activated yoga apparel can help you master poses by putting a little pulse in your pants. The full Nadi X solution includes three components: Yoga pants with embedded electronics, a small device called the Pulse that clips behind your upper left knee and controls the pulses in the pants, and a smartphone app.

The Pulse clip communicates with a smartphone in real time in both directions. The Pulse sends data about your movements to the phone with which the app’s algorithm uses to identify the yoga pose you are in — or trying for. The app then sends instructions back to the Pulse that direct the speed and intensity of the vibrations in various parts of the pants. The promise is that you will recognize what needs to be moved where because once you get it right, the pulsing will minimize or cease.

Even experienced yoga students and instructors can benefit from the Nadi X yoga pants because it is easy to get a little lazy and it is also difficult to know if you are holding a posture correctly without mirrors all over the place or a coach.

“I was never really good at yoga and felt intimidated whenever I would explore a new pose,” says Wearable X CEO and co-founder Billie Whitehouse. “Throughout creating this product, we worked with over 50 yogis across three different continents to understand the importance of alignment in time and space. We are proud to redefine what it means to be a modern lifestyle brand by combining fashion and technology.”

Nadi X yoga pants come with a Pulse clip and will retail for $300. Extra yoga pants alone (assuming you already have a Pulse unit) will sell for $200. Wearable X announced that the Nadi X products will ship in August and it is taking pre-orders now on its website.

Lenovo Yoga 720 15-inch review

Research Center:
Lenovo Yoga 720 15-inch

The Windows 10 2-in-1 market is full of excellent options, ranging from detachable tablets that are incredibly thin and light, to 360-degree convertibles that function, as well as standard clamshell notebooks as they do as pen-enabled tablets. Display sizes range from less than 12 inches to 17 inches, and configurations range from power-sippers to strong productivity performers.

On the other hand, the segment has been light on higher-end components, with primarily dual-core processors and either integrated or last-generation, entry-level discrete graphics. Lenovo is stirring things up with its latest 15.6-inch 360-degree convertible, the Yoga 720 15-inch.

Powered by a speedy Intel Core i7 processor, fast DDR4 RAM, and a Nvidia GeForce GTX graphics card, the Yoga 720 15 promises strong performance at a reasonable price (read our Yoga 720 13-inch review). In our Yoga 720 15 review we’re wondering, does its power give it a win over stiff competition?

Muted design and solid build quality

Like it’s smaller sibling, the Yoga 720 13-inch, the Yoga 720 15-inch has an understated design that doesn’t stand out. Available in Iron Grey and Platinum Silver, Lenovo describes that machine as “sleek … and sure to turn heads.” While we agree that it’s sleek, we don’t imagine it will grab anyone’s attention.

It is a 360-degree convertible, meaning that it transitions smoothly from a traditional clamshell notebook and into a rather large and unwieldy tablet.

Build quality is solid, with an all-aluminum chassis that’s smooth without being slippery and feels comfortable in the hand. The Yoga 720 15 is well-balanced overall, with a darker cover and base, and lighter keyboard tray. The minimal display bezels make for a minimized footprint, while keeping the webcam in its proper place above the screen.

The Yoga 720 15 is a 360-degree convertible, meaning that it relies on its hinge to enable a smooth transition from traditional clamshell notebook through presentation and tent modes, and into a rather large and unwieldy tablet. The hinge holds the display in place, which is a positive, but it’s rather stiff throughout its range. You’ll need to use two hands to open it and adjust it backwards, which can be awkward.

You won’t notice any creaking as you use the Yoga 720, and for a 15-inch notebook with such powerful components it’s thin, at 0.75 inches, and light, at 4.4 pounds. It’s comfortable to use in most of its modes, making for a perfectly serviceable notebook.

As with any large 2-in-1, tablet mode is cumbersome. It’s best when propped up on a flat surface, or in your lap for support. And as a 360-degree convertible, feeling the keyboard and touchpad under your fingers when you’re holding the Yoga 720 15 as a tablet is disconcerting at first. That’s not hard to get used to after a time, but you will miss having hardware volume buttons at your disposal.

