Antitrust regulators may be looking at how Nvidia is selling graphics cards

Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang

Nvidia’s GeForce Partner Program may face investigation by two regulatory bodies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the E.U. Commission, over claims that it employs anti-competitive practices that unfairly advantage the company over its competitors. Although no official announcement has been made by these agencies, each has responded to independent complaints, suggesting that Nvidia is now on the radar of both.

The original indication of potential alleged anti-competitive practices of Nvidia’s GeForce Partner Program came from a HardOCP report which suggested that Nvidia was encouraging its graphics card partners to not sell AMD products as part of their gaming brands, in order to get a preferential supply of GPUs. Some gamers and PC users have announced their own boycott of Nvidia and partner hardware over these claims, and they have also attempted to get the FTC and E.U. Commission involved.

After emails and calls went out to these agencies from a number of concerned PC users, there have been posts on social networking sites like Reddit, which claim that the agencies responded. As WCCFTech reports, this could be an indication that both the FTC and E.U. Commission will begin looking into the partner program as a possible case of anti-competitive behavior.

Although no official announcement has been made from any regulatory body, and any claims of anti-competitive behaviour from Nvidia are entirely alleged and provided by anonymous sources, the evidence has been mounting. The original HardOCP report on the matter is the most damning, but other sites have also been doing their research and have uncovered some similar evidence of their own. They allege that Nvidia has been putting pressure on the largest board partners to offer Nvidia graphics cards exclusively in order to secure a good supply of those cards.

Considering the still-ongoing pricing and availability issues of many graphics cards, that issue is of even more importance for graphics card partner companies at the moment. If true, it would also do consumers no favors at all, as it would mean a concentration of supply in fewer hands, thereby potentially allowing for even greater pricing control by a few manufacturers and retail partners.

Even if the FTC and/or E.U. do look into this matter however, any response is unlikely to be swift. Unless Nvidia were to voluntarily take steps to change its alleged practices, any investigation in an official capacity would take quite some time to come to fruition.

Updated 04/16/2018 – added clarification of GPP requirements.

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What are smart contracts?

Stevepb/Pixabay
Stevepb/Pixabay

One of the most important elements of any transaction, be it a trade for goods or services, is trust. Both parties need to trust that the other will fulfil their end of the bargain. One classic method of ensuring that has been contracts — but legal documents require expertise and oversight to enforce them. Smart contracts have the potential to change all that.

What are smart contracts? In many ways, they’re no different from a contract you might have signed to complete a job, or buy a house. Unlike those, however, they’re digital and automated. Smart contracts write the agreement of the contract directly into lines of code, doing away with the need for a central organization to approve that either party completes their end of the agreement. A smart contract can do that with the help of a distributed network.

Although most commonly spoken about in the same breath as cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, smart contracts have the potential to take blockchain technology beyond Bitcoin and its altcoins and enable a world where trust is digitally secured.

Building on the blockchain

Although originally proposed by computer scientist Nick Szabo back in 1996 in his publication “Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Free Markets,” smart contracts only became feasible following the launch of Bitcoin in 2009. Bitcoin, created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, is built upon blockchain technology, a distributed ledger that uses a network of nodes around the world to certify transactions. It’s a core component of what makes smart contracts function.

In the same way Bitcoin leverages a network of nodes — with Bitcoin they’re known as miners — to validate Bitcoin transactions, smart contracts would  use a network of nodes to confirm whether elements of it had been completed. They don’t need any one party to oversee the contract, just as Bitcoin doesn’t need a single party to oversee transactions. The network — and the smart contact itself — provide the validation that either or both parties have completed their part of the bargain, thereby providing trust without the need for a mediator.

By distributing the validation services, smart contracts are much more transparent. They’re traceable and viewable by all parties involved — and potentially by external parties too, should there be concerns over the contract’s contents.

Bitcoin technically offers basic smart contract functionality. It’s used regularly on darknet and clearnet sites to facilitate the sale of items. Once a transaction has begun, Bitcoin is sent to an escrow account, which then urges the seller to send their product. When that product arrives, the buyer confirms its receipt and Bitcoin is automatically transferred to the seller. No middleman required.

