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October Surprise: a roundup of the biggest stories from a crazy month

We knew October would be busy. We had the invitations, the embargoes, and a stockpile of coffee and seltzer. But this past month turned out to be more insane and more exciting than almost any month in the past year.There was rarely a moment to rest, and it seems like the internet was always reacting to something, somewhere. Microsoft, Amazon, and Google responded with equal parts panic and determination to the onslaught of Apple&rsquo;s hype machine. People around the world watched with reverence as Felix Baumgartner successfully completely a historic free-fall from the edge of space. Live, on the internet. Reddit&rsquo;s insular community reacted when one of its most unsavory characters was outed by the media. Apple attempted to avoid a reaction by announcing a major executive shake up in the middle of a catastrophic hurricane. New York City reacted to hurricane Sandy, and the rest of the internet reacted to our reactions via social media. And then Disney bought Lucasfilm, and the internet almost exploded.Beyond the massive, non-stop wave of news, The Verge also explored the culture of Philip K. Dick, got to know the cosplayers of New York Comic Con, broke down the K-Pop phenomenon, spoke with the Singularity’s true believers, and got the inside scoop on what’s next for Android &mdash; straight from Google. In hindsight, it seems like all of this more or less happened at once, making the past 31 days one of the most intense and exciting months since The Verge began. And that&rsquo;s fitting because tomorrow is our first birthday.We’re only scratching the surface here, so dig into the stories below to get the best of the month’s news, features, reviews, and original reporting from The Verge.

Chasing ghosts: the weird science of tracking the dead

iPad mini review

During Hurricane Sandy, misinformation and fact-checking clash on Twitter

Disney buys Lucasfilm, plans to release ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ in 2015 (update)

Apple’s Scott Forstall’s fatal mistake was not signing iOS 6 Maps apology letter: sources

Windows Phone 8 review

Slow lane: why Google’s new Nexus 4 doesn’t have LTE

Inside Android’s next wave: Building the Nexus 4, Nexus 10, and Android 4.2

Google Now: behind the predictive future of search

‘Dudebro II’: the incredible journey from internet joke to very real game

In 2012 election, the meme factory hones its assembly line

Microsoft Surface review

Windows 8 review

Making a game, traveling the world: the story of ‘Incredipede’

Rapture of the nerds: will the Singularity turn us into gods or end the human race?

Reddit’s road rules: trolling America’s heartland, one startup at a time

Why Apple acquiring Color makes sense in Silicon Valley: the strange logic of the acqui-hire

K-Pop takes America: how South Korea’s music machine is conquering the world

Newsweek turns to digital-only publication

White House-ordered Huawei probe reveals no evidence of spying, says Reuters (update)

Behind the mask: being yourself as someone else at New York Comic Con

Obama and Romney clash over Apple, Made in China

Banned Reddit moderator fears ‘cloak and dagger’ handling of criticism

Felix Baumgartner completes free fall from the edge of space, breaks sound barrier

Why can’t you vote online?

Terrorism as art: Mark Pauline’s dangerous machines

Nobel Prize awarded to two scientists responsible for major cloning and stem cell advancements

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