Type, swipe, and touch with comfort and efficiency

We would be shocked to discover a Lenovo keyboard that wasn’t at least decent, particularly on any machine that costs over $1,000. The Yoga 720 15 didn’t shock us. Its keyboard has a nice springy mechanism that’s quiet and consistent and provides good feedback. Travel, or the depth of the keys when you press them, was just a touch short, but there was no uncomfortable bottoming action to complain about. Backlighting is even, effective, and suffers little light leakage around each key cap.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

The touchpad is solid as well. Its surface provides just enough texture to avoid being slippery, but not so much as to slow us down when using the full complement of Windows 10 gestures. It’s a Microsoft Precision Touchpad as well, meaning it’s just as accurate and responsive as we’ve come to expect with that standard. We did find the buttons to be a little finicky, requiring us to hit just the right spot to register left and right clicks.

The Yoga 720 supports an active pen, which we did not receive with our review unit, and so couldn’t test. The pen is available from Amazon for $40, and is often available at a discount.

The touchscreen was responsive and accurate, as today’s touchscreens usually are, and provided superb support in each of the 2-in-1s modes.

Finally, Lenovo opted for a fingerprint scanner for Windows 10 Hello password-less login. We found it 100 percent accurate during our testing, and very fast.

It’s not the same as a dedicated gaming system by any means, but it should provide a bit of a gaming fix to break up monotonous bouts of productivity.

It’s not hard to gain a preference for fingerprint scanners over the infrared facial recognition used on some systems, because fingerprint scanning does seem to be more reliable. However, facial recognition is preferable in a 2-in-1 because a fingerprint scanner is sometimes hard to locate when a machine isn’t in traditional notebook mode.

A few less ports than we usually expect on a large machine

The Yoga 720 15 isn’t a particularly small machine, but it comes with a rather small number of ports. There are two old-school USB 3.0 Type-A ports, one on each side, and a single USB 3.1 Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support (with two PCIe lanes available). The 3.5mm headset jack rounds out the physical connections.

Power is supplied by Lenovo’s usual A/C connector (we could not get the machine to charge via its USB Type-C port), and unfortunately there’s no SD card reader. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity is provided by Intel’s dual-band AC 8265 controller. All in all, we think Lenovo could have made better use of all that available space with an extra port or two.

An average display that needs more pixels

Our review Lenovo Yoga 720 came with a 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixel) resolution display, covered with Gorilla Glass, and relatively small bezels (framing/edges). As usual, we found text and user interface elements to be a little pixelated – simply put, this size display begs for 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160 pixel) resolution, which Lenovo will offer as an option.

Our objective tests found the display isn’t average in resolution only. Compared to the most relevant 15.6-inch alternatives, the HP Spectre x360 15 and Dell XPS 15, both of which offer 4K UHD displays, the Yoga 720 15’s display was nothing special. Contrast was solid at 800:1 at full brightness, and sRGB color gamut was competitive at 95 percent, but AdobeRGB was low at 71 percent. Average color difference was good at 1.49, where anything under one is considered excellent, but gamma was a little bright at 2.3.

Finally, brightness was relatively low at 292 nits, where over 300 is more common with today’s premium systems. Lenovo put a better Full HD display in its 15.6-inch Yoga 720 than it did the Yoga 720 13, but it’s still not enough to move the machine ahead of its 4K competition. In actual use, the display was fine, but didn’t truly impress us. As suggested by the objective measures, colors and contrast were good, but the display brightness needed to be cranked to 75 percent or higher to be useful in any room with some ambient lighting.

The display also had a bit of a yellowish cast, which did the Yoga 720 15 no favors when viewed side-by-side with the HP Spectre x360 15’s more pleasant display.

We’re looking forward to seeing the 4K UHD display that Lenovo chooses for the machine. A 15.6-inch 2-in-1 just begs to be used for watching TV and movies, and the 1080p panel doesn’t cut it.

You’ll fill a medium-sized room with better-than-average sound

The Yoga 720 15 has two down-firing speakers located toward the front bottom of the chassis. They’re tuned by JBL and offer Dolby Audio Premium support, and they’re a cut above the typical notebook speakers. Volume was copious, and while bass was lacking (as usual), they’re overall very good for watching videos and filling a medium-size room with passable tunes.

Strong performance for a Windows 10 2-in-1

The Yoga 720 15 is very well-equipped for a Windows 2-in-1. It sports a fast quad-core seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor running at 2.8GHz, with Turbo Boost to 3.8GHz. Our review unit was equipped with 8GB of RAM, and those specifications promise some serious performance.

