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. This was a very busy week (just ask around!) for us, and we've got a few more links than usual, so have fun!

Under the Surface: an inside look at how Microsoft's tablet came to be

Apart from Xbox, Zune, and the occasional mouse or keyboard, Microsoft has never really been known for hardware. That's what makes Surface such an interesting effort, a device built in complete secrecy ahead of its June reveal. How did they pull it off?.

PayPal becomes the latest company to ban class action suits

Following an industry trend, PayPal is updating its terms of service to prevent its customers from filing class action lawsuits — but as Adi Robertson explains, there's a way out. "Class action is the only way people will get their money back," says Public Justice attorney Paul Bland.

Cyberpunk meets interactive fiction: the art of 'Cypher'

In the age of hyperreal first-person shooters designed to oversaturate our senses, "interactive fiction" — the text-based computer genre — has long been at risk of becoming extinct. Cyberpunk thriller Cypher bucks the trend, and its creators think they've got the secret to keeping people interested: rich, immersive art.

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

The internet brought K-Pop to the US, but can it go mainstream?

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

Thousands of people spent their weekend in costume; we asked a few of them to step out of character.

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

The internet's 'front page' looks for links the old-fashioned way.