Genius is everywhere - but we're wasting it. In the November issue of WIRED, we explore how to unleash the great minds of tomorrow. Plus 26 winter gear essentials, the Nest Protect, North Korean Instagrams, and much more! Online and on Tablets: 10.15.2013 On Newsstands: 10.22.2013

Early technology to enable the channel-surfer.

To create the world of Asgard in Thor: The Dark World, filmmaker Alan Taylor enlisted the help of digital effects company The Third Floor. Using a process called previsualization, The Third Floor created fully rendered low-res CG sets and characters, allowing the director to see, plan out, and experiment with scenes before shooting them.

For years, it’s been a fantasy cinema rule that real actors and CG dragons just don’t mix—ever. With the new release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, will Peter Jackson be able to avoid the pitfalls of the disastrous dragons featured in flicks like Dragonheart, Reign of Fire, and Eragon?

All it took was a little geometry to perfect the adult man’s alternative to a backpack. The Evernote messenger bag features a triangular shape that offers stability and keeps the bag upright when you set it down.

Put a bit of facial hair (or swap hair color) for your protagonist and you get an evil twin. But just because you can doesn't mean you should. The Angry Nerd describes the slippery slope from plot twist to lazy trope.

Character crossovers and storyline mash-ups are nothing new. But if the premise has been done before, are the character overlaps and reincarnations worth a watch? Angry Nerd makes the case for metaphysical mash-ups, including Showtime’s new “Penny Dreadful.”

Remember when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were the new kids on the block? In the early ’80s they debuted the Apple IIe, blowing away the competition. RetroGrade takes a look at the “modern” technology that helped set the industry benchmark for personal computing.

The new sci-fi flick Edge of Tomorrow is basically a sci-fi rip-off of Groundhog Day, but with more Tom Cruise and less Bill Murray. And somehow, it manages to establish itself as one of the best movies about a video game, ever.

Long before the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the Atari 2600 was heralded as the next generation of gaming. Look no further than the sweet joystick and the detailed graphics to see why it’s considered one of the holy grails of video game consoles.

Eighteen-year-old Darby Schumacher is trying to create a safer and healthier world for newborns. The 2014 Thiel Fellowship finalist is working to develop an alert system that tracks vital signs in babies to help combat Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The Tennessee native explains what prompted her to start the project and why she wants to become an entrepreneur.

Watch Matt Winston and the crew assemble the giant creature on Hollywood Boulevard before its big reveal on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Plus, watch Kimmel and his sidekick Guillermo take the nearly 14-foot tall, 2,000-pound creature for a ride. Watch the Kimmel segment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plmBWOL5LBw

Based on the hit YA novel of the same name, the upcoming flick The Maze Runner takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. To create the vast maze and relentless mechanical creatures called Grievers, FX experts Method Studios used technical and complicated special FX. Mike Seymour breaks down the tech behind the film.

Steve Aoki talks with famed futurist Ray Kurzweil about how technology will shape our future, in terms of creativity, consciousness, and the coming singularity.

Architect Bjarke Ingels at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Natasha Jen at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Comic-book legend Stan Lee sits down with Steve Aoki to talk about the future, science, the origins of Marvel, and why the world just might blow itself up one day.

In the April issue of WIRED, senior writer Andy Greenberg explores how North Korean dissidents are trying to undermine Kim Jong-un—with bootleg copies of Titanic and old episodes of Friends. Also this month: Reimagining the iconic Tucker Torpedo, What’s Inside: Jell-O, inside China’s toxic gadget factories, resurrecting the LA river, the biggest crowdfunding campaign ever, and more. Music - "By The Roots" - YZ

If Netflix’s new Daredevil series is anything like Ben Affleck’s Daredevil film, we’re all in trouble. Angry Nerd explains what the latest incarnation needs to get right to make sure the man without fear doesn’t turn into a total flop.

Despite an underpowered processor and only one port, it may herald the future of notebooks.

The Next List. You don’t know them, but you know their work. WIRED presents the unsung geniuses who are shaping the future of business. Also this month: What it takes to create the most nonstop-action-packed movie ever, how Apple created a watch to finally free us from our phones, Ross Ulbricht’s journey from libertarian idealist to savage kingpin and more.

Have some old speakers or an unconnected stereo? The Gramofon and the Griffin Twenty make streaming audio a breeze, even if your gear dates to the days of disco.

This year, Industrial Light & Magic celebrates 40 years of creating the impossible. In WIRED's June issue, we present an oral history of ILM, and look at how George Lucas’ little DIY effects shop changed movies forever. Also this month: Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht's journey from drug kingpin to convicted criminal, Senator Cory Booker's attempt to drag the Senate into the 21st century, the global battle over one of Earth’s most plentiful resources, and much more. #WIRED2306 #WIRED

Google thinks the future of wearables might be making the clothes we already wear connected. It¹s Project Jacquard with Levis may herald a future when a swipe on a sleeve makes a phone call and your pants are talking to the cloud.