Our benchmark tests bear out the promise of the Yoga 720 15’s high-end components, at least generally speaking. In the Geekbench synthetic benchmark, the Yoga 720 15 had strong scores compared to the dual-core machines in our comparison group, but it fell behind the Dell XPS 15, which we reviewed with the same quad-core processor.

Our more strenuous Handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB video from MP4 to x.265, told the same story. The Yoga 720 15 churned through the test in roughly half the time compared to the dual-core machines, but it fell behind the XPS 15.

We’re guessing that Dell tuned its machine differently than Lenovo did its own Yoga 720 15, or perhaps the Dell’s thermal design allowed it to run at full speed for longer periods. Even so, the 45-watt Core i7-7700HQ and GTX 1050 GPU generated some heat, which resulted in hot spots on the bottom of the chassis, and caused fan noise to become obnoxious under heavy processor and graphics loads.

In addition, Lenovo placed the exhaust fans on the back of the machine underneath the display, so the rush of hot air makes the machine uncomfortable to use on your lap. You’ll want to use a laptop tray instead.

A smart choice of SSD results in super speedy storage

Our review unit was equipped with a 256GB Samsung PM961 PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD (solid-state drive), a very fast model that tends to rank at the top of contemporary systems. Whenever we see a Samsung SSD listed in Device Manager, we tend to expect excellent storage performance.

As usual, we weren’t disappointed. The Yoga 720 15 performed extremely well in the CrystalDiskMark benchmark, scoring 1,826 megabytes per second in the read test, and 1,206 Mb/s in writes. All of the Samsung-based SSDs scored similarly, placing the HP Spectre x360 15 dead last.

In actual use, the Yoga 720 15 was just as fast as its synthetic benchmarks would predict. Everything involving reading and writing data was lightning-fast, and the machine never slowed down during any of our extensive testing.

Better-than-entry-level discrete graphics promise decent gaming performance

Most people don’t buy 2-in-1s because they’re into hardcore gaming. The Yoga 720 15 isn’t going to change that fact, but it does utilize an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU with 2GB of memory. While that doesn’t place the machine into true gaming system territory, it does promise decent performance with modern games at 1080p and medium detail settings.

The 3DMark synthetic benchmark bore out those expectations. The machine was a bit slower than the Dell XPS 15, which also sports a GTX 1050 — although with a full 4GB of graphics memory, again hinting at more conservative tuning on Lenovo’s part. Still, the Yoga 720 15 was well over twice as fast as the next-best machine in our comparison group, the HP Spectre 360 15, with its GeForce GTX 940MX, and it obliterated its smaller 13.3-inch sibling with Intel HD integrated graphics.

We also test our systems by running some modern games at supported resolutions at moderate to high graphics settings. The Yoga 720 15 demonstrated itself quite capable of running some of our test games at 1080P and medium settings, exceeding the minimum 30 frames per second standard in Civilization VI (40 FPS), Battlefield 1 (55 FPS), and For Honor (39 FPS). Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was a little more challenging, with the Yoga 720 15 scoring 27 FPS at the high detail preset.

Lenovo Yoga 720 15-inch Compared To

Lenovo Yoga 720 13-inch

Origin EON17-SLX

Asus VivoBook V551LB-DB71T

Acer Aspire V7

Sony Vaio Pro 13

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2013)

HP Spectre XT TouchSmart

Toshiba Satellite P855

HP Envy 15 (2012)

HP Pavilion g6

Sony Vaio S Series

HP EliteBook 8560p

Apple MacBook Air (11.6-inch)

Asus G51J 3D

Lenovo IdeaPad U550

In short, the Yoga 720 15 is likely the best 2-in-1 for gaming. It’s not the same as a dedicated gaming system by any means, but it should provide a bit of a gaming fix to break up monotonous bouts of productivity.

At the same time, the GTX 1050, along with the quad-core processor, will help significantly with creative tasks like video editing, and working with massive image files. If you need better performance for these kinds of tasks but still want a 2-in-1 format, then the Yoga 720 15 delivers.

A smaller battery results in disappointing battery life

As with the port selection, Lenovo neglected to make use of all the available space inside the larger Yoga 720 15 in terms of packing in battery capacity. Specifically, the machine includes a 6-cell 72 watt-hour battery, which isn’t tiny in absolute terms, but falls short of some competing systems.

