Hasta La Gadget!

Raymond Teller once said that the secret to fooling people is to put in so much more effort than the trick seems worth. It seems that the bods at Industrial Light and Magic followed his wisdom when concocting the effects for The Avengers. If you’d marveled at how seamless the team had blended shots of the Big Apple with the Chitauri invasion, then we’ve got a surprise for you — almost none of it is real. Rather than shoot parts of the New York-based finale in the city (or any other city), the effects house created a 20-block “digital playground,” complete with individually detailed office windows. Interested in learning just how much of those breathtaking set pieces were filmed in a green screen in New Mexico? Head on past the break.

Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, Alt

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Via: Luke Edwards (Twitter)

How would you like your toast to be like, sir? Some of us are all right with just fruits for breakfast, while the others prefer something more filling, and a sandwich, bacon, eggs, and some toast with yummy jam would be more ideal – with a pot of coffee on the side, of course. Well, the $129.95 Adjustable Bread And Sandwich Toaster would make for a wholesome addition to your kitchen.

This two-slice toaster will be able to toast entire sandwiches, thanks to a clever modification to the toasting chamber that can expand by up to 2.3″ through a simple slide of the lever, and it will accommodate the included metal sandwich basket. The basket itself will hold the contents of a turkey melt or ham and cheese sandwich, letting the toaster brown both sides of the sandwich equally without prejudice, while melting away any cheese. It also has an adjustable-width toasting slot that holds bagels, small baguettes, and croissants in a jiffy, offering easy removal of toasted items.

You can select from ten browning settings of toast bread from a light brown to a dark walnut color, while there is a bagel setting that toasts the interior while gently warming the exterior of bagels. Bread lovers ought not to miss this.

[ Adjustable Bread And Sandwich Toaster copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

If you’re a fan of Halo 4, you’ll be excited to hear that official details on the next map expansion pack for the game are now available. The next map pack is called Halo 4 Majestic and promises close-quarters action with a new game type and playlists. The new map pack will be available for download on Monday, February 25.

The map pack includes three all new small to medium size maps designed for tight, competitive combat using small-team and free-for-all modes. The three maps offered in the pack include Landfall, Monolith, and Skyline. Landfall places an emphasis on infantry fighting next to a glittering ocean and a massive city under siege.

Monolith is set at a monument built by the Forerunners to celebrate the victory over ancient humans. The map is small and has central man-cannons, short corridors, and little cover. This map is said to be particularly good for capture the flag. The final map is Skyline set in rooftop terrain on a new space tether construction site.

The map pack also brings two Majestic DLC playlists and the new free-for-all game type called Infinity Rumble. The pack also includes 10 new achievements worth 250 additional Gamerscore. The map pack will be available via Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft points.

[via Halowaypoint.com]

Halo 4 Majestic map pack details surface, launch set for February 25 is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sony’s PlayStation 4, expected to be previewed at an event in NYC today, will hit the US market by November, insiders claim, with two variants of the console in the pipeline and support for remote smartphone control. The gaming rig, internally codenamed “Orbis”, will be tentatively priced at $429 and $529 for the two different iterations, Kotaku‘s source says, with the PlayStation Eye camera included as standard.

The console will also support local network play, for those with a PS Vita, but it’s the remote smartphone support that could be most interesting. According to the source – who apparently previously leaked the codenames for the new Sony and Microsoft consoles – the PS4 will hook up to your smartphone or tablet, and then support remote chat with friends and purchases of new games and content, which will be downloaded straight to the console.

Those downloads will be from the PlayStation World, the newly-branded online counterpart to the PS4 hardware, and the replacement for PlayStation Plus. In fact, “most” of the PS4′s online features will demand a subscription, the insider claims, much as Microsoft demands today with Xbox LIVE.

Elsewhere, there’s believed to be a “spectating” system built into PlayStation World, that will allow owners to remotely watch their friends gameplay, without taking part in the game itself. Official pricing for the console is expected to be confirmed later in 2013, potentially at the mid-year E3 expo.

Speculation about the PlayStation 4 has been rife in recent weeks, with talk of virtualized back-catalog support and Gaikai-powered streaming gaming. There have also been several controller leaks – including the new image above – which have tipped a touchpad section for more precise control in certain titles, as well as for navigating menus.

We’ll know more later today, when Sony kicks things off in New York City. SlashGear will be there to bring you all the details.

PS4 due November with smartphone remote control tips insider is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When you think of the Man of Steel, what comes into your mind? I am not referring to you wearing your spandex underwear on the outside to work, but rather, his more, er, super qualities. We do know that his major weakness is kryptonite,and he also recharges himself with solar energy. Well, your smartphone, too, never need be at the mercy of a drained battery ever again with some help from our solar system’s star, the sun. The iSolar Backup Battery Charger comes in handy, arriving in the form of a sun-powered bamboo battery which will be able to bring new life to your dead device’s power stores, delivering additional hours of use.

It is said that a simple 3-hour charge will be able to bring up a depleted device to 40% of its power, now how about that? Each purchase will also be able to be charged via the included USB adapter, letting you power it up if the sun decides to hide behind rain clouds and thunderstorms. Definitely one of the cooler gadgets to own, don’t you think so? It also adds some green street cred to your resume.

[ iSolar Backup Battery Charger copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]