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The Weekender: Social Security numbers, maps security, and life with a Chromebook

The Weekender: Social Security numbers, maps security, and life with a Chromebook

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weekender art 6

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 (very few!) of our favorite pieces from the week gone by, which you may have missed, or which you might want to read again.

Sony Xperia Tablet S review

The Xperia Tablet S is the first Sony tablet to feature the Xperia branding, and as such is something of a re-launch for the company. The tablet is out now, starting at $399 — is it enough to elevate Sony into the Android tablet race?

Identity crisis: how Social Security numbers became our insecure national ID

Somehow, Social Security numbers have become America's de facto identifiers. Adrianne Jeffries investigates how that happened, the problems it's caused in the 75 years since their creation, and what (if anything) we can do about it.

Life with a Chromebook: three months of love and hate in the cloud

Can one man survive without 'Counter-Strike' and Photoshop? Louis Goddard tries it so you don't have to.

Sloppy security? Apple and Nokia conceal fewer sensitive sites than Google Maps

Among the three companies, Apple's new mapping product is the most transparent — but when it comes to national security, is that a good thing?

Double down: a brief history of the most meaningless phrase in tech

"Double down" has becoming a running joke in the consumer technology industry, a phrase used by executives to inspire confidence in their failing businesses. We've put together a quick look at some of the more notable double-downs in recent memory.

Offline: email

Paul Miller's offline experiment continues and this week, he turns his eye to email, the oft-hated form of communication he now lives without.