Looking at our suite of battery tests, it might appear that the Yoga 720 15 is competitive. It scored four hours and 48 minutes on our most grueling Peacekeeper test, for example, which is low compared to our comparison systems but not egregiously so.

The same is true for our video looping test, where the Yoga 720 15 lasted for nine hours and 42 minutes playing a trailer from the local drive — again, a competitive score.

Our benchmark tests bear out the promise of the Yoga 720 15’s high-end components, although the Dell XPS 15 is a bit faster.

On our web browsing test that runs through a series of live tests, the Yoga 720 ran for seven hours and 12 minutes, compared to seven hours and 10 minutes or the HP Spectre x360 15 and six hours and 31 seconds for the Dell XPS 15.

However, the Yoga 720 15 also benefits from a Full HD display, versus the 4K UHD displays used by the HP Spectre X360 15 and Dell XPS 15. 4K UHD displays are notorious for killing battery life, so it’s obvious that the use of a smaller battery — the HP has a 79 watt-hour battery, for example, and the Dell a whopping 97 watt-hours — and more robust components forced a compromise in longevity. In addition, the Dell XPS 15 does offer a 1080p model. We expect it would significantly outlast the Lenovo Yoga 720 15.

If you’re okay with a Full HD display, then the Yoga 720 15 will likely keep you working for most of a business or school day. Of course, cranking up that GTX 1050 or really pushing that Core i7-7700HQ will dramatically shorten its lifespan. And, if you decide you really want a 4K UHD display, then you’ll likely be forced to give up some serious battery life in return for all that power.

Software

Our review unit was a Microsoft Signature Edition, so it suffered minimal bloat. The usual, and useful, Lenovo administrative utilizes were present and unobtrusive, and the typical Windows 10 apps were installed. Otherwise, the software load was minimal, and presented no significant concerns.

Warranty

Lenovo offers up the usual one-year hardware warranty with the Yoga 720 15. That makes it no better, and no worse, than its competition in the consumer space.

Our Take

Lenovo set out to provide a Windows 10 2-in-1 with better than the usual productivity performance, and it succeeded. Anyone who needs a portable machine that can handle more serious video and image editing tasks, or who wants the ability to play some modern games at 1080P and moderate settings, will find the Yoga 720 15 to be an excellent choice. The combination of fast hardware and a modest battery means that the machine doesn’t last as long away from a charge as it could.

Is there a better alternative?

Two machines stand out as the most direct competition to the Yoga 720 15. HP’s Spectre x360 15 is a 360-degree 2-in-1 with a 15.6-inch display, and so is in precisely the same class as Lenovo’s machine. Dell’s XPS 15 offers the same Core i7-7700HQ CPU and GTX 1050 GPU in a traditional notebook, although the Dell has 4GB of graphics VRAM, while the Lenovo has 2GB.

Compared to the HP Spectre x360 15, the Yoga 720 15 offers superior processor and graphics performance. Pricing is roughly the same. The HP is equipped with a vastly superior 4K UHD display, however, and comes with an active pen.

The Spectre x360 15 also has a more elegant and refined design, and it generally comes across as the more premium machine. If you really need the Yoga 720 15’s power, then be prepared to give up good looks.

If you don’t really need a 2-in-1 machine, then the Dell XPS 15 provides even better performance, and a much larger battery. You’ll pay about $100 more, at $1,350 for 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and Full HD non-touch display, but you’ll also get better battery life. You’ll give up the flexibility of a 2-in-1 form factor, along with the ability to touch or write on the screen.

Be sure to also check out our list of the Best Laptops, Best Gaming Laptops, and Best Cheap Laptops if you’re looking for other alternatives.

How long will it last?

The Lenovo Yoga 720 15 offers sufficient future-proof connectivity with its USB Type-C connection. Its quad-core processor and GTX 1050 GPU are state-of-the-art today and should provide sufficient performance — except for gaming, which is impossible for notebooks to keep up with generally — well into the future. If you opt for the 4K UHD display when it’s available, then you’ll have a machine that should serve you well for years.

Should you buy it?

No. The Lenovo Yoga 720 15 is likely the best-performing Windows 10 2-in-1 around right now, and if you need pure performance then it’s a great choice. But that assumes you’re okay with a mediocre Full HD display and modest battery life, and that you’re willing to sacrifice battery life for a higher-resolution display to go with all that performance.

Still, the Yoga 720 15 does fit a very specific niche – the gaming 2-in-1. We can see this system being popular with student gamers, because it’s portable enough to carry often, but fast enough to play modern titles. While not many people have such specific needs, those who do should give the Yoga 720 15 serious consideration.

Atari’s upcoming game console is based on PC technology, says CEO

Why it matters to you

Atari CEO Fred Chesnais says the company is back in the hardware business but that does not mean it is competing with Microsoft and Sony.

Atari CEO Frederic Chesnais admitted during E3 2017 that the company is working on a new gaming console. The revelation surfaced shortly after a tease went live during the gaming convention showcasing what appeared to be a modernized 2600 console. No name was provided during the 21-second tease although the website URL sports the AtariBox name.

“We’re back in the hardware business,” Chesnais said during a brief interview.

At first glance, Atari could simply be following Nintendo’s lead by conjuring up a miniature, HDTV-ready remake of its classic Atari 2600 console. If we are lucky, Atari may even fancy cramming Atari 5200, Atari 7800, and Atari Jaguar games into the unit too. However, if Atari follows Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition lead, Atari may simply create additional stand-alone consoles if a mini 2600 unit sells.

But then Chesnais said that the AtariBox will be based on technology found in a PC. Microsoft and Sony took the same route for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, respectively, partially because developers use PCs to create their games. The end result is a game that works as intended across the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, but with slight tweaks and exclusive features for each platform.

Atari’s last hardware entry in the home console market was the Jaguar in 1993. It was marketed as the first 64-bit console that could outperform the Sega Genesis (16-bit), the Super Nintendo (16-bit), and the disc-based 3DO (32-bit). But in reality, it was a console with two 32-bit processors, which made game development for the platform difficult. The console did not catch on either, possibly due to a lackluster game lineup at launch, and a bundled game that felt more like a boring tech demo.

To make matters worse, the industry began moving games onto optical discs (yes, even Nintendo). Atari tried to keep the Jaguar alive by copying Sega’s CD add-on for the Genesis, and introduce its own Jaguar CD add-on that plugged into the Jaguar’s cartridge port. But by then, Sony introduced the original PlayStation console and Sega had the Sega Saturn. After that, Atari bailed out of the hardware business after publishing 67 games for Jaguar.

Atari’s roller-coaster presence in the gaming market almost came to a close in 2013 when it filed for bankruptcy protection. But the company was rescued by Chesnais, who purchased a 25.23 percent stake. He vowed to bring greatness back into the Atari name.

Years later, Atari generates revenue through Android and iOS games, and by licensing its brand. That said, creating an entirely new gaming console based on PC components seemingly came out of nowhere. The company is reportedly still working on the console’s design and plans to share additional information at a later date.

For the record, a console based on PC “technology” doesn’t necessarily mean Atari is going after the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. For all we know, the device could run a highly optimized emulator supporting Atari’s complete game library. Hopefully, we will find out what is under the hood soon.

Harvard is building air-powered spider robots out of drinking straws. ‘Nuff said

Why it matters to you

Harvard’s insect-inspired soft robots perform complex movement using nothing but air.

Harvard University is home to some of the sharpest minds on the planet, so why are several of its best engineers messing with drinking straws? The answer is because they’re using them to build innovative insect-inspired soft robots.

“Robots are typically heavy and hard — they aren’t very agile and they can be dangerous when near humans because they aren’t very flexible,” Alex Nemiroski, a former Harvard postdoctoral fellow who worked on the project, told Digital Trends. “In our work, we took inspiration from spiders, and used soft materials — plastic drinking straws and rubber — to design a new type of robotic actuator that is loosely based on the form of a spider’s joints and exoskeleton.”

Drinking straws share more in common with insects than you might initially think — thanks to a shared high strength-to-weight ratio. Spider joints were especially interesting to the researchers because, unlike most other creatures, they extend their limbs hydraulically by filling their joints with fluid.

“We did a very similar thing, but pneumatically, with air,” Nemiroski continued. “This principle is very simple to implement, doesn’t require hard electronic actuators, and ensures that the joints remain flexible and soft. By cutting notches into the straws and inserting small balloons, we could extend each joint by inflating the balloon, and retract it by deflating the balloon. We were able to build progressively more complex ‘arthrobots’ by adding more legs and more joints to each leg until we managed to create a full eight-legged spider.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Soft Robotics. While it’s still a long way from commercialization, Nemiroski said that there are possible real-world applications for the research.

“This work shows that very simple materials, with minor modifications, can be assembled to perform complex motions, and use nothing but air to move,” he said. “In the future, using tougher materials for both the exoskeleton and the inflatable joints will enable these robots to carry much more weight, including, potentially, people or supplies. These robots could be used in the future to navigate complex obstacles, such as rubble, in search and rescue operations, or to carry resources in the field.”

Electron-blasting milk treatment kills bad bacteria, leaves the good stuff

Why it matters to you

Technique could potentially serve as a healthier alternative to regular milk pasteurization.

Although pasteurization kills harmful pathogens in raw milk by briefly heating it to 161 degrees Fahrenheit, not everyone is convinced that it’s an entirely positive process. Along with the bad components eliminated through pasteurization, the process also diminishes some of the beneficial ingredients of raw milk, such as an assortment of enzymes and vitamins.

Who would have thought that particle physics could help? Well, evidently researchers from Texas A&M University, because they’ve developed a method for deactivating bacteria in raw milk using an electron beam. The technique reportedly achieves the same bacteria-killing effect as pasteurizing milk, but without actually having to heat it up and therefore getting rid of the white stuff’s good components.

Texas A&M’s proof-of-concept demonstration involved zapping milk with an almost light-speed quantity of electrons using the university’s Electron Beam Linear Accelerator. In previous studies, researchers have found that this process can kill the bad bacteria in milk by affecting it on a DNA level. What the researchers in this new study have shown, however, is that this doesn’t affect the nutritional content of milk like traditional pasteurization does.

After the milk was treated, the only notable decrease in nutrients the researchers found was with riboflavins, which fell by around 32 percent — although the remaining quantity was still enough to make the milk a good riboflavin source. In all other ways, the nutrients were similar to those that you would find in raw milk.

There is one catch, though. Some of the milk fat oxidizes in the process, which also resulted in the production of more than 20 volatile compounds. That sounds more sinister than it actually is — although it had the result of producing a smell that milk doesn’t usually possess. Right now, the team is carrying out further testing to make sure that these volatile components are completely safe.

If they are, and if the researchers can find someone interested in commercializing the technology, then electron beam-treated milk could possibly be hitting grocery store shelves before too long.

Any wagers as to what color bottle cap would denote milk treated by particle physics?

iPad Pro 10.5-inch review

Research Center:
Apple 10.5‑inch iPad Pro

Today, we have an iPad Pro review for you, but first let’s explain the growing confusion over the iPad lineup. In March, Apple unveiled a new iPad matching the size of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro — but it lacked “Pro” specifications and capabilities, such as support for the Apple Pencil. But there was still 2016’s 9.7-inch iPad Pro model and the original 13-inch iPad Pro.

Our iPad Pro review is for the new 10.5-inch Pro tablet, which replaces the 9.7-inch model.

That leaves us with a 9.7-inch regular iPad, a 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and a 12.9-inch iPad Pro — the latter saw a performance refresh matching its smaller brother. Oh, and don’t forget the 7.9-inch iPad Mini 4, which did not get an update. There are four distinctive sizes in the iPad lineup. If you want to know exactly which one to buy, we have an easy, practical guide on How to choose an iPad.

So how does the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro fare? It’s the best tablet in the world, period. Admittedly, the tablet market is hardly what it once was just a few years ago – there isn’t real competition in this space, and that has allowed Apple to easily take the top spot, But the new iPad Pro exceeds expectations on all fronts. Let’s take a closer look.

A brilliantly-fast display, premium build

In Apple tradition, 10.5-inch iPad Pro hardly looks different from previous iPads.

The aluminum back is minimal, housing some antenna bands, the rear camera and flash, as well as the Apple logo. The volume rocker sits at the right (when holding the tablet in portrait mode), and a power button sits nearby on the top-right edge. You’ll find a Lightning charging port on the bottom center, and the quad-speaker set up means there are four speakers — two on the top, and two on the bottom, offering a surround sound experience. On the front, the camera sits at the top, and the home button on the bottom.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

But the spotlight here is the 10.5-inch size, and it’s fantastic. It’s big enough to comfortably enjoy watching movies and videos, but it’s still portable enough to carry around — the same can’t necessarily be said for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. If you’re familiar with the 9.7-inch iPad, Apple has only slightly altered the dimensions, but retained a larger display — that’s because the edges (or bezels) have been reduced by 40 percent. This all comes in the same 1.03 pound package, meaning it’s the same lightweight tablet as the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Many of the Best iPad Pro 10.5-inch Cases we’ve picked out look similar to previous models, too.