Beyond Bitcoin

Where a Bitcoin smart contract is limited to the use of its own currency, smart contracts built on platforms like Ethereum can go much further. Ethereum offers a decentralized virtual machine that is “Turing Complete.” That is, its code base supports a broader use of instructions and can, therefore, be used for a wider variety of purposes beyond the transfer of Ethereum’s token, Ether.

Smart contracts are programmable and therefore read just like programmed applications. ‘If this happens, then do that.’

With such broad applications, smart contracts could, in theory, replace contracts in a variety of situations. It could replace direct debit systems for automated payments, for example. If there is enough money in an account and a certain date is reached, the contract would transfer a set amount of money to another account and deliver a digital service in return.

When buying a house, the main smart contract could digitally transfer the deed to a home once the required funds had entered the seller’s account, with other smart contracts performing all manner of anti-fraud checks and confirmations of their own.

Neither of those instances are different from how financial transactions take place, but where traditional methods are arbitrary, controlled, and viewable by a single party or limited number of several, smart contracts would be entirely transparent. Smart contracts make parties truly accountable for their actions by simply not executing if the contract is not abided. That makes it much harder for any one actor to cheat the system, since nobody has the level of control that banks or legal institutions have currently.

With no chance of arbitrary middleman interference, and neither party having more control than the other, smart contracts should, in theory, create greater trust between parties and streamline the entire process at the same time.

An imperfect world

As powerful as smart contracts could be, they aren’t quite ready to replace every trust system we have in place already. As described in the examples above, a complicated transaction utilizing smart contracts would likely require multiple smart contracts linked together to cover all of the potential ‘if’ situations that would crop up as part of the transaction.

There’s also the “Oracle Problem,” to consider, whereby smart contracts themselves cannot interact directly with the real world. If smart contracts are involved in transactions involving real-world actions, such as professional to client services, they need an entity (an “oracle”) to tell them that that event has taken place.

That’s a real security risk. If you rely on a single oracle for a smart contract, then you have effectively eliminated the decentralizing benefit of a smart contract entirely and created a single point of failure. A decentralized oracle network makes it hard to trust anyone within that network.

Alongside the yet-to-be-fixed Oracle Problem, there also exists the security problem faced by smart contracts. Like any programmed code, smart contracts can have vulnerabilities, and that becomes even more likely as complexity increases. Following a recent research effort into Ethereum smart contracts, one company found tens of thousands of bugged contracts that could allow for the theft of tokens with ease. There is even debate as to whether such contract exploitation is illegal, since the flaws are built into the contracts themselves.

A smarter future

Fortunately for those excited by the potential for smart contracts, there are many developers working on fixing some of their glaring problems and many others keen to try out smart contracts for all manner of purposes. It will take many years and many changes if smart contracts are to be made a viable alternative for many of the legal systems we have in place currently to make sure two transactional partners trust one another, but the potential is certainly there. As cryptocurrencies continue their mainstream adoption and help introduce wider audiences to blockchain technology and some of its derivative uses, smart contracts may follow suit.

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Virtually all banking web apps are vulnerable to hackers, study finds

Using a computer today feels a bit like walking through a minefield, at least when we are using them to access or share personal and sensitive information. That is particularly true for our financial information, where the wrong person getting access to our data could mean a whole lot of pain. According to a recent study, using our bank’s web application is one of the biggest mines that we probably don’t know about.

The news comes via security firm Positive Technologies, which looked at web application security in a recent report. The results are disturbing, to say the least, with every web application tested in 2017 having at least one vulnerability, and with 94 percent having at least one vulnerability that was characterized as “high-severity.”

According to Leigh-Anne Galloway, Positive Technologies’ cybersecurity resilience lead, “Web applications practically have a target painted on their back. A large number of unfixed, exploitable vulnerabilities is a windfall for hackers, who can use these flaws to steal sensitive information or access an internal network. Fortunately, most vulnerabilities can be discovered long before an attack ever happens. The key is to analyze application source code.”

The results were even worse when looking strictly at banking and finance web applications, which made up 46 percent of the test group. Every one of the banking and finance web applications covered in the report suffered from high-severity vulnerabilities. As the organization points out, these applications are also the most attractive to hackers and so their vulnerabilities are of particular concern.

