Techmeme: NSA: It Would Violate Your Privacy to Say if We Spied on You (Spencer Ackerman/Wired)

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June 19, 2012, 7:00 PM

Top News

Ashlee Vance / Business Week:

Why Microsoft's Surface Tablet Should Shame the PC Industry — On June 18, Microsoft (MSFT) beckoned 200 or so members of the media to an industrial, grimy part of Hollywood for what it described as a can't miss affair. The dutiful reporters met at the appointed hour—3:30 p.m. …

More: PC World and ZDNet. Tweets: @maryjofoley and @valleyhack

Jesus Diaz / Gizmodo:

Microsoft Surface Just Made the MacBook Air and the iPad Look Obsolete — Microsoft has guts. It's what you get when you're the underdog; either that or you curl into a RIM and die. Microsoft is the underdog because no matter how many hundreds of millions of people use its software, the cool and the future belong to Apple.

More: internetretailer.com. Tweets: @khsieh, @jbruin, @_donalds and @tmobryan

MG Siegler:

No Price, No Date, No Apps, No Problem. No Wait — Problem. — I'm just now catching up on the news about the new Microsoft Surface. Reactions seem mixed, tilting slightly positive or at least hopeful. People seem to want to believe Microsoft can pull this off and that's understandable …

More: Techie Buzz, InformationWeek, The Mactivist, Internet2Go, CloudAve, MSDN Blogs and Internet Evolution

Tweets: @zpower and @theromit

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

Microsoft Surface tablets: Reading the fine print — Summary: Here are a few more hidden tidbits about Microsoft's new Surface tablets, launched in Los Angeles on June 18. — Yesterday Microsoft announced it would be making two Windows tablets of its own — one Windows8-based and another Windows RT-based.

More: istartedsomething, Business Insider, Bits, GeekWire, Forbes and PC World

Joshua Topolsky / The Verge:

With the Surface, Microsoft just started writing its next chapter — I first met Steven Bathiche when I took a trip to Microsoft's campus to check out what the company had been doing in the research and development department. Microsoft PR had sworn to me that I would be blown away by the …

Vidya P L Nathan / Reuters:

Microsoft's tablet no threat to iPad: analysts

More: The Next Web and TechnoBuffalo

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Watch this: Microsoft's Surface event video now live

More: Forbes, The Seattle Times, SiliconBeat, Examiner, Mobile Magazine, iDownloadBlog.com, CNET, GadgeTell, Business Insider, Everything Microsoft, The Next Web, WebProNews, Engadget and Engadget

Twitter Blog:

A new way to experience profiles: with or without replies — When you visit a Twitter user's profile, you may want to see his or her original Tweets rather than their conversations. Then again, you may enjoy seeing the back-and-forth exchanges they have with other Twitter users.

More: Mashable!, TechCrunch, The Verge and The Next Web

Enigmax / TorrentFreak:

Google Threatens To Sue Huge YouTube MP3 Conversion Site — YouTube is without doubt the biggest free resource of videos and music available online today. It can be enjoyed on the site itself, embedded in any webpage, or accessed via YouTube's Application Programming Interface.

More: The Register, CNET, PC Magazine, Pulse2 Technology …, gHacks Technology News, Softpedia News, Ars Technica, VentureBeat, Computerworld, paidContent, SlashGear, WebProNews, The Next Web, Inquirer, SocialTimes and 9to5Google

Robert Kim / Google Mobile Blog:

Google Offers app now available on iPhone — Today we're announcing the new Google Offers app for iPhone. Now, iPhone users can discover, buy and redeem Google Offers, as well as deals from our partners, on-the-go. Some of the features of the new Google Offers app for iPhone include:

More: The Verge, VentureBeat, Gizmodo, iPhone, PhoneArena, TechCrunch, iLounge, Gotta Be Mobile, MacRumors, 9to5Google, The Next Web, iDownloadBlog.com, Engadget, Macgasm, everythingiCafe, App Advice, Lifehacker, iClarified and WebProNews

Rip Empson / TechCrunch:

Ex-Googlers Launch MightyText, An iMessage For Android Users — During their lengthy careers at Google in both senior technical and product management roles, Maneesh Arora and Amit Sangani were able to geek out on products like AdSense, AdWords, and the now-defunct Google Health.

More: The Verge, GigaOM, Android and Me, Ubergizmo, MobileSyrup.com, Android Phone Fans, VentureBeat, Gotta Be Mobile, Business Insider, GadgeTell and IntoMobile

Jun Yang / Bloomberg:

LG To Sideline Tablet Development To Focus On Smaller Devices — LG Electronics Inc. (066570), the world's No. 4 mobile-phone maker, will sideline tablet computer development to focus more on smaller devices rather than compete head-on with Apple Inc.'s iPad.

Matt Brian / The Next Web:

Google partners with Flipboard, adding Google+ streams to the app — Speaking at Le Web '12 in London, Google's Vice President of Product Management Bradley Horowitz announced that it has partnered with Flipboard, adding Google+ streams in the app. The streams will launch soon.

