Today Apple will kick off its annual World Wide Developer’s Conference. Much of the buzz so far has been about what new software and hardware may be announced for consumers. But at the end of the day, WWDC is for developers. So we talked to one. And the company Planetary Resources has put up a Kickstarter campaign for the world’s first crowdfunded space telescope. Why? To encourage space exploration of course. But also to detect asteroids that could be captured and mined for precious metals. One of the campaign’s supporters is Bill Nye the Science Guy. 

Surveillance of Americans by the National Security Agency and the FBI apparently goes beyond phone records. The Washington Post is reporting that these federal government agencies are also tapping the servers of nine large U.S. tech companies. And what the government learns from that data is being delivered to the president on an increasingly regular basis. It’s part of a large scale secret program called PRISM — the logo of which, incidentally, may look familiar.

Tens of thousands of people in Turkey are protesting against the government. Many are calling for the resignation of Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Meanwhile Erdogan is calling the likes of Facebook the worst menace threatening society. This week 25 people were arrested in Turkey for what police called spreading misinformation on Twitter. Because of this, downloads of software that help obscure the identity and activities of online users are skyrocketing.

Here’s a story that sounds like a Steven Spielberg movie — and it is about a Steven Spielberg movie, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. Atari created a video game based on the hit film, which is still called the worst video game ever. But here’s where it gets weird: Atari reportedly attempted to bury the game — literally — in the desert, in New Mexico. 30 years later, Canadian gaming company Fuel Entertainment is trying to find out if the stories are true, and if so, dig it up.

In response to privacy concerns over Google Glass, Google says it won’t allow facial recognition apps in its Google Play Store. How are app developers responding? And Turkey’s prime minister is blaming Twitter for civil unrest in the country, calling social media the worst menace to society.

Apple goes to federal court today for a case that may shock the publishing world. The U.S. Department of Justice is charging the company conspired with book publishers to fix the prices of e-books. And, got password problems? The company Motorola is reportedly working on a password pill. You’d swallow it, and a tiny piece of ingested tech would transmit your unique signal to devices outside the body.

You may have heard that New York City has a brand new bike share program. Some New Yorkers have of course worried about crowding the streets…and putting tourists, of all people, behind the controls of a complex machine. But similar programs in cities like Montreal, Boston, and Washington D.C. have been hailed as successes. So we set out to check the tech of these bikes with the help of Ted Mann, who reports on transportation for the Wall Street Journal. He had a fancy key — which riders need unless they’re swiping their credit card.

While the debate continues over domestic use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the U.S., Germany is considering using drones to stop graffiti artists in their tracks. And which computer sounds are on their way out and which are on their way in?

Ever heard of Internet blimps? Google may be working on a program to deliver wireless Internet to Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia with the help of high-altitude inflatables. In some cases, a lack of infrastructure can actually allow for innovation. We talk to Dayo Olopade, who is writing a book on this topic called ‘The Bright Continent: How African Ideas Are Changing the World’. She says in some African countries, the lack of banking options has led to an explosion of mobile payments, where money moves easily from cellphone to cellphone.