Furthermore, the data shows that 87 percent of banking and government web applications are open to attacks against users, with cross-site scripting vulnerabilities present in 82 percent of the tested web applications. That makes them good targets for phishing attacks that can infect user PCs with malware.

Clearly, the banking industry has work to do to clean up its web applications. As always, the presence of these kinds of vulnerabilities serve as a reminder that we all need to be constantly vigilant in monitoring our financial data, because we never know which online transaction will be the one that opens us up to an attack.

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Samsung now offers a Chromebook Pro with a backlit keyboard for cave dwellers

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Samsung now offers a version of its Chromebook Pro with a backlit keyboard for the same price as the original model. To find it, just go to the company’s Computing/Chromebooks section on its website, where it lists all six Chromebooks Samsung has to offer. The only real difference between the two outside the illuminated keyboard aspect appears to be in the Bluetooth component, with the original packing Bluetooth 4.1 while the wireless keyboard version rolls back to Bluetooth 4.0 likely for cost balance reasons. 

Samsung introduced the Chromebook Pro on May 28, 2017, designed for professionals. It was one of the first to ship with Google Play right out of the box, providing owners with the cloud-based benefits of Chrome OS, but also support for locally installed Android apps. Both aspects are backed by a 12.3-inch screen and a 360-degree hinge supporting Laptop, Stand, Tent, and Tablet modes. 

Key Specs

Screen size: 12.3 inches

Resolution: 2400 x 1600

CPU:  Core m3-6Y30

Graphics: HD Graphics 515

Memory: 4GB

Storage: 32GB

Sound: 2x 1.5-watt speakers

Camera: 720p

Connectivity: Wireless AC, Bluetooth

Ports: 2x USB-C, more

Battery: 39WHr

Weight: 2.40 pounds

Color: Metallic Black

Accessory: Samsung Pen

Price: $599 

Nearly a year later, the backlit version of Samsung’s Chromebook Pro still relies on Intel’s sixth-generation Core m3-6Y30 processor released in the third quarter of 2015. That said, the dual-core chip is showing its age given we’re knee-deep in Intel’s eighth generation, sporting a base speed of 900MHz and a maximum speed of 2.20GHz. Then again, Chrome OS isn’t a highly demanding operating system like Windows 10, so you really don’t need the latest, fastest chip on the planet designed just for mobile. 

As the list shows, Samsung’s Chromebook Pro includes 4GB of LPDDR3 (aka low-power memory), 32GB of flash-based storage, and a Micro SD card slot for additional storage. You’ll need that slot given the Chromebook supports Google Play, as Android apps will quickly consume your 32GB of internal space and you’ll need extra room for your downloaded media. 

Other notable features outside the backlit keyboard include a built-in 720p webcam, two USB-C 3.1 Gen1 ports, a headphone/microphone combo jack, Wireless AC connectivity up to 867Mbps (2×2), and Bluetooth 4.0. The audio aspect is provided by a Realtek component powering two 1.5-watt speakers. All of this is backed by a 39WHr batter promising up to nine hours on a single charge. 

“Samsung Chromebook Pro’s sleek and lightweight design with the rotating display lets you switch from tablet to notebook anytime and the built-in Pen is ergonomically designed to write or draw naturally, never needing a charge,” the company says. “Featuring a high-resolution Quad HD touchscreen display, users can experience vivid pictures and immersive viewing with bright videos.” 

As stated, the Chromebook Pro ships with a pen that slides into the Chromebook’s body. With this peripheral, you can doodle, sketch, edit photos, take screenshots, magnify the screen and more right on the Chromebook Pro’s touch-capable display. 

Samsung’s Chromebook Pro variant with a backlit keyboard is available now for $599 on Samsung’s website. Also, check out our review of the original model.

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Hackers stole digital coins while a YouTube broadcaster advised about ICOs

Sponsored YouTube blogger Ian Balina, who is known for reviewing cryptocurrency initial coin offerings, fell prey to hackers during a recent live-stream, losing around $2 million in tokens. During the stream, one viewer noticed that someone drained all the tokens stored in Balina’s wallet, but the comment went unnoticed. Around 15 minutes later, Balina pulled the plug on his broadcast and didn’t resume the current review until two hours later. 