As usual, the build quality is great, but the iPad Pro does seem to attract smudges and dirt marks easily on both the front and back — you may want to keep it in a case or a sleeve.

We have yet been able to push this tablet to its limit.

The display is another standout features with this tablet. While the 2,224 x 1,668 pixel resolution is a slight improvement over last year’s 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s 2,048 x 1,536 pixel resolution, Apple has introduced ProMotion technology, which bumps up the refresh rate of the display to 120Hz.

A screen’s refresh rate, which is measured by Hertz (Hz), is the number of frames shown per second. So if a display has a refresh rate of 120Hz, it means it has the capacity to show you 120 frames in a second. Most smartphone and tablet displays have a hard cap at 60Hz, but Apple has effectively doubled it. What does that mean? Everything on the screen should move far more smoothly — it’s easy to see the difference in person.

What happens on the screen fluidly follows the movements of my finger. Scrolling through websites especially shows the difference of 120Hz. It makes the iPad Pro feel buttery smooth — but constantly offering 120Hz would put a massive strain on the battery. It’s why ProMotion technology varies the refresh rate depending on what you’re seeing. If you’re looking at the static home screen, the refresh rate is 24Hz, which uses little power. If you open up a game, it will ratchet up the refresh rate to 120Hz to your game runs smoothly and doesn’t seem jittery. Developers will have to add support to make use of more varying refresh rates, but the iPad Pro will automatically provide the highest 120Hz to intensive apps and games that need it, like Affinity Photo.

This ProMotion technology certainly sets a high bar, and the screen itself is also a joy to use. It’s bright — 20 percent brighter than before, in fact — making it easy to view in direct sunlight; colors are vivid, and everything looks stunningly crisp.

iOS 10 is smooth, but iOS 11 offer more

The iPad Pro is powered by Apple’s latest A10X Fusion processor, which is faster and more powerful than the A10 Fusion processor on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. In our benchmark tests, the iPad Pro’s scores were impressive:

• AnTuTu: 219,599
• 3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme: 4,102

As a comparison, the iPhone 7 Plus’ AnTuTu score was 174,530. It’s safe to say the 10.5-inch iPad Pro outperforms the latest iPhone, and benchmarks aside — the performance improvement is easy to see. We have yet been able to push this tablet to its limit — at most, it got a little warm after playing games like Transformers: Forged to Fight, Crash of Cars, and Battle Bay, but we hardly ran into issues editing with Affinity Photo for an hour.

Alongside impressive performance, you get 64GB of internal storage for the base iPad Pro model, though you can also opt for 256GB or 512GB. It’s great that Apple has done away with the 32GB storage option for the Pro models. It just isn’t enough space to store a decent amount of apps and photos/documents. A 64GB model should last you for several years unless you are a super heavy duty user.

Apple 10.5‑inch iPad Pro Compared To

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Apple iPad 9.7

Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (8-inch)

Apple iPad Air 2

Lenovo ThinkPad 10

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

Microsoft Surface 2

Razer Edge Pro

Barnes & Noble Nook HD+

Dell Latitude 10

Dell XPS 10

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2

Acer Iconia Tab W700

Acer Iconia Tab A700

iOS 10, as seen on the iPhone 7, is even more impressive on a bigger screen — thanks to robust app support for the iPad. Unlike on Android, where you usually get the same smartphone-sized app on a tablet, the iPad offers a large number of apps with a specific user interface for a larger screen. This, along with the 10.5-inch size, the performance, and display improvements, makes iOS 10 a joy to use.

But iOS 11 is on the way, and Apple is introducing a host of features available only to the iPad. These include: Drag and drop, a new dock, the Files app, and a redesigned app switcher. All of these features help improve multi-tasking, making the iPad Pro even closer to a laptop replacement. We’ll update this review when the public beta for iOS 11 rolls around.

