The Weekender: foreign hackers, human capital, and the meme that ends with Donald Trump
The best of the week gone by
The best of the week gone by
Welcome to The Verge: Weekender edition. Each week, we’ll bring you important articles from the previous weeks’ original reports, features and reviews on The Verge. Think of it as a collection of a few of our favorite pieces from the week gone by, which you may have missed, or which you might want to read again.
 | Google's become known for building unofficial reference designs for its operating systems — the smartphone or tablet that best exemplifies what Google's software can do. For Chrome OS, the Chromebook Pixel is that device: it's a premium laptop, at a premium price. Is Google ready to compete with Windows and OS X for PC power users? |
 | A single word randomly sparked a fast-spreading trend on Twitter this week, sending users down a seemingly endless loophole to find a missive from none other than Donald Trump at the end. Wow. |
 | Mozilla — a nonprofit organization best known as the caretaker of the Firefox web browser — is expanding into the rough world of smartphone operating systems, a place where countless companies have tried and failed to get a foothold against the juggernauts of iOS and Android. But Mozilla might have a secret to success: giving carriers exactly what they want. |
 | A recent spate of high-profile hacks with possible ties to the Chinese government have turned a bright spotlight on network security, but just how bad is it? And what can be done to lock down secrets before they fall into the wrong hands? Greg Sandoval reports. |
 | A number of new services allow anyone to effectively "sell stock" in themselves, setting a valuation for their entire lives and trading a slice of future income in exchange for an upfront cash infusion. Some call it good business; others call it a "human capital contract." Is it too creepy for comfort? |