Later, Balina said he halted the broadcast because he noticed he was forced out of his Google Sheets profile. “I’m not worried about the money. I learned my lesson. I only care about catching the hacker,” he said on Twitter. 

According to Etherscan, there are 121 transactions related to Balina listed as “IanBal_Hack” followed by a single number up to four. Under the Token Transfers tab, you will find the transfer of 1 million Loom tokens, 2 million Pareto Network tokens, more than 20 million Nucleus Vision tokens, more than 75,000 Bread, and more related to IndiaHash, WaBi, Telcoin, and VIN. 

So what happened? According to Balina, the hacks stems back to his old college email address. It’s listed as a recovery email address in Gmail and was apparently hacked in the past. He received an email from the college about the hack attempt and worked with the institution’s security team to resolve the issue. But they took too long and he simply gave up on the old email address. 

“I kept text versions of my private keys stored in my Evernote, as encrypted text files with passwords,” he said. “I think they hacked my [Gmail] using my college email, and then hacked my Evernote.” 

Viewers question the validity of the hack, wondering if this “attack” was merely a scheme to avoid paying taxes. Others point out the problems of bragging about your wealth online, and that storing private keys in Evernote, in a Box account, within an email or Excel file is just a really bad idea. 

Meanwhile, Balina is coined as the “shill guy” over on Reddit, as comments suggest that he receives one to two percent of the token supply he advises to followers. This could be why he doesn’t show concern over the lost money: The stolen tokens may simply not be a personal financial investment. Many believe that he should disclose his possible earnings when promoting initial coin offerings during broadcasts. 

“Balina does very good research and has a pretty sound strategy that he shares for free,” one Reddit user defends. “I don’t care that he gets paid to advise ICOs.” 

Regardless of his background, income, and intention, Balina’s worth is down $2 million in cryptocurrency due to relying on Evernote. Based on the information he provides, he may use the same password for his old college email account, Gmail, and Evernote. He has more than 116,000 followers on YouTube, making him a prime target given the financial info he throws into his streams. 

Currently, Balina is watching his digital coins wash up on Binance, KuCoin, and other exchanges.  

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Intel leaks suggest a 40th-anniversary CPU is coming soon

It’s been nearly 40 years since Intel’s first x86 chip, the 8086, hit the market started its slow takeover of the microprocessor industry. If you’ve ever used a computer, you’ve used a processor based on the x86 architecture. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 8086 chip, rumor has it Intel is planning to roll out a special edition processor with a few tricks up its sleeve.

According to several sources, the 40th anniversary processor will be called the i7-8086K, an unlocked six-core processor with a clock speed of 4.0GHz. Wccftech reports that the chip, if its specs are to be believed, will be among the fastest six-core processors on the market.

“The Core i7-8086K has similar core configuration as the Core i7-8700K. It features six cores, 12 threads and 12 MB of L3 cache. The TDP is maintained at 95 watts which is the same as the Core i7-8700K. The clock speeds are currently the fastest for an Intel 6 core processor,” Wccftech reports.

The processor features a base clock of 4.0GHz with turbo boost speeds up to 5.1GHz. Apparently that’s only using a single core, however. The multi-core boost performance tops out at 4.4GHz without any overclocking.

The performance cited comes from Chinese-language sources which claim to have acquired a sample of the i7-8086K processor, so take the news with a grain of salt. That said, it wouldn’t be the first time Intel has rolled out an anniversary edition of one of its flagship processors — and it wouldn’t be the first time said processor was something a little special.

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Pentium line, Intel released the Pentium G3258 processor which featured surprisingly robust overclock capabilities as an homage to notoriously overlock-friendly Pentium Celeron chips.

So this is all something Intel has done before. The leaks also suggest fortuitous timing for the proposed i7-8086K. Computex lands on June 8, which would be very close to the actual 40th anniversary of the original x86 processor. Whether or not we’ll see this anniversary edition, or if it’s just an elaborate hoax, remains to be seen, but these leaks definitely make a strong case that Intel could have something special planned.

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The PlayTable blockchain console brings digital board games back to the tabletop

Digital and physical board games both have their advantages. Where one has easy set up and clean up, the other has a physicality that’s impossible to replicate on a screen. Combing the best – and ditching the worst – of each has long been a dream for gamers and toymakers. Now, PlayTable wants to make that dream a reality.