Best camera, speakers in a tablet

If the impressive display, great build quality, powerful performance, and tablet-supported apps weren’t enough, Apple has also included the same camera set up as the iPhone 7. The 12-megapixel rear camera will produce almost the same, if not better, photos than the latest iPhone. It’s overkill, for sure, but Apple says it can be useful it taking photos of high-resolution documents in the Notes app (in iOS 11). The 7-megapixel front-facing camera is great for video calls and quick selfies.

While there are some tablets with four speakers, Apple’s iPad Pro delivers unmatched sound for a tablet — the speakers are loud, filling up a room easily, and they sound great.

Great battery life

Apple promises up 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi, including watching videos or listening to music. We found that it lasted a lot longer — mostly because we weren’t using the iPad Pro continuously throughout the day like we use our phones. Using it for a few hours, watching videos, playing games, and browsing the web, we saw the battery drop to 70 percent.

The standby time is what excels here, as iOS uses very little battery when you’re not using the operating system. We left it on for two full days without use, and the iPad only dropped to 90 percent. Our only qualm? The lack of fast charging. Android smartphones and tablets have long-used some type of fast charging technology, but Apple has yet to adopt it. The iPad Pro takes some time to charge, which can be a little frustrating if you’re in a rush.

Can it replace your laptop?

The iPad Pro remains a fantastic tool for artists, especially if you purchase the compatible Apple Pencil as a companion. It’s fantastic for a lot of things, and is our favorite tablet stylus. Check out our list of top iPad Pro drawing apps for an idea of what you can do with the Pencil. The Apple Pencil hasn’t changed, but using it with the new iPad Pro is an even better experience — the ProMotion technology that allows for the 120Hz refresh rate means the Pencil has a lower 20ms latency, the amount of time from when you draw to when it appears on the screen – 20ms is nearly unnoticeable lag.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

It’s just as fun, accurate, easy to use — and Apple’s palm rejection technology never ceases to impress us.

Apple’s Smart Keyboard, on the other hand, is not great. We like the design and how thin it is, but it does not have a comfortable texture when typing. More importantly, it’s not satisfying to type on at all. There’s hardly any feeling when you tap on a key. It’s also $160, which is expensive. Hopefully there will be some great iPad keyboards for the Pro soon.

Regardless, the answer to whether the iPad Pro can replace your laptop is mixed. Yes, it can perform powerful tasks like video and photo editing, you can use it to draw amazing art with the Apple Pencil, and it crushes everyday tasks like email and using Microsoft Word. Even compared to earlier iPads, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro is far more suitable of a replacement — but it’s still not as comfortable as a laptop. I don’t find myself working as quickly as I do with my laptop. iOS 11 should help with this immensely with the new multitasking features, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Warranty information

Apple’s iPads come with a standard limited warranty that offers one year of hardware repair from the date of purchase. Apple’s numerous brick-and-mortar stores (You can find an Apple store here) also house the Genius Bar brimming with technical experts, meaning you can always head to one if you need support. If that’s not enough, you can buy AppleCare+, which will extend your warranty an extra year, but it will cost you $100. It also adds coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage.

Our Take

Apple’s latest iPad Pro is the best tablet you can buy because it excels in nearly every category.

Is there a better alternative?

If you’re looking for a tablet for entertainment and media consumption, you’re probably better off with the new iPad, which costs $330. If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives, Amazon’s Fire HD 8 is a solid tablet for $80, but you get what you pay for.

The 64GB variant of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro costs $650 — you have the option of putting that money towards the new MacBook or Microsoft’s Surface Pro.

If you’re interested in more tablets, please check out our recommendations for the Best tablets you can buy (hint: this is the best), which has options for cheaper and smaller tablets as well. We also have a roundup of Best tablets for kids, and if you’re wavering between this and a full PC, our list of Best cheap laptops or Best Chromebooks may help you.

How long will it last?

Apple products have great build quality, so expect them to last for a few years. Better yet, iOS updates arrive instantly, and Apple usually supports older devices far longer than most Android manufacturers. Expect this device to last more than three to four years.

Should you buy it?

Yes. There’s no real reason to upgrade if you already have an iPad Pro, and look to the regular iPad or Android alternatives if you’re looking for a tablet for casual use. But if you’re a creative professional, the Apple Pencil is a great tool that complements the iPad Pro, and the wide variety of photo- and video-editing apps makes this device a much more robust package.