It's time for your quick rundown of the week that was in technology and culture.
ICYMI
Tech's Gender Gap: Getting women to join and stay in technology company ranks is a well-documented issue; a few incidents this week probably didn't do much to help the problem. Chicago's Techweek apologized for using provocatively posing women in a party invite after losing big names and a sponsor. Also this week, a slide showed up at a tech conference in Europe, in which a developer compared a software framework to a whiny girlfriend.
John Oliver's Rant: Our most popular post on All Tech this week featured comedian John Oliver's 13-minute takedown of cable Internet providers. He explains net neutrality and ends with an impassioned call to comment on the FCC's site.
The Big Conversations
One Year Since Snowden: What hath Edward Snowden wrought? Aarti Shahani brought us a look at winners and losers since the first revelations of the NSA's widespread surveillance, what the former government contractor calls "indefensible collection activities." Snowden himself told Brian Williams his actions in spilling so many intelligence operations were harmless, but over on Lawfare, Benjamin Wittes doesn't buy it.
Apple in Homes and Health: At its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, Apple's bigwigs unveiled the company's new iOS8, OS X Yosemite (following a theme of California-place names) and its forays into building centralized hubs for your fitness and health data, and separate central platform for an Internet of Things smart home.
Curiosities
Quartz: Netflix's Video Error Message Is A Clever Attack On Cable Companies
Netflix is upping its battle with the cable giants by telling consumers why their video connections are choking.
Seattle Times: Google Confirms Yakima Loon Balloon Crash
One of the company's test Wi-Fi balloons went down.
BBC: Garage Owner Fakes Google 'Murder' In Edinburgh Street
Two years after a pair of guys faked a murder for the Google car's cameras, authorities got word of it. Good thing this wasn't a real killing.
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