The Nokia smartphone brand is officially dead. After a year of keeping the Nokia branding on its newly acquired mobile phone unit, Microsoft has unveiled the first  model—the Lumia 535—that ditches Nokia’s logo and stands on its own as a product from the Redmond, Wash., software giant. But aside from this branding milestone, it’s rather odd that the Lumia 535 is getting so much attention, given its specifications. The device is designed for budget-conscious shoppers who are seeking entry- to mid-level smartphones. Usually a device of this class wouldn’t get…

Microsoft has sent out an email to Windows Phone developers, informing them that after December 31st, Windows Phone 7.x devices will no longer be able to unlock for app testing purposes. This move is intended to convince app developers who are still coding Windows Phone 7.x apps (for some odd reason) to update their apps to the latest operating system (Windows Phone 8.1). For those of you who are not familiar, developers are able to unlock their device for app testing. This allows app developers to hit a button in Visual Studio while…

University researchers hail advances in light technologies that could lead to creation of all-optical systems University researchers have uncovered a way to manipulate glass that could help radically speed up computer data transfer and processing times by drawing on the power of light. The material could potentially allow computers to transfer information using light and, in turn, speed up system processing speeds, researchers from the University of Surrey, University of Cambridge and the University of Southampton have announced. Using a process called ion doping, the researchers were able to alter…

The spectrum, in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands, is mostly in the hands of the Ministry of Defence right now, but will be up for grabs in late 2015 or early 2016. British mobile carriers and their customers should get more capacity in the coming years – the country’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has launched a consultation (PDF) on the auction of valuable radio spectrum that’s already being used for mobile broadband in countries such as India, China and Australia. All going well, the spectrum will go up for auction in late 2015…

New research shows that “123456” is a good password after all. In fact, such useless credentials from a security standpoint have an important role in an overall password management strategy, researchers at Microsoft and Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, have found. Rather than hurt security, proper use of easy-to-remember, weak credentials encourages people to use much stronger passwords on the few critical sites and online services they visit regularly. “Many sites ask for passwords, but they require no security at all,” Paul C. Van Oorschot, a Carleton professor and a co-author…

Larry Page said European governments are not doing enough to develop technology Google’s CEO Larry Page claims European governments are not doing enough to invest in new technologies and, as a result, risk losing their competitive edge. Page told the Financial Times that innovation is driven by people being amibitious, not by technological advances. “Why can’t we get more of these things going in Europe? Like celebrating technology, having a friendly environment for it, having more investment in science and a basic understanding and entrepreneurialism and making money and moving quickly and…