Techmeme
August 4, 2013, 8:00 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
Joseph Menn / Reuters:
NSA revelations could hurt collaboration with ‘betrayed’ hackers  —  (Reuters) - The U.S. government's efforts to recruit talented hackers could suffer from the recent revelations about its vast domestic surveillance programs, as many private researchers express disillusionment with the National Security Agency.
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.
Michael Lewis / Vanity Fair:
Did Goldman Sachs Overstep in Criminally Charging Its Ex-Programmer?  —  A month after ace programmer Sergey Aleynikov left Goldman Sachs, he was arrested.  Exactly what he'd done neither the F.B.I., which interrogated him, nor the jury, which convicted him a year later, seemed to understand.
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 …
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:
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.
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.

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Liz Gannes / AllThingsD: