Monday
May062019

‘Avengers: Endgame’ could’ve been called ‘Infinity Gauntlet’

Would the impact have been the same impact if Avengers: Endgame was titled as Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet? Or did that make it seem so obvious? According to Joe Russo’s interview with Josh Horowitz on MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, the latter was the chosen title for “quite a long time.” And while it does seem like a fitting title for the movie, perhaps wanted to keep this major plot point out of the title to keep the mystery going.

Also, how would you have felt if Endgame was a two-part film? Perhaps it wouldn’t have the same impact, either. Thankfully, the production team were just joking about doing this. Russo said, “We used to joke about [splitting the movies in two] all the time. Because Alan Horn at Disney had overseen Lord of the Rings and he used to joke about it. Like, three hour movie, just cut it in half. I don’t know that it would have achieved this kind of success had we split it up.” The movie has broken box office records left and right and has reached the US$2.188 billion mark globally in its second weekend, making it the second-highest grossing movie of all time. It beats out Titanic in just 11 days as well as Avatar, which hit the $2 billion mark in 47 days.

Source: Slash Film

Monday
May062019

Code in iOS 12.3 suggests support for additional forms of mass transit

Embed from Getty Images

Looks like there’s something useful coming in the next big iOS 12 update. Tap Down Under found within the code of iOS 12.3 hints that Apple might support EMV payment cards within Apple Pay Express Transit. This feature lets users pay for public transportation fare in New York and other areas where EMV is an option. It also lets you set a preferred card to use, so you don’t use your usual card for subway rides. There is no guarantee it’s coming yet or when. iOS 12.3 has had four betas already but the final version hasn’t been announced yet.

This plan though could coincide with a bigger plan to add more mass transit cards to its network. Rumour has it that this will be coming in iOS 13. For now, we have to wait and see if there’s any truth to that.

Source: Engadget

Monday
May062019

This is when it’s acceptable to start talking about the latest ‘Game of Thrones’ episode

So, you’ve kept up with all the Game of Thrones episodes, but your officemate hasn’t seen it yet. When is the best time to start talking about the newest episode? New data from NachoAnalytics suggest that Wednesday is the best day. At that point over 70 percent of viewers have reportedly already seen the episode. Not everyone gets to watch it on Sunday. In fact, their figures suggest around 40 percent get to see it when it airs. So, just hold on a bit before you talk about the latest episode of the series.

Source: Quartz

Sunday
May052019

Google Maps tests out new feature that enhances your restaurant experience

Confused? Well, we can’t blame you. Google Maps is trying out a new feature that doesn’t have anything to do with navigation. Instead, it might make life easier for you to decide where to eat as you plot your course within the navigation app. Google is adding a “Popular dishes” feature within the app that shows food menus with photos crowdsourced from users in search results. If you check out restaurants in Google Maps, some of these already offer a Menu tab sans photos. This could change with this test. This Menu tab has different sections and the photos show up in the Popular tab. As the report from 9to5Google notes, it seems only items that are frequently cited in reviews get pictures. This might seem like a useful feature for some users, but others might think this adds bloat to the app. It does bring the app closer to becoming a Yelp competitor. What do you think? Is this something you need?