Public Cloud is a massive business for tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is currently the clear leader, with 62 percent share, followed by Microsoft Azure, on 20 percent, and Google on just 12 percent.

However, Google has scored an important win over Microsoft, replacing its rival as the cloud infrastructure service Apple relies on for its own iCloud services.

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The head of the EU's financial services has said that the union is ready to regulate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin if a global effort is not made to tackle their risks.

Valdis Dombrovskis said that worldwide measures were needed if European regulation was to be avoided. There has long been concern not just about the wildly fluctuating value of cryptocurrencies, but also the potential for them to be used in crime.

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Software updates offer a quick and easy way to bolt new features and options onto apps and operating systems -- or at least in theory. If you like the idea of streaming HD Netflix content on your OnePlus 5 or 5T, you'll probably be pleased to hear that there's an update available that brings this very feature to your phone.

This is clearly great news. What's not so great, however, is the extraordinary fact that in order to get this feature you will need to physically send off your phone so OnePlus can perform the update for you.

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File sharing and sync platform FileCloud is launching a new edition aimed at IT administration, management and compliance across enterprise-level systems with over 1000 users.

FileCloud Enterprise Edition is cloud agnostic, so it allows businesses to keep their data on any infrastructure of their choice including public, private and hybrid clouds while giving them full control.

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Buy a lightweight entry-level laptop for the road and it’s likely to ship with a small drive. A 128GB SSD is often the norm and you’ll soon find yourself battling the system for storage space.

Using the cloud is one option, keeping files away from your computer and downloading on demand. Realistically though, how much space would these use and you’ll require a solid internet connection just to be able to access the data. Not always ideal away from the office.

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There are lots of announcements coming out of MWC 2018 at the moment, all vying for attention and competing to take money from eager customers. To stand out from the crowd a little, Sony has just revealed its new Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact smartphones, both of which feature HDR Full HD+ 18:9 displays.

The Sony Xperia XZ2 is the first smartphone to offer 4K HDR recording, and it also boasts a full HD 960FPS super slow-motion mode. There's a revamped, curvier design for both phones, which Sony is calling Ambient Flow, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 is on hand to keep things scratch-free.

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It’s time to wrap up all these 2018 predictions, so here are my final three in which Apple finds a new groove, IBM prepares for a leadership change, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg gives up a dream.

Apple has long needed a new franchise. It’s been almost eight years since the iPad (Apple’s last new business) was introduced. Thanks to Donald Trump’s tax plan, Cupertino can probably stretch its stock market winning streak for another 2-3 years with cash repatriation, share buy-backs, dividend increases and cost reductions, but the company really needs another new $20+ billion business and it will take every one of those years to get a new one up to scale.

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The days when smartphone announcements were exciting are long gone. While there used to be new features about which to get excited, the market has transitioned to an evolutionary one. Once a year, we are treated to better processors, cameras, and other specifications. I hate to say this, but it is much like the PC market and its ho-hum yearly reveals. A new Intel Core generation? Yawn! When you upgrade your smartphone these days, you really aren't getting a new experience.

While that all sounds depressing, it is arguably a good thing. Look, smartphones are great, and maybe now consumers can be satisfied with what they already have rather than constantly looking to upgrade. As an example, today, Samsung announces its latest and greatest Android flagships -- the Galaxy S9 and S9+. They look great, but that is probably because aesthetically, they are almost identical to their predecessors. In fact, no one with an S8 or S8+ should even bother considering an upgrade.

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Ahead of Galaxy Unpacked 2018 we already know everything we could possibly want -- or need -- to know about the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+. A few details and specs have trickled out in recent weeks, but now the company has accidentally (maybe) published the launch video online.

The new Galaxy handsets have the tagline "The Phone. Reimagined", and the video shows off the waterproof capabilities of the phone as well as the new DeX Pad. There's also an automatic translation feature, a repositioned fingerprint sensor and AR features. And thanks to an article that was published a little early by the HuffPo, we know even more about the phones.

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There are only days until Apple begins storing the data of Chinese iCloud users within China, and concern is mounting about the human rights and privacy implications.

A new data center is due to open in China at the end of this month as Apple moves to comply with Chinese authorities. It means that iCloud data such as text messages, photos and emails will be stored in China -- as will the cryptographic keys required to access the data. These keys had previously been stored in the US.

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Nowadays, many manufacturers seem to think all speakers should contain a virtual assistant. Yeah, having Siri, Cortana, Google, or Alexa can be convenient, but not everyone wants one of them integrated into their speakers. From a privacy perspective, these always-listening assistants can be a nightmare. Not to mention, these virtual "beings" can complicate something that should be very straightforward and relaxing -- listening to music. The largely panned (non-portable) $350 HomePod, for instance, doesn't currently support Bluetooth and only works with Apple Music.

That's one of the reasons I was intrigued by the JBL Boombox -- no gosh darn integrated assistant or lock-in. As the name implies, it is a throwback to boomboxes of yesteryear, but it is on a much higher level. Rather than play cassettes, CD, or FM radio, it connects with Bluetooth so you can play tunes from your smartphone, tablet, or other device. Because it has a handle, you can walk down the street while blasting your favorite music or just easily transport it between locations. Be warned -- it is quite heavy.

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Alex Jones' conspiracy-theory-heavy InfoWars has been censured by YouTube for violating its policies. A video entitled "David Hogg Can't Remember His Lines In TV Interview" -- in which it was alleged that students appearing on TV talking about the Parkland, Florida shooting were "crisis actors" -- was removed from the Alex Jones Channel for breaching YouTube's rules about harassment.

Unsurprisingly, InfoWars is describing YouTube's actions as censorship, but there's a more pressing concern for The Alex Jones Channel and other InfoWars channels -- they run the risk of being closed down entirely.

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We live in the Internet of Everything -- a world of convenience where connected devices can control our homes, our cars, medical devices and so much more. With Gartner projecting 21 billion devices connecting to the internet by 2020, the attack surface is unimaginably large, and the internet of things (IoT) is essentially a playground for cyber criminals. As we’ve seen time and again, hackers will exploit new and unknown vulnerabilities, and even discover old vulnerabilities hidden in IoT devices. At some point, their successful exploitations will result in a major catastrophe.

Our quality of life today has become absolutely dependent on the resilience of IoT. However, we continue to find vulnerabilities in smart home IoT devices, medical devices, connected cars, printers and more. We simply cannot keep up with the expanding attack surface, which makes it impossible to identify, monitor and manage the entire breadth of these devices. At the same time, we’re also facing a major skills shortage and talent gap in cybersecurity. By 2021, there will be over 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs, according to a recent Cybersecurity Ventures report.

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Ask anyone why they want something new and you’ll usually get the same answer: new is the latest and greatest, new has advanced features, new is cooler than old. This state-of-mind is reinforced by social pressure and technical prejudice. "What, no face recognition? That’s so iPhone 8." This aspect of human nature isn’t new. Fashion has driven buying decisions for thousands of years.

What has changed is the sophistication by which motivated parties exploit this tendency to crave the latest and greatest. The mainframe offers the perfect example.

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In a hyperconnected world, the demand for connectivity is accelerating. That will continue in 2018 and the years to come, both in the business and consumer arenas. People want access to the technology that helps them stay connected whether at the office or on the road. Users have an increasing need and expectation for their technology to be easy to use and align with real world experiences that require instant access to high-resolution graphics and faster data backup.

Business professionals working in fields such as engineering, multimedia, finance and healthcare need the ability to access an enormous amount of data, as well as high-resolution, graphically intensive images on the fly. These requirements will be met by emerging connectivity solutions in 2018.

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