It’s an Android-powered, tabletop gaming tablet that leverages blockchain technology and RFID tags, to put real world toys into digital worlds in a manner that goes well beyond Nintendo’s Amiibo and Disney Infinity.

Developed by Blok.Party, PlayTable features a 24-inch 1080p display with multi-touch capabilities and no internal battery. As a touch-screen gaming device it is underpowered compared to the best tablets and 2-in-1s out there, but where it stands apart is in its close ties with the Ethereum blockchain, which cribs the concept of toy-based interaction from the likes of Skylanders or Amiibo, and makes the next logical leap.

Real figures, digital toys

“Where toys to life 1.0, as I like to call them, went wrong, is that […] these toys, really became just that: toys,” Jimmy Chen, CEO of Blok.Party told Digital Trends. “They weren’t actually figures that you end up playing with. What we’re doing is actually taking these figures and allowing you to play with them – that’s a critical part of the experience.”

As well as using figures to store character progression and customization, like Amiibo and Skylander figures do, toys placed on a PlayTable act as the pieces in the game you’re playing. In the case of the tactical card battler Battlegrid, which we were shown in a demo, a dragon toy was placed on the screen and physically moved on its turn. The PlayTable tracked its movement, highlighting potential move locations on the digital battlefield and displaying effects for attacks, which were triggered by placing RFID-tag-equipped cards on the screen itself.

Where this ‘toys to life 2.0’ system really shines is through its link with the Ethereum blockchain. Every single toy’s RFID tag will have its own entry, so the data can be read and interpreted by the PlayTable instantaneously, anywhere in the world with an internet connection, without relying on a single, centralized server.

The real strength of the blockchain is that it doesn’t constrain the toys to one digital or physical medium. “Figures don’t just exist within the confines of one game, they can be used in multiple games, on multiple devices, and even have multiple owners,” Chen explained.

This is at the core of the PlayTable experience. Children will be able to take their favorite toy, put an RFID tag on it, and then use it as a character in the digital board games they play. They can do that on their own PlayTable, or at a friends’ house. Adult gamers can trade toys, changing ownership either by physically handing over the toy, or digitally over the blockchain.

“Figures don’t just exist within the confines of one game, they can be used in multiple games, on multiple devices, and even have multiple owners.”

This also makes it easier for companies that sell games, or “structured experiences,” as Chen puts it, to maintain some measure of control over their content.

“The moment you put a tracker on a figure, it can now forever be tied to the original owner, which factory it came from. We know it’s owned by a particular IP owner and they can open and close different “switches” that allow for these different intentions for those who own the physical piece,” Chen explained. “This ownership is interesting because now when we think of software in general, it’s always this thing where people are coming in and [effectively] renting software from the IP owner. With blockchain there’s almost a dual ownership system. It’s ownership, it’s customization, with unique possibilities that you can’t otherwise have.”

Early partners include classic board games like Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride, but the potential is there for many hundreds of other smaller board games to work well on such a platform. If the digital components can fit on the screen, then the game can be played.

Don’t just play the game, create the game

Chen and Blok.Party don’t want to stop at digital games, however. They want to explore the creativity of such a platform. They want to see universes collide as gamers create their own experiences and shared game worlds.

“When [children] play in the real world, they don’t care that Elsa and Darth Vader come from two different worlds,” Chen explained. “To them they all exist in the same physical world. This kind of play pattern is what we want to encourage with PlayTable. You can 3D print your own characters – maybe it’s a 3D printed version of yourself in costume – take the existing characters in your toybox, and do interesting things with them […] You can battle with your characters with different stats and different abilities.”

Still, PlayTable could be facing uphill battle convincing the public to pay for yet another gaming system which, at $350 for the pre-ordered base version with just 16GB of storage, is more expensive than the exceedingly popular Nintendo Switch. That could be an even harder sell at its intended $600 launch price, especially considering how  so many other alternative consoles have struggled at much lower prices.

“The PlayTable could be facing uphill battle convincing the public to pay for yet another gaming system.”

