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.
Feature
The calm before the swarm: drones over US soil
Unmanned aerial vehicles are exploding over US skies. There are tens of thousands of hobbyist drones using flight control systems and GPS technology which ten years ago would have been the exclusive purview of defense contractors. The FAA wants to see 30,000 drones flying commercial and law enforcement missions by 2015. But the laws around privacy and security have not kept up with this rapidly advancing technology.
Review
RSS isn't dead: the best Google Reader alternatives
Google may have killed Reader due to "declining usage," but the response after the announcement has shown that there are still plenty of RSS-reading fans out there. Ellis Hamburger immersed himself in the world of Feedly, Reeder, NetNewsWire, and the rest in hopes of finding what will rise from Reader's ashes to become the RSS reader of choice.
Report
Intel vs. Microsoft: was Windows RT a mistake?
Microsoft created Windows RT so it could offer a faster, cooler version of its operating system that promised much longer battery life. Intel created Atom processors so it could offer all those things without any of the compromises that come with Windows RT. Can Intel's latest chips give you the best of all worlds?
Interview
Obsessed with the Now: Douglas Rushkoff and the threat of 'Present Shock'
Twitter has made our desire for knowledge of the ‘now’ almost insatiable.
In Present Shock, Douglas Rushkoff explores the idea that society is becoming too focused on what’s immediately happening, and is no longer able to take in the bigger picture. Paul Miller sat down with Rushkoff to discuss.
Feature
40 years of icons: the evolution of the modern computer interface
In 1984 Apple’s Macintosh computer brought the desktop user interface to the masses, but until recently, little has changed. As smartphones and tablets continue to alter the way devices are interacted with, we take a look back at how UI came to where it is today, starting with the classic WIMP interface — windows, icons, menus, and pointers — that we all know.