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

They Work! Facebook Mobile Ads Are Clicked 13X More, Earn 11X More Money Than Its Desktop Ads — How will Facebook monetize mobile? Its organic-seeming Sponsored Stories ad format may be the answer. Mobile Sponsored Stories are getting over 13 times the click-through rates and earn 11.2 times …

More: The Verge, Business Insider, AdAge, Mashable!, tinyComb and WebProNews. Thanks:@simonmansell

Kim-Mai Cutler / TechCrunch:

Facebook Adds Subscription Billing For App Developers, Backs Away From Credits As Primary Currency — Facebook is adding subscription billing for app developers, in what should help gaming and media companies earn more revenue from their most loyal users. Starting next month …

More: Marketing Land, Business Insider, Social Markets, AllFacebook, AllThingsD, Engadget, Inside Social Games, Facebook Developer Blog, WebProNews and Mashable!. Thanks:@thepeterha

Washington Post:

U.S., Israel developed Flame computer virus to slow Iranian nuclear efforts, officials say — View Photo Gallery — Stuxnet and other big worms and viruses: The computer virus is growing in popularity as the weapon-of-choice in the Middle East. Here's a look at some of the more notable viruses and worms.

More: Ars Technica, Telegraph, Hillicon Valley, Wired and Mashable!

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Formspring Relaunches As An Interest-Based Social Network — Q&A site Formspring is today announcing what the company says is its biggest news since its original launch back in 2009. Yes, Formspring has been overhauled. The company is shifting its focus from social Q&A …

More: VentureBeat

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:

Kodak sues Apple, claiming interference in patent sales — (Reuters) - Photography pioneer Eastman Kodak Co sued Apple Inc to stop it from interfering with plans to sell a large patent portfolio, a significant part of its bankruptcy restructuring. — In a lawsuit filed on Monday …

More: PC Magazine, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, The Verge, VentureBeat, CNET, MacDailyNews and Engadget

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Spotify Finally Launches Web Radio, For Real. And That's a Problem For Pandora — A lot of people confuse Spotify's streaming music service with Pandora's streaming music service. — Now they're going to be a lot more confused. In a way that's good for Spotify and a problem for Pandora.

Michael Larabel / Phoronix:

NVIDIA PR Responds To Torvalds' Harsh Words — NVIDIA's PR department has issued a statement following the harsh comments by Linus Torvalds last week where he referred to the graphics company as the single worst company they have ever dealt with, called them out on not supporting Optimus, and other issues.

More: Engadget and Ars Technica

Spencer Ackerman / Wired:

NSA: It Would Violate Your Privacy to Say if We Spied on You — Gen. Keith Alexander, center, the head of the National Security Agency, visits Afghanistan, 2010. Photo: ISAF — The surveillance experts at the National Security Agency won't tell two powerful United States Senators …

More: The Verge, Betabeat, The Verge, DSLreports, Slashdot and Techdirt

Vlad Savov / The Verge:

New Gmail custom themes let you set your own background image — For those of us still staying true to Gmail's web interface and resisting the lure of dedicated clients like Sparrow, Google is today rolling out a pair of custom theme options. Using the basic Light and Dark Theme presets …

More: VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Gmail Blog, Mashable!, Lifehacker and WebProNews. Tweets: @stshank

Joseph Volpe / Engadget:

BlackBerry 10 hands-on (video) — Like any good show pony, BlackBerry 10's been trotting around the world, strutting the fairly limited elements of its known UI in an effort to court developers. The platform, without question the nail upon which RIM's fate and fortune hangs …

More: The Verge and MobileSyrup.com

Dan Seifert / MobileBurn.com:

Dolphin releases Engine Beta browser, claims to be the fastest browser on Android — There is no shortage of third-party browsers available for the Android platform, and Android 4.0 users even have the option to use the excellent Google Chrome Beta for Android, if they wish.

More: MobileSyrup.com, Dolphin Browser, Pocketnow, WebProNews, Lifehacker and Android Phone Fans

Nick Bilton / Bits:

Shapeways, Having Printed 1 Million Objects, Secures More Financing — People sure do like printing things in 3-D. — Shapeways, a company that enables people to print 3-D objects, announced on Tuesday that it had completed a $6.2 million series B round of financing from Lux Capital, a New York venture capital firm.

More: Shapeways Blog, VentureBeat and TechCrunch

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

B&N earnings: Nook Simple Touch drags revenues down, though digital content sales are up — Barnes & Noble reported Q4 revenues of $1.4 billion for the period ended April 28, on losses of $1.08 per share. Following Microsoft's $300 million investment during the quarter …

More: VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal, Mike Cane's xBlog, DailyFinance.com, internetretailer.com, MarketWatch, Mashable!, Reuters and Associated Press. See also Mediagazer

Daniel Cooper / Engadget:

Google's Project Glass trackpad gets swaddled in patent protection — Remember when Sergey Brin was on The Gavin Newsom Show showing off Project Glass' right-sided physical trackpad? Today, that element of the tech was given the official thumbs-up by the US patent and trademark office.

More: The Verge, PhoneArena, Android News, Rumours …, Android Phone Fans, Gizmodo and 9to5Google

Carl Franzen / TPM IdeaLab:

Schumer: Google, Apple Moves To 3D Maps A Dimension Too Far! — Noted consumer technology alarmist Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), is turning his intense scrutiny back on Google and Apple, this time over the two companies' competing plans to provide the most accurate 3D aerial maps of major metropolitan areas.

More: ZDNet, The Register, Ars Technica, Cult of Mac and CBS News

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