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
is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade.
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? |
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