Blok.Party is hoping that the PlayTable’s extensive feature set will help set it apart from more typical consoles, though. It’s splash proof, and uses strengthened glass to make it resistant to torture from young children – a big advantage over many other gaming systems with touch-screens. It supports 1-8 players locally, and as many as you want over online multiplayer with other PlayTables.

The PlayTable will live or die on its support from gamers and game makers. With a custom, Android operating system known as PlayTable OS, the ease with which existing digital games can be ported to it could be a major factor in how expansive the game library becomes. If your group’s favorite game is playable, that’s going to be quite attractive to frequent board gamers. However, if the process of bringing games to it is complicated or slow, we could be faced with the chicken and egg problem that has plagued new gaming platforms throughout the industry’s history.

PlayTable has a lot to prove when it launches later this year.

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What kind of mouse do you use most on a daily basis?

Most shoppers choose a computer based on the processing speeds, storage capacity, and features like a touchscreen, good keyboard, or inking capabilities. However, just as important as choosing a keyboard with the right key travel, having a proper mouse can make your computing experience more pleasurable — a poorly designed touchpad on a laptop or a finicky desktop mouse can wreak havoc on ergonomics, inducing wrist-related injuries over prolonged use.

On the laptop side, manufacturers like Apple builds its MacBooks with larger touchpads to make navigating the operating system easier and perform gestures. With Windows, even though touchscreens help reduce the reliance on touchpads , the cursor remains a vital component to that experience, so having a good mouse on call, whether you’re using a desktop or a laptop, is important.

So how do you like to click with your computer? Whether you’re a serious gamer, a data cruncher relying on a mobile workstation, or a casual desktop user, an external mouse provides lots of benefits — more precise tracking, vibration feedback, and some even come with wireless charging — not the least of which is improved ergonomics.

How do you “click” with your computer? Whether it’s for work or for play, which kind of mouse do you use most on a daily basis?

(Please RT for a greater sample size)

— Digital Trends (@DigitalTrends) April 16, 2018

According to the results of our poll so far, it looks like a lot of people enjoy the convenience of a wireless mouse most. It’s followed up closely by non-mouse users who rely solely on their laptop’s touchpad to interact with their computer, as well as traditional wired mouse users. As mouse technology continues to improve with more precision tracking, you have a lot of different options in both wireless and wired mice.

In last place was gaming mice, which isn’t too shocking. While they’re the most technologically advanced input devices, they’re often gaudy and inappropriate for the office or coffee shop setting. But if you’re a gamer, you’ll no doubt enjoy the programmable buttons and more precise input. A few even offer programmable lighting and vibration feedback.

There’s a few other niche tracking methods we’ve left out, such as the trackball. You might think not, but the trackball is still very much alive and well, thanks to Logitech’s MX Ergo. In terms of other unorthodox pointing methods, you can also still buy business class laptops from Lenovo with the legendary red ThinkPad trackpoint.

Regardless of whatever solution “clicks” with you, just remember that it should do what you need — which is to track your cursor accurately — and to provide you with comfort to minimize wrist injury.

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New benchmarks show increased MacBook Pro performance using external graphics

Now that MacOS 10.13.4 is available supporting external graphics cards on compatible Mac devices, is the additional cost of an enclosure and add-in card worth the investment? That could be a yes for graphics-heavy applications, but there are limitations; the feature only supports AMD’s graphics cards and the Mac device must have an integrated Thunderbolt 3 port. There is also no external GPU support in Boot Camp and currently no “official” external GPU support for the Mac’s built-in screen. 

Recent benchmarks using a 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro with a Core i7-6820HQ processor and a discrete AMD Radeon Pro 460 graphics chip showed a significant performance increase when using the Radeon RX 580 add-in graphics card in an external enclosure. For instance, in the OpenGL test in Cinebench R15, the Pro 460 chip managed 56 frames per second while the external RX 580 clocked in at 86 frames per second. 

On the gaming front, World of Warcraft using Apple’s Metal graphics API, a 1080p resolution, and high detail settings saw an average of 71 frames per second on the internal graphics chip, and 141 frames per second on the external graphics chip. Meanwhile, in Civilization VI, the internal GPU scored an average of 66 frames per second while the external GPU hit an average of 73 frames per second using the OpenGL graphics API, a 1080p resolution, and High detail settings. 

