Personal Tech: What Geeks are talking about from ZDNet

Here is the latest Tech Blog from ZDNet.

StarHub sets up cybersecurity monitoring facility
New centre is part of a S$200 million joint initiative with industry players to drive Singapore’s cybersecurity ecosystem, with services to be commercially available in second-half 2016.

Silk Road dark web marketplace just does not want to die
The darknet market still clings to life by a the thread.

LinkedIn user? Your data may be up for sale
You need to change your password now.

Getting snappy with Android: Can it replace Windows Phone as my pocket camera?
After several years with Windows Phone, I’m trying out two Android options instead.

Singapore bank releases APIs for app development
OCBC Bank launches a developer portal, offering an open API (application programming interface) platform that it hopes will boost the development of apps linked to its services.

Ping pong and robotics: A match made in heaven
A lot of tech startups have ping pong tables. This was bound to happen.

ARM snaps up IoT, imaging specialist Apical in $350m deal
Apical’s imaging and intelligent IoT technology could prove to be a boon as ARM’s traditional revenue streams dry up.

How to empty your bank’s vault with a few clicks and lines of code
It can’t be that easy to steal $25 billion, surely.

Enterprises ready for longer-term commitments with cloud providers
Microsoft and 451 Research survey finds executives ready to sign on the dotted line for more cloud services — but are looking to multiple providers.

Indus’ Android-based OS races to become second most popular in India
How this homegrown outfit has done so could offer some vital lessons to global giants like Samsung or Apple.

Safra Catz frames Oracle v. Google fight in biblical terms
“Thou shall not steal,” the Oracle CEO recalled telling Google’s chief lawyer regarding the internet company’s use of Java APIs.

Gary Bloom Interview: Big Data driving sales boom at MarkLogic
The former senior exec at Oracle says MarkLogic has the only enterprise-ready NoSQL database on the market…

Sony turns to AI for new revenue streams, invests in Cogitai
The electronics giant is giving an undisclosed sum to a company that aims to develop continual learning AI.

IBM’s phase-change memory breakthrough brings DRAM speed at lower costs
Researchers for IBM have achieved 3-bit PCM storage, combining the speed and endurance of DRAM with the low-cost density of flash.

IBM bolsters Commerce platform with more cognitive muscle
IBM is embedding some of Watson’s cognitive expertise into the IBM Commerce bundle of services.

Apple’s latest iOS update is bricking the iPad Pro
Apple’s latest iOS 9.3.2 update doesn’t appear to be playing nicely with the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

Target creates role of chief digital officer
Jason Goldberger, currently president of Target.com and Mobile, is being promoted to the C-suite as the retail giant’s digital sales continue to grow.

New OneDrive app arrives for Windows 10 desktop, but some features still missing
The new app, now free from the Windows Store, offers most of the features currently available in a web browser. But OneDrive users expecting the long-awaited replacement of the “placeholders” feature will be disappointed.

#DisrupTV: Cintrifuse, Charity Water, and the week’s hot stories
We discuss startup-driven economic development with Cintrifuse CEO Wendy Lea; Charity Water CEO Scott Harrison explains how transparency and tech revived enthusiasm for philanthropy; and ZDNet’s Larry Dignan discusses Apple, Google I/O, and Sapphire.

Apple’s iPhone 7 leads to buying pause, says analyst
Consumers have pulled back on buying the iPhone as they wait for Apple’s iPhone 7 launch in the fall. What’s unclear is how the replacement cycle will play out in the future.

Dell partners with SAP on new datacenter architectures for cloud, IoT deployments
Dell is rolling out Dell Automation and Cloud for SAP Software, a datacenter architecture that lets users deploy virtualized SAP applications on a VMware-based cloud platform.

SAP’s Sapphire Now challenge: Selling empathy over economics
If you’re not feeling the love from SAP you can drop an email to CEO Bill McDermott. Run Simple now includes a dose of empathy. Will that matter as SAP transitions to the cloud and competes with rivals?

NetSuite aims for more wallet share with unified billing, enabling business model shifts
Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite, outlined plans to enable small companies to act large and large enterprises to act small. The goal: Enable digital business model shifts.

