Technology: What Geeks are talking about from ZDNet

Here is the latest Tech News from ZDNet.

NZ telco revenue falls by NZ$60m over 2015
The ComCom has attributed rises in data usage and falls in online piracy to the launch of video-streaming services during 2015.

Woolworths upgrades HR system to the cloud with SAP
Woolworths partnered with SAP SuccessFactors to replace its 20-year-old payroll system with a new end-to-end human capital management system.

Telstra Health wins government cancer-screening database contract
Telstra will construct and run the new cervical and bowel cancer-screening database, with records to be available online for patients and doctors.

India aims to become global hub for manufacturing smartphones
More than two dozen firms set up smartphone assembling units as part of the ‘Make in India’ program.

PayPal to shutter BlackBerry, Amazon Fire, and Windows Phone apps
PayPal has announced that it will no longer update its application on BlackBerry, Amazon Fire, and Windows Phone devices as of June 30, 2016.

Big data is a big miss when it comes to IoT: SAS
According to SAS, there is a misconception when it comes to the Internet of Things that the more data an organisation has the better, which often results in a surplus of unusable information.

US government is spending billions on old tech that barely works, says watchdog
Three-quarters of the government’s IT budget goes to supporting legacy systems, some of which date back to the 1970s.

After LinkedIn heist, here’s how Microsoft is tightening password security
LinkedIn’s latest list of leaked credentials is helping Microsoft refine its list of banned passwords as it also issues new best-practice guidelines.

Scary and fascinating: The future of big data
A leading expert on big data explains how the technology will transform work.

$1.2bn Opera takeover gets go ahead from shareholders
The Chinese consortium has secured enough support for its Opera offer to proceed with its $1.2bn takeover of the Norwegian browser maker.

Google Alphabet boss Schmidt: Yeah, I have an iPhone 6S – but Galaxy S7 is better
Who uses an iPhone? Alphabet boss Eric Schmidt and just about every other person at the tech startup conference in Amsterdam where he was speaking.

Telstra: Multi-cloud security is ‘critical’ for our strategy
A new strategic partnership with a hybrid cloud security company is ‘fundamental’ to Telstra’s overarching cloud plans.

WA agencies missing out on millions from lack of online services
An audit by the Western Australian auditor general has shown that the state’s agencies lag behind other Australian jurisdictions in delivering common services online.

Autohome shareholders file petition on Telstra’s AU$2.1b sale attempt
Telstra’s attempts to sell its shares in Autohome have hit a snag, with the telco now planning to contest a petition filed by minority shareholders.

Apple Pay now available for MasterCard users in Singapore
MasterCard customers in Singapore will be able to use Apple Pay to make contactless payments in stores equipped with contactless readers using the latest Apple Watch or iPhone.

Google Paris HQ raided in tax inquiry
French investigators raided the Google Paris headquarters as part of tax evasion investigations that started in June last year.

85 percent of voters support the NBN
Likely Labor voters both support and oppose the project in the higher numbers, while proportionally, Liberal voters give the NBN the highest level of support.

Australia set for small business mobile tech investment surge
Changes to small business tax breaks could lead to a new wave of investment in mobile technology, but not before the federal election is done and dusted.

Huawei sues Samsung for mobile patent infringement
The Chinese firm is urging Samsung to obtain licensing agreements and “work together with Huawei to jointly drive the industry forward.”

PGP co-founder rejoins Apple to bring better encryption to the masses
This will be Jon Callas’ third stint at the technology giant.

Cray’s Urika-GX aims at big data analytics
The Urika-GX aims to fuse supercomputer power with an open, enterprise format.

More hacking and undercover work: Police chiefs answer to strong encryption row
International police and cybersecurity agencies tackle the row over strong encryption — but their answer is likely to cause almost as many headaches as government-ordered backdoors.

Google wants to kill off passwords for logging into your Android smartphone
Google’s ‘Project Abacus’ wants to replace passwords and pins with biometric logins — and banks will do the initial testing soon.

FBI wants to keep secret who’s stored in its massive biometric database
The FBI said it would retain the data to “aid in establishing patterns of activity” to help discover new criminals when they arise.

Pizza Hut Asia to trial SoftBank’s Pepper for MasterCard payments
Pizza Hut Asia will pilot a commerce-based application of Softbank’s Pepper that will see the robot take customer’s orders and process MasterCard payments.

Basslink loses 20 days to bad weather in repairing subsea cable
The subsea cable bringing high-speed communications and energy to Tasmanians will not be repaired until late June thanks to poor weather conditions.

Queensland Premier to probe health payroll
A month after burying its AU$1.2 billion payroll bungle with IBM, the Queensland government is now looking into another debacle concerning payment errors for nursing staff at Queensland health.

NT allocates AU$185.9m for healthcare IT overhaul
The Northern Territory government has handed down its 2016-17 budget, and set to spend AU$185.9 million on IT modernisation of its healthcare sector.

Fifield dismisses Copyright Act amendment recommendation
The government has not considered and does not intend to propose shortening the length of copyright protection as recommended by the Productivity Commission.

Turnbull pledges AU$60m for mobile blackspots round 3
The mobile blackspot program will have a third round under a Coalition government, with AU$60m being provided to address another 900 blackspots.

ASX-listed Digital X partners with Telefonica for money transfer in Latin America
Former bitcoin miner Digital X has signed a deal with telco giant Telefonica to market its cross-currency cash remittance platform in Latin America.

Telstra customers forced to reset modems after NBN, ADSL outage
Some customers are being told to reset their modems in order to access NBN and ADSL services after Telstra’s Friday outage.

Tencent in talks with SoftBank to buy Supercell: Report
Chinese tech giant Tencent is in talks with Japanese counterpart SoftBank to buy the latter’s majority stake in Supercell, known for making global hit game Clash of Clans, according to a report.

Indian startups adopting slower strategy to sustain business models
Promoters are aware that speed may thrill, but it may also kill their ventures.

SWIFT to unveil new security plan in the wake of Bangladesh heist
SWIFT says it plans to launch a new security program as it fights to rebuild its reputation in the wake of the $81 million Bangladesh Bank cyber heist.

Service fees keep TechnologyOne profitable
Australian-listed TechnologyOne has reported a 17 percent year-on-year drop in profit to AU$7.4 million, with cloud service fees and annual licence fees keeping the company in positive territory.

Optus picks former BlackBerry AU MD as new head of SMB
As part of its continuing focus on the SMB segment, Optus has picked former BlackBerry Australia MD Matt Ball as its head.

SK Telecom to launch 500Mbps LTE-A Pro on June 1, 1Gbps by 2019
Korean dominant telco, SK Telecom, will launch a 500Mbps LTE-A service next month thanks to the use of five band carrier aggregation.

Windows 10 problem? Now everyone can gripe to Microsoft via Feedback Hub
All 300 million Windows 10 users can now use Microsoft’s Feedback Hub app to help shape the future of Windows.

This sneaky botnet shows why you really, really shouldn’t use the same password for everything
Hacker controlled botnets take their time to test which stolen credentials can give them access to multiple accounts to steal financial and personal data.

Android tricorder? Google’s new app uses your smartphone’s sensors to collect, chart science data
Google’s new Science Journal app enables you to measure light, motion, and sound, as well as data collected on external devices.

Money makers, not money pits: Five ways the role of CIO is changing for the better
Tech chiefs are happier and more ambitious — and spending less time managing tech.

Windows 10 plus Raspberry Pi: Now they work together for wireless 3D printing
Microsoft’s new app lets you send jobs via Raspberry Pi to your 3D printer over Wi-Fi, even if the printer doesn’t support wireless.