Week of 9/1/13 News Roundup: Internet Addiction Treatments, Samsung's 'Smart' Watch, and more

News For:

Science,

Bradford Medical Center, a hospital in Pennsylvania, is now opening an Internet Addiction program. The 10-day treatment focuses on about four adult patients at a time and costs $14,000, which is not covered by medical insurance.. The hospital has made it very clear that the program is not recommended for anyone that spends time on the Internet during their free time; they recommend it for anyone who goes on the Internet and ignores everything else. The program starts off with a 72 hour disconect from the Internet to allow the "addicts" to reflect and disconnect. Allen Frances from the Huffington Post vehemently rejects programs like this, however, saying "We are not all Internet addicts. Let's stop this fad before it starts."
Read more about this story on CBS, New York Post, or FOX News.

A small transparent 'window to the brain' has been developed by University of California, Riverside. They say they would use a material known as yttria-stabilized zirconia to make a small transparent 'window' to allow laser surgery to take place on the brain.
Read more about this story on NanoMedJournal.

Entertainment,

As you may already know, the Warner Bros. recently released a film titled The Conjuring. The film is set in the 1970s and follows a Rhode Island family as their house is haunted by supernatural forces. The film is loosely based on an actual Rhode Island house, owned by Norma Sutcliffe and her husband. After the film's release, the crowds have become so extreme that Rhode Island Police are stationed outside the house to keep the family safe.
Read more about this story on BBC.

What's the logical choice of roles for an actor who's been an evil super-powered mutant and wise old wizard fighting the very manifestation of evil? Why, the world's greatest detective of course! No, this isn't another Batman casting article. Ian McKellen has agreed to play Sherlock Holmes in the upcoming movie A Slight Trick of the Mind. Unlike the hit shows Elementary and Sherlock and the recent Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies, McKellen will be playing an older Holmes.
Read more about this story on io9 or IGN.

Nintendo has announced the 2DS. I'm not joking, the 2DS is a version of Nintendo's wildly popular 3DS but it has no 3D functionality and it does not fold. Even while Wii U sales flounder, the 3DS and the 3DS XL are breaking records for handheld gaming devices, so the 2DS has a strong chance of success when it launches on October 12.
Read more about this story on IGN, Gamespot, or Nintendo's own website.

In more Nintendo news, the Wii U is getting a price cut soon. The Basic Edition of the Wii U will cease to exist, and the Deluxe version will drop down to $300. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD will also be included in a new bundle with the Deluxe Edition starting before the game's retail release. This is likely an attempt to bolster extremely poor Wii U sales. However, in a decision that has mystified many, these price cuts aren't out now, so if you're considering purchasing a Wii U, I strongly recommend you wait for the cut which will come into effect on the 20th of September.
Read more about this story on IGN, Gamespot, or Nintendo's own website.

And Technology.

Microsoft has acquired Nokia's mobile phone business for $7.2 billion, likely to give the Windows Phone 8 a much needed boost. As of August 7, Windows Phone had a 3.7% smartphone market share, trailing behind iOS's 13.2% and Android's enormous lead with 79.3% market share. It will be interesting to see how, as chief executive Steve Ballmer says, "[Microsoft's] big, bold step forward" will affect the market share statistics come Q3 2013.
Read more about this story on BBC, NYT, Microsoft's own website.

Samsung recently unveiled the Galaxy Gear, a touchscreen smartwatch that can pair with any Samsung device running Android 4.0 or newer. While the idea of smartphone on your wrist may be appealing, keep in mind that this requires an Android smartphone that is only manufactured by Samsung, which will severely limit the appeal to some. The $300 price tag, near that of many Android smartphones, may also be slightly off putting.
Read more about this story on CNN or NBC.

NEST Speculative: Marvel VS DC Part Two- Taking on Television

Gap in the Market

As I discussed in my last NEST Speculative, Marvel has almost indisputably won the battle for the big screen. However, as of the writing of this piece, Marvel hasn't had a live-action television that was part of their cinematic universe relaunching, except the still forthcoming Agents of Shield. DC, on the other hand, has. Smallville was incredibly long-running at ten seasons, and the more recent Arrow has had one amazing season so far and is set to return later this year.