WIRED presents the essential manual to finding happiness at work, with your career coach, Rashida Jones. Optimize your brain, your relationships, and your stuff to achieve a state of occupational bliss. Also this month: How Ebola survivors’ DNA could help treat other deadly viruses, billionaire VCs battle to capture massive ROI, one family’s epic quest to cure their son’s epilepsy, and more.

If you hate GoPro's rectangular shape, your prayers have been answered! Sort of. We took the new Hero4 Session into rivers, lakes, and surf, off cliffs and platforms, through trees and go kart courses. Our full review will tell you everything you need to know.

Welcome to the post-natural world. In the August issue of WIRED, we explore Crispr, a new technique for editing DNA that makes it as easy as cut and paste. Ready or not, evolution is about to get an upgrade. Also this month: Mark and Jay Duplass are Hollywood’s unlikely new moguls, a WIRED writer builds an untraceable AR-15 assault rifle right here in our office, and a nonprofit that helps people from the poorest places in the world learn to be task rabbits of the 21st-century economy.

The all new redesigned 2016 Chevy Volt.

With a massive engine and no creature comforts like back seats to weigh it down, the Shelby GT350R is a candidate for the most fun Mustang ever. WIRED associate editor Alex Davies takes it for a spin on the famed Laguna Seca racetrack.

Apple presented new a Watch partnership, its new iPad Pro and Pencil stylus, a new Apple TV and of course, the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus with 3D Touch, 4K video and Live Photo features.

Cities used to grow (more or less) by accident. Today cities develop more intentionally. From Shanghai to Nairobi, designers, architects, and planners are using better materials, smart science, and big data to make cities better—and even a little magical.

For years, scientists have known that Mars has ice. More elusive, though, is figuring out how much of that water is actually in liquid form. Now, NASA scientists have found compelling evidence that liquid water—life-giving, gloriously wet H 20—exists on Mars.

The Martian, Ridley Scott's new space epic, takes audiences to the rugged surface of Mars. Matt Damon stars as left behind astronaut Mark Watney, who has to "science" his survival on the barren planet.

There have been a lot of movies made recently about the Apple founder. This is the one you should see.

Pause, a new $1.99 app isn't a typical game. There's no score and no competition. It's designed to help you zone out and relax by slowly chasing a beautiful blob of dots across your screen.

“Steve Jobs” is more than just a biopic. Director Danny Boyle explains the unique approach he took by shooting the movie in three different film formats to capture the life and achievements of the Apple co-founder.

Guillermo del Toro's new film isn't a horror show, it's a gothic romance but it isn't all that romantic. It does have wonderfully detailed ghosts, a haunted house, beautiful costumes and Jessica Chastain gets to let loose as an unhinged Victorian.

The Last Witch Hunter is a movie starring Vin Diesel where he, yes, hunts witches. That's all you really need to know. If watching the fast-car-driving voice of Groot go hard on some magic-makers sounds like your idea of a good time, Diesel is here to put a spell on you. If not, search for your enchantments elsewhere.

"Steve Jobs" director Danny Boyle discusses how the Apple co-founder elevated the role of tech CEO to modern day storyteller. Boyle also explains his personal heroes in the technology world, from the founders of Wikipedia to Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

How good can an Android phone be? Really, really good.

Is James Bond obsolete? The Joint Intelligence Service thinks spies, even super spies, are dinosaurs in an age of drones and wiretapping. But there's a more philosophical question: Are we over James Bond?

A few days after I started wearing the Time Round, Pebble's ultra-thin new smartwatch, I shut off notifications. This was partly practical---I get too many notifications, and the iPhone offers no filtering control over them---but also a thought experiment. Right now most people see a smartwatch as nothing more than a notification machine, a slightly faster way to see what that buzz in my pocket was all about. What if we took that away? What else could it be?

Apple's new $99 Pencil stylus changes the tablet drawing game. It really is like you're putting ink on paper, says WIRED's David Pierce. It does a better job than almost any other stylus, ever, at sensing and responding to pressure, or angle.

This tablet does things your phone and your laptop can't do. Are they solutions in search of a problem? Perhaps. But the iPad Pro is the best tablet, and the best case for tablets, anyone's ever made says WIRED's David Pierce.

Apple's new iPad Pro is designed for professional creative work, so we put it to the test. A WIRED photographer, designer and video producer tried using the tablet and Apple's new Pencil stylus to retouch images, draw and edit video.

The i-Road's a new kind of three-wheeled concept that Toyota thinks we'll one day use to zip around city centers burning nothing but rubber.

Do you or love music? Does someone on your gift list? Then you probably need some nice headphones. Here's how to pick the right pair and fit them for the best sound.

Not sure what to get your tech-head friends for the holidays? YouTube star MKBHD reviews the Fitbit ChargeHR, Verizon’s Droid Turbo 2, and the Bose SoundLink mini speaker so you can get the right gadget for the right guy or gal.

The Pixel C shows Google has a lot of work left to do to compete with a growing class of multitasking work tablets says WIRED's David Pierce.

If you loved Star Wars once, everything you loved is back. And if you’re new? Welcome home.