A continuing goal and a heated debate in the tech world: Can robots truly create art? And what does that even mean? These questions might not be answered for a few years. But advances are bringing us new examples.

The so-called Syrian Electronic Army can add a few notches to its hacking belt — one for The Washington Post, CNN, and Time magazine. Those are just the latest media organizations to be hacked by the group that supports Bashar al-Assad. This week brought us news that North Korea was getting into the smartphone business. State media announced that the country was producing the new Arirang “hand phone” with an Android operating system. The smartphone’s true origins are in dispute.

One of the next big frontiers in the energy business is being smarter about collecting, storing and delivering energy. So let’s talk about wind farms in China, where IBM has been developing legions of small weather sensors. The sensors translate tidal waves of real time data to make renewable energy plants more efficient by predicting the weather. And New York City has plenty of things we want but maybe don’t need, like artisan pickles, baby yoga and now, classes for dogs to learn how to use iPads.

As more viewers move to tablets, phones and computers, TV manufacturers are trying out all sorts of interesting new features to catch the interest of consumers. At a big event  in New York, Samsung unveiled a new set of high-end televisions. And, here’s an idea so simple it’s shocking it doesn’t already exist: We have these super powerful tiny computing devices that walk around with us. Why not make one so that turns into a proper desktop or laptop computer? One company wants to do that.

This week, instead of frequent flier miles, your new pre-paid American Express card may offer virtual cash for the online multiplayer video game League of Legends. And if you’re excited for the days when we can all unlock our cars and our front doors with our phones, you’re not alone. Software makers in the U.S. have been making all sorts of stuff for smart homes and door locks are part of it. Of course, smart homes are vulnerable to hacks, and modern technology is actually challenging some of the old ways to lock up, too.

One of the internet’s most famous centers of information, both true and disputed, just finished a big weekend in Hong Kong. Wikipedia, the crowd-sourced internet encyclopedia, just wrapped up its annual Wikimania conference. This year’s gathering featured all sorts of discussions, many about the challenges Wikipedia faces, like funding and diversity. The organization is also trying to create a friendlier, more social environment for new contributors. Plus, AOL switches strategies with its hyperlocal Patch site. And, the latest on the NSA and secure email services.

A major tech company is facing bans on selling its gadgets in the U.S. — except this time, it’s not Apple, but their South Korean rival Samsung. It has to do with communications technology in older Samsung phones. You may remember Apple dodged a similar threat to selling some iPhone and iPad models last week. Today, the ITC is expected to make a decision on banning old Samsung phones because they infringe on Apple patents. Plus, Volkswagen has released a new app called “Smile Drive.” And, inspired by one percenter-filled space station in the new sci-fi epic “Elysium,” we find out how far away we are from establishing our own space colony.

Marissa Mayer has been making lots of changes at Yahoo, from buying up smaller companies, like blogging platform Tumblr, to changing the company’s telecommuting policy. But for a modern tech company, there are few things more important than successful branding. Every day this month, Yahoo will be using a new logo on its home page, with a big reveal of its official logo next month. And, another newbie entered the already crowded pool of smartphone options. The LG G2 flagship phone has some unique features. The most intriguing ones involve sensors that tell the phone what you’re doing and help you do it.

We think of the internet as an endless expanse of data and interaction with big, bright points of focus, and a million dark corners. But more and more, your view of the web’s vast spectrum depends a lot on where you live. In Vietnam there’s an extreme example. A new law there will make it illegal to post news or “general information” online. And, a look back at one year of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover.