Techmeme
August 4, 2013, 3:45 PM

Top News

Glenn Greenwald / Guardian:
Members of Congress denied access to basic information about NSA  —  Documents provided by two House members demonstrate how they are blocked from exercising any oversight over domestic surveillance  —  • Morgan Griffith's requests for NSA information  —  • Alan Grayson's requests for NSA information
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft cuts Surface Pro price by $100 following Surface RT reductions  —  Microsoft is discounting its Surface Pro tablet this weekend, following heavy reductions to its Surface RT costs recently.  The 10 percent price cut to Surface Pro reduces the cost of the 64GB and 128GB models by $100 each in the US.
Chris Dixon:
The idea maze  —  The pop culture view of startups is that they're all about coming up with a great product idea.  After the eureka moment, the outcome is preordained.  This neglects the years of toil that entrepreneurs endure, and also the fact that the vast majority of startups change over time, often dramatically.
Brent Kendall / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Administration Vetoes Ban on Sale of Some Apple iPhones, iPads  —  Concern Cited Over Patent Holders Gaining ‘Undue Leverage’  —  The Obama administration on Saturday vetoed a U.S. trade body's ban on the sale of some Apple iPhones and iPads, a rare move that upends a legal victory for smartphone rival Samsung Electronics Co.
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Obama administration vetoes Apple iPhone 4, 3G iPad 2 U.S. import ban  —  United States President Barack Obama and his administration have issued a veto on a potential ban for iPhone 4 and 3G-capable iPad 2 models in the United States.  The news comes by way of a notice from the U.S. Government.
Alex Kaufman / Slate:
How “one weird trick” conquered the Internet: what happens when you click on those omnipresent ads  —  What happens when you actually click on one of those “One Weird Trick” ads?  —  You've seen them.  Peeking out from sidebars, jiggling and wiggling for your attention …
Ars Technica:
TiVo, media center PC makers alarmed by CableCard-cutting bill  —  The CableCard—that small slab that lets a TiVo tune into cable by authenticating its connection—would lose a regulatory safeguard under a bill nearing introduction in Congress.  —  The “'Consumer Video Device Cost Savings Act” …
CNNMoney:
Your TV might be watching you  —  Today's high-end televisions are almost all equipped with “smart” PC-like features, including Internet connectivity, apps, microphones and cameras.  But a recently discovered security hole in some Samsung Smart TVs shows that many of those bells and whistles aren't ready for prime time.
Henry Blodget / Business Insider:
Hey, Silicon Valley, Instead Of Whining About A Tech Talent Shortage, Do Something About It!  —  An odd problem has developed in our economy.  —  Some of our largest technology companies have become so fantastically huge and profitable that they literally don't know what to do with the cash piling up in their bank accounts.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
The Moto X proves Google still needs the Nexus program  —  Nexus is a critical platform for Google to develop and advance Android  —  The Moto X has finally been revealed and although it's the first phone that truly reflects the new company's post-Google philosophies, it's thoroughly a Motorola phone, not a Google phone.
Somini Sengupta / NYT Bits:
A Cheap Spying Tool With a High Creepy Factor  —  Brendan O'Connor is a security researcher.  How easy would it be, he recently wondered, to monitor the movement of everyone on the street - not by a government intelligence agency, but by a private citizen with a few hundred dollars to spare?

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Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
Brian Klug / AnandTech: