NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds  —  The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.

Samsung Said to Introduce Wristwatch-Like Smartphone Next Month  —  Samsung will introduce a wristwatch-like device named the Galaxy Gear next month that can make phone calls, surf the Web and handle e-mails, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Nokia to launch Windows RT tablet in September, alleged pictures leak  —  Nokia is planning to launch its first Windows RT tablet in September.  Sources familiar with Nokia's plans have revealed to The Verge that the company will unveil its tablet at a special launch event in New York next month.

Build-a-Phone Workshop: my first encounter with Moto Maker and a customized Moto X  —  Turns out 18 is a lot of choices.  —  As one of the first people allowed into Motorola's Moto Maker program, I had a chance to design the phone I always wanted, to order a phone made by Motorola but designed by me.

Apple Appears to Be Hiring in China  —  Apple Inc. seems to be beefing up hiring in China.  —  Among the more than two hundred openings in China on professional network site LinkedIn, some of the eye-catching China-based positions include an environmental affairs program manager, a security specialist and a store specialist.

Apple IPhone Antitrust Complaint Dismissed by U.S. Judge  —  Apple (AAPL) Inc. won dismissal on procedural grounds of a lawsuit claiming the company maintains a monopoly over iPhone applications.  —  U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, ruled today that the plaintiffs …

AOL Starts Patch Cuts, and Up to 500 People May Lose Their Jobs  —  AOL has begun making mass layoffs at its Patch unit.  —  By the time the cuts are over, AOL could end up reducing the local news network's 1,000-worker labor force by half, according to people familiar with the plans.

BlackBerry CEO to Make $55.6 Million If He Sells Company  —  BlackBerry Ltd. (BB) Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins stands to make $55.6 million if he sells the company and is ousted.  —  That's the amount he's entitled to receive if BlackBerry has a change of control and Heins is pushed …

Canonical beats Pebble as the biggest crowdfunding campaign ever, hitting $10.3m for the Ubuntu Edge  —  Canonical is still way off the pace with its Ubuntu Edge crowdfunding campaign - the firm needs to raise more than $20 million in six days to meet its ambitious $32 million target - but it's still smashing records along the way.

With Gmail Overhaul, Not All Mail Is Equal  —  Google Funnels Offers Into ‘Promotions’ Folder, Tops Them With Its Own Ads; Kate Spade, Groupon and Gap Want Out  —  For some retailers that rely on emailed promotions, Google Inc. is adding insult to injury.  —  When the search giant overhauled …

Plague of game dev harassment erodes industry, spurs support groups  —  The greatest threat to the video game industry may be some of its most impassioned fans.  Increasingly, game developers are finding themselves under attack by some of the very people they devote their lives to entertaining.

Verizon's HTC One starts shipping on August 22nd for $199 on contract  —  For those attached — willingly or otherwise — to Verizon, your time to snag an HTC One has come.  Well, almost.  The universally-hailed Android phone is headed to VZW's LTE airwaves on August 22nd, with an on-contract price of $199.99.

Microsoft killing Games for Windows Live store on August 22nd  —  Microsoft is shutting down its Games for Windows Live marketplace on August 22nd.  In a support note on the company's Xbox site, Microsoft reveals that its Points system and PC Marketplace will be closed …