Tech links: 2013-08-01

These are my tech links from early today. I haven’t seen anything from today’s new yet and that means there’s nothing in here from the Motorola X debut. That’s going to be a very big story over the next few months I suspect.

Here’s Your Chance To Help Rep. Steve Cohen Change The NSA’s Secret Court | TechCrunch

With Moto X, Google Android is about to have its iPhone moment — Tech News and Analysis

XKeyscore: NSA tool collects ‘nearly everything a user does on the internet’ | World news | theguardian.com

“A top secret National Security Agency program allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.”

NSA Director: Don’t Worry, Trust Us | TechCrunch

T-Mobile LG Optimus F3 announced

This is where it’s heading folks. It’s not sexy but let me put this in all caps: PHONES LIKE THIS ARE WHY ANDROID WILL WIN. These phones will take the place of feature phones for mobile users. Soon everyone will have a smartphone.

“These are specs that will never match the high-end devices, but they will get the job done for the “average consumer” very well. And you can’t beat the $240 price point. The device is available on August 7 with a $0 deposit and 24 $10 monthly payments (limited time deal) on a Simple Choice plan.”

AnandTech | Update on GPU Optimizations in Galaxy S 4

This is a very geeky tech article on how Samsung has artificially limited its graphics processor speed on most apps except its own and common benchmarking apps. I think it’s an interesting issue, so I have put it in the links.

Google Fiber, net neutrality & the regulatory challenges in the age of gigabit broadband — Tech News and Analysis

“a Lawrence, Kansas resident filed a complaint with the FCC over Google’s terms of service, arguing that because Google prevented people from attaching servers to their fiber lines, Google was violating network neutrality rules.”

More than 1,400 cities could be underwater by century’s end, according to climate-change model | The Verge

Apple takes 53% of smartphone profits, Samsung at 50%, remainder lose money

Samsung Says It’s Not Inflating Galaxy S4 Benchmarks – John Paczkowski – Mobile – AllThingsD

AnandTech | Nexus 7 (2013) – Mini Review

Hackers Expose How Connected Toilets, Heaters and Lightbulbs Are at Risk – WSJ.com

This is in line with another article I have seen that said “Smart Homes” i.e. ones with lots of connected devices, are more hackable and at risk.

Google Beats Apple in App Downloads, but Apple Still Wins Monetization – Eric Johnson – Commerce – AllThingsD

Official Blog: Starbucks’ WiFi goes Google

“we’re teaming up with Starbucks to bring faster, free WiFi connections to all 7,000 company-operated Starbucks stores in the United States over the next 18 months. When your local Starbucks WiFi network goes Google, you’ll be able to surf the web at speeds up to 10x faster than before. If you’re in a Google Fiber city, we’re hoping to get you a connection that’s up to 100x faster.”

AnandTech | Android 4.3 Update Brings TRIM to All Nexus Devices

“One of the common complaints late in the life of the original Nexus 7 was slow storage I/O performance, leading to an inconsistent user experience. After a fresh flash, the Nexus 7 was speedy and performant, but after months of installing applications and using the tablet, things began slowing down. This was a friction point that many hoped would be fixed in the new Nexus 7 (2013) model, which it was. There’s even more to the story though, it turns out Google has fixed that storage I/O aging problem on all Nexus devices with the Android 4.3 update.”

Black Hat USA 2013 Gen. Alexander Keynote – YouTube

Spotify’s Chief Stays Confident in Business – WSJ.com

Apple’s Next iPad Mini Will Likely Have ‘Retina’ Display From Samsung – WSJ.com

Facebook switches on secure browsing by default | The Verge

NSA director addresses Black Hat, says there have been “zero abuses” of data | Ars Technica

Google Chromecast Review: Nailed It

Good Luck Leaving Your Wireless Phone Plan – WSJ.com

Amazon’s low-cost cloud is hugely profitable (says rival cloud company) — Tech News and Analysis

Taxi-calling apps like Hailo are making our streets even more unsafe | Eugene Weixel | Comment is free | theguardian.com

The concern here for safety is legitimate but that can be tweaked over time. I think there are other concerns at work here.

Wyden: Intel violations ‘troubling’ – POLITICO.com

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