Here’s how Amazon could bring smartphone enthusiasm back with Alexa
With consumer enthusiasm for smartphones waning, it’s time to bring it back with technology by Amazon.

Microsoft comes through with rollup of updates and fixes for Windows 7
MIcrosoft’s Windows 7 SP1 convenience rollup isn’t Service Pack 2 for Windows 7, but it might be the next best thing.

Hands-on: Cricket Microsoft Lumia 650 is a compelling choice at only $130
Cricket is a prepaid service provider operating on the AT&T network and for $130 it’s tough not to consider the functional Microsoft Lumia 650.

Disk drive reliability: What we’ve learned from a billion hours
Disk drives may be down, but they’re not out – we’ll be using them for decades to come. The good folks at online backup service Backblaze have accumulated over 1,000,000,000 hours of drive reliability stats in the last three years. Here’s what they’ve learned.

An eight-year-old virus is still infecting thousands of PCs
The malware accounted for more than one-in-six recognized attacks in April.

SAP puts HANA in Microsoft Azure in latest distribution play
The companies are certifying SAP’s HANA in-memory database to run development, test and production workloads on Microsoft’s Azure public cloud, including SAP S/4HANA.

HP makes its enterprise 3D printer splash, available for preorder starting at $133,000
The 3D printing system, dubbed the HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solution, targets additive manufacturing and the enterprise. The catch: The competition isn’t standing still and HP’s initial system will be available later in 2016 with a followup in 2017.

Researchers launch another salvo at CryptXXX ransomware
Mistakes made by ransomware authors are often short-lived, but Kaspersky isn’t giving up.

AT&T snaps up Quickplay in TV streaming push
The buyout will boost AT&T’s streaming infrastructure for delivering content to multiple devices.

Many sites downed after “sophisticated” web attack
A senior company executive said the attack was “one of the largest and most sophisticated,” affecting millions across the US, Europe, and Asia.

SMBs employ dirty tactics to stay ahead of the competition
Just how widespread is the use of underhanded SEO tactics to wipe rival businesses off the digital earth?

Google’s virtual reality push at I/O sets up future Facebook duel
The only certainty is virtual reality is that the primary head-to-head developer matchup will pit Google against Facebook along with Microsoft.

International click-fraud bot strikes close to a million victims worldwide
The risks are high to unwitting victims with PCs tampered by the botnet.

This ring turns your skin into a touchpad
Humans may already be wearing the ultimate UI.

Tech support scammers take tips from ransomware to make you pay up
They’re getting serious by locking your system before demanding a fee.

How to jump out of the TSA security theater line
You don’t have to spend your business trip or summer vacation stuck in an airport security line.

If you make money from Uber or Airbnb, what about paying tax? Italy thinks it has the answer
The sharing economy, where individuals share access to goods and services through apps, is beset with regulatory and fiscal problems, which a new bill in Italy aims to address.

LG G5: A modular flagship with a funny bottom
LG has made a handset that expects to sell you on the potential of the device, something makers rarely deliver on.

Oracle CEO Safra Catz: Oracle didn’t buy Sun to sue Google
Sun’s Java technology was crucial to Oracle’s business, the CEO said on Day 6 of the Oracle v. Google trial.

Microsoft releases new Windows Phone ‘Redstone’ preview build 14342
Microsoft’s newest Windows Mobile 10 Insider test build, Build 14342, like its PC counterpart, removes a Wi-Fi Sense feature and adds several new features.

Mobileye: China’s new driver-assistance rules will boost sales “exponentially”
After securing a strong foothold in the European and American markets, the firm’s collision-avoidance technology finally makes inroads in China.

No, Warren Buffett didn’t buy Apple shares, or bid for Yahoo…
Warren Buffett – who is famously averse to technology stocks – is being reported as doing things he hasn’t actually done. Currently these include buying $1bn of Apple shares and bidding for Yahoo.

Walmart Pay rolled out across 600 stores in Texas and Arkansas
The app allows the retail giant to compete with other mobile payment services like Samsung Pay, but it also gives the chain an edge against brick-and-mortar competitors.

Tech essentials for the busy sysadmin
Tools, gadgets and consumables to help make the life of a busy sysadmin just a little easier.