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The Weekender: transient texting, covert computing, and subversive smoking

The Weekender: transient texting, covert computing, and subversive smoking

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The best of the week gone by

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Welcome to The Verge: Weekender edition. Every Saturday, we'll bring you some of the best and most important reads of the past seven days, from original reports, to in-depth features, to reviews and interviews. Think of it as a collection of some of our favorite pieces that you may have missed — or that you may just want to read again. You can follow along below, or keep up to date on Flipboard.

  • Feature

    Ecstatic states

    Before it was criminalized, the drug MDMA — better known as ecstasy — was in use by some psychiatrists as an experimental way to treat alcoholism and anxiety. Now it's come back into testing, and some research suggests it could be used to cure a major source of pain: post-traumatic stress disorder.

  • Report

    The future of Motorola is on this man's wrist

    Motorola is in the middle of yet another radical shift. It's moving offices, changing ownership, and getting ready to unveil a highly anticipated smartwatch that could help shape its fate and future. That's a lot for one company to handle — so is it up to the challenge?

  • Review

    'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' review: a step in the wrong direction

    Superhero films have been trying to live down their goofy, campy past for over a decade now, and they've largely been doing an amazing job of it. No one's been asking to go back, but with a swing in the wrong direction, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 starts to take us there.

  • Editorial

    Your corporate internet nightmare starts now

    Under a new FCC proposal, net neutrality — the promise of all internet traffic being treated equally — could be thrown out the window, letting big monopolies dictate the future of the web. Curious what that future looks like? Read this, because it won't be pretty.

  • Review

    Meet Swarm: Foursquare's ambitious plan to split its app in two

    Foursquare made the check-in famous, but in a bold move, it's about to step away from it. We spoke with CEO and founder Dennis Crowley to find out why Foursquare believes that introducing a brand new app and trimming down its old one can make the company grow even bigger.

  • Report

    This is the most secure computer you’ll ever own

    Tails is the computer system that kept NSA-leaker Edward Snowden safe, and after five years of development, it's finally available this week in a 1.0 release. We tried it out to see what its like to use a computer without leaving any digital traces behind.

  • Report

    High rollers: Las Vegas is poised to become the Disneyland of weed

    Marijuana could become Sin City's next vice, and entrepreneurs are lining up to get one of the scarce few permits that'll let them begin to grow and sell it. It's a complex situation for current applicants, but down the road, advocates believe that weed could give people yet another reason to let loose in Vegas.

  • Photo Essay

    Thank you for vaping: New Yorkers protest the new e-cig ban at Museum of Sex

    New York City's indoor smoking ban on e-cigarettes went into effect Monday night, and many smokers didn't take to it kindly. At the Museum of Sex, a large and diverse group gathered to talk about e-cigs and smoke through the deadline in protest of the new law.

  • Review

    I made a video game with a pencil and paper

    If you've ever dreamed of creating your own video game, now you can — and without knowing a single thing about coding. Pixel Press' Floors app turns hand-drawn levels into pieces of an iPad platformer, letting you make tiny games that are actually fun to play.

  • Report

    Real talk: the new Snapchat brilliantly mixes video and texting

    Snapchat released a big update to its app this week that added in smart new takes on texting and video chatting. The app can now connect friends just about any way they want to chat, but for CEO Evan Spiegel, this is just the start of 25-year plan to get friends and family talking.