Here are a few other benchmarks: 

GFXBench 4 Metal: Offscreen (1080p) 

• T-Rex: 354 (internal) – 835 (external)
• Manhattan: 159 (internal) – 425 (external)
• Manhattan 3.1: 130 (internal) – 349 (external)

GFXBench 4 GL: Offscreen 

• T-Rex: 249 (internal) – 435 (external)
• Manhattan: 101 (internal) – 173 (external) 

Other notable mentions about the recent MacBook Pro benchmarking is that Hitman‘s built-in testing tool worked just fine when benchmarking the laptop’s internal graphics chip but caused a hard crash of the system when attempting to test the external GPU. After that, the game wouldn’t load at all, requiring additional troubleshooting. Meanwhile, Final Cut Pro doesn’t support external graphics, an Apple-developed application that could certainly benefit from the higher-powered solution. 

“eGPU support in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 is designed to accelerate Metal, OpenGL, and OpenCL applications that benefit from a powerful eGPU,” Apple clearly states. “However, not all applications support eGPU acceleration. Check with the application’s developer to learn more.” 

Apple’s external graphics card support includes the following:

• Radeon RX 470 and RX 480 (Sapphire Pulse Series recommended)
• Radeon RX 570 and RX 580 (Sapphire Pulse Series recommended)
• Radeon Pro WX 7100
• Radeon RX Vega 56 and RX Vega 64 (Sapphire and XFX recommended)
• Radeon Pro WX 9100 

Support for external graphics cards stuffed into enclosures is nothing new for Windows 10 gaming laptops from the likes of Asus and Alienware, but the feature is somewhat of a late arrival on MacOS laptops. Right now, Apple’s external GPU support is fresh out of the oven and obviously needs more time to fully cook and become less of the “hit-and-miss” feature now served up in MacOS 10.13.4. 

As previously stated, the external GPU only supports external displays; it won’t power the Mac’s built-in display. This limitation is supposedly software-only that will likely be addressed on an application-by-application basis by third-party developers in the near future. 

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TaskRabbit app goes down as it investigates ‘cybersecurity incident’

TaskRabbit was taken offline on Monday while the company investigates what it described as “a cybersecurity incident.”

The online marketplace, which matches people who have stuff that needs doing with skilled folks that can get the job done, went down at around 7 p.m. ET as its team began looking into what’s happened.

A tweet posted by the San Francisco company offered few details about the incident, though it did urge users of its service to change their password for other sites if it’s the same as the one they use for their TaskRabbit account.

“We understand how important your personal information is and are working with an outside cybersecurity firm and law enforcement to determine the specifics,” TaskRabbit said in the tweet, adding, “As an immediate precaution, if you used the same password on other sites or apps as you did for TaskRabbit, we recommend you change those now.”

We’re investigating a cybersecurity incident, and our app and site are down while the team works on this. Thank you for your patience while we look into this matter. pic.twitter.com/d61J1c3eh1

— TaskRabbit (@TaskRabbit) April 16, 2018

A company spokesperson told Digital Trends that it has already notified “Taskers and clients with active tasks” of the incident, and promised to compensate any Tasker who had a task scheduled on Monday and as a result of the disruption has been unable to complete it.

It’s not clear what, if any, personal data has been compromised, or how many people have been affected by the apparent cyberattack.

Once the initial investigation is complete, we expect TaskRabbit to offer a more comprehensive update and we’ll be sure to include the details here as and when the information comes in. In the meantime, you can check out a list of FAQs posted by TaskRabbit on its homepage on Monday evening that provide some basic information about the incident.

TaskRabbit was founded in 2008 and is believed to have more than a million users across 40 U.S. cities, as well as London in the U.K.

IKEA acquired the business in September 2017. Jesper Brodin, president and CEO of IKEA Group, said at the time that his company would be able to “learn from TaskRabbit’s digital expertise, while also providing IKEA customers additional ways to access flexible and affordable service solutions to meet the needs of today’s customer.”

The two companies recently partnered on a new speedy service that offers customers help with IKEA furniture assembly.

The apparent cyberattack is the latest in a growing list of security breaches suffered by online companies big and small.

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