Feature

The Verge, Year One: our big stories, November 2011 to January 2012

By Laura June 11.14.2012

This month marks the one year anniversary of The Verge. In online publishing, you tend to spend most of your time moving forward, and we’re no different. For the entire month of November, however, we’ll be taking a look at some of our favorite work from the past year, to celebrate, just a bit. One of the areas we’re most proud of is in our long form features. We knew from the earliest planning days of The Verge that we wanted to invest the time, money, blood, sweat, and love that is required to publish longform content on the web. We’ve stretched ourselves to think differently about the kind of articles which can and should appear here, and we’ve worked hard to make sure that the photography, text, graphics, layout, and (of course) our videos all work together to bring you an experience that is truly unique on the web.

These are some of our favorite feature stories from the first three months that The Verge was alive. Enjoy.

Check out Part Two here, Part Three here, and Part Four here

Condo at the End of the World

Joseph L. Flatley November 1, 2011

A new breed of survivalist: wealthy, educated, and buying up real estate in high tech, underground bunkers all over the US.

The Future Passed: Jetpack Edition

Thomas Ricker November 3, 2011

The long and complicated history of the jetpack as imagined by the artists, writers, and imaginers of the future, in the past.

Walking as Jazz: Virginia Tech takes on the biggest challenge in robotics

Paul Miller November 8, 2011

Virginia Tech’s Professor Dennis Hong focuses his robotics team’s energies on a lofty goal: soccer.

This is my Next: The Galaxy Nexus

Joshua Topolsky November 10, 2011

The story of how Joshua Topolsky’s current phone became the next thing he wanted to own.

Starcraft Changed my Life

Paul Miller November 18, 2011

Paul Miller investigates a new kind of spectator sport: watching pros play the video game Starcraft.

Inside the Nest: iPod creator Tony Fadell wants to reinvent the thermostat

Nilay Patel November 14, 2011

Tony Fadell, one of the creators of the iPod, on his new mission to give the thermostat a 21st century makeover.

Android: A Visual History

Chris Ziegler December 7, 2011

A timeline of Google’s mobile operating system from 2008 to the present

The condescending UI

Paul Miller December 9, 2011

Paul Miller waxes philosophical on the state of the modern computer user interface.

iOS: A Visual History

Dieter Bohn December 11, 2011

A visual timeline of Apple’s mobile OS from its birth in 2007 to now.

Kickstarted: How one company is revolutionizing product development

Thomas Ricker December 20, 2011

Kickstarter brought about a revolution in crowdsourcing startups for everything from cellphones to techno records, but how did that revolution begin?

Ecosystem: the winner takes it all

Paul Miller January 4, 2012

Paul Miller explores the modern ecosystem issues which face users today, and what those issues mean for companies and consumers moving forward.

The long road to BlackBerry 10

Dieter Bohn January 17, 2012

Long road, indeed. Research in Motion’s transition to a new operating system has been fraught with drama, difficulties, and a long, long timeline.

An Interview with William Gibson

Jesse Hicks January 24, 2012

The author of Neuromancer and the new collection, Distrust That Particular Flavor has a conversation with Jesse Hicks.

The exit interview with Jon Rubinstein: 'What we accomplished has been amazing'

Joshua Topolsky January 27, 2012

A former Apple executive and longtime CEO of Palm leaves the industry for some well-deserved time off, and speaks with Joshua Topolsky about what he’s accomplished, as well as what lies ahead.

Why is Snooki trying to sell me headphones?

Joseph L. Flatley January 28, 2012

Joe Flatley asks the most important question of CES 2012.

What’s in your bag

The Verge team opens their bags to show you what they carry with them every day.