Recommended from Around the Web (Week Ending August 23, 2013)

• The Great App.net Mistake
  A detailed account of how a social network that charges fees is trying to create an alternative to the closed, ad-supported sites that dominate the social Web.

• Your Future iPhone May Be Stuffed with Wax
  Swaddling mobile processors in wax could allow them to work harder, a research project suggests.

• The Believer
  A detailed profile of the life and thinking of PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

—Three above submitted by Tom Simonite, senior IT editor

• The Killing Machines
  How technology can fundamentally alter the nature of warfare.

• Microsoft’s Next CEO: Who’s on the Short List?
  Seasoned Microsoft watcher Mary Jay Foley discusses the candidates who might replace big Steve as CEO.

• Stop Thinking Tech Hacks Will Solve Our Surveillance Problems
  Why privacy-preserving technology actually undermines dissent against a surveillance state.

—Three above submitted by Will Knight, online editor

• How to Keep the NSA Out of Your Computer
  A group of neighbors in Athens tries to avoid surveillance by building a private, parallel Internet.

• On the Urge to Unplug. What Is the True Cost of Our “Always On” Digital Lifestyle?
  The cool new trend is to disconnect yourself from technology. A tree-hugger looks at the latest techies to go off the grid, and asks whether they’re right to go cold turkey.

—Two above submitted by Aviva Hope Rutkin, editorial intern