New Screen, New Rules

DC's recent attempts to ground their heroes in real-world logic have been more successful on television. The simple reason for this is length of the piece. 217 episodes of Smallville aired, and sans commercials that equals roughly 163 hours of the show, compared to the two-hour Man of Steel. A movie that focuses on high-octane superhero action like Man of Steel or The Avengers cannot sustain itself for even a single season. DC's current superhero show, Arrow, focuses strongly on the interpersonal relationships between the characters, which helps sustain the action and keeps viewers between episodes.
Unlike DC, Marvel may not be as comfortable on television. The Avengers was undoubtedly a great film but a show with that style would outstay its welcome far too fast. That's not to say Agents of Shield won't be as high-quality as the Marvel films; Joss Whedon has had plenty of experience with television and I am sure Agents of Shield will be a high quality show.

Find out this Fall

The battle for television will likely be decided this fall, with Agents of Shield going head-to-head with Arrow and quite possibly the Arrow Spinoff Flash. If Arrow continues with its current quality and direction, Marvel and Disney have their work cut out for them.
What's your opinion? Tell me in the comments.

NEST September News

After a few weeks of summer hiatus, NEST is returning for autumn with a brand-new format! (Yes, I know we've only put out two articles on the old one.)
Every week, we'll have a weekly News roundup that catches you up on the latest stories. If a story is breaking news, you'll likely see a News article in the middle of the week, however.
Every other week on Wednesdays, NEST Speculative and opinion pieces will come out. However, Speculative and Opinion pieces may come out alongside breaking news stories to allow NEST to have an objective tone in one article and let our opinions seep through in another.
You can also now subscribe to NEST with your RSS reader, so you never miss a single post. I personally recommend feedly.com, which links with your Google Account, but any reader should work.
I hope you enjoy our new content, and I thank you for your patience.

NEST Speculative: Marvel VS DC Part One- Cinematic Success and Failure

 Disambiguation 

When I discuss any Marvel property in films, I will not be including Sony's Spiderman trilogy or the recent 2012 reboot nor will I include Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four films. I am sticking to Marvel's core cinematic universe for the sake of clarity.

Rivalry and Failure

Marvel and DC, two of the biggest rivals in all of geek culture, have very different approaches when it comes to putting their characters on the big screen. Everyone has seen a beloved comic book movie franchise tank, from Batman and Robin, considered to be one of the worst comic book movies ever, to Superman IV. However, recently Marvel seems to have finally created a cinematic universe that has stood the test of time. What's their secret?

Casting

Quick, name me an Avenger. I'm willing to be quite a few of you said Iron Man, played perfectly by Robert Downey Jr. Not only is RDJ an excellent actor, he pulls of the very difficult job of making a cocky, self-absorbed character likeable. In fact, he turned Iron Man from a background character to one of Marvel's major sellers. Christian Bale's contrast between the mild-mannered Bruce Wane and the raspy vigilante Batman.

Believability

 There are two very different approaches to a comic book movie. You can either create a universe that wholeheartedly accepts superhero logic, or put superheros into a believable world. For example, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy features absolutely no superpowers and tries to ground Batman and his villains in a world exactly the same as our own. It works because the logic is consistent. Joss Whedon's Avengers features insane superpowers, alien invasions, and gods fighting radioactive rage monsters. The logic in that world is that the supernatural is perfectly normal in that world,  and so then the logic is conistent.

Interconnection

The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel were both far and away box office successes, so why is Marvel's cinematic universe doing so much better? Iron Man 3 may not have been as been as wildly successful as The Avengers, but it still outdid Man of Steel by hundreds of millions of dollars. (Iron Man 3 grossed aprox. 1,200,000,000; Man of Steel grossed approx $648,423,009) What's the secret to Marvel's success? Their interconnection between films means that if you enjoyed the Avengers, you have a higher chance of seeing Iron Man 3. With every film, Marvel's fan base grows, whereas DC relies on a "Makers of the Dark Knight Trilogy" to recapture fans. Warner Bros. hopes to create their own universe, offering Christian Bale $50 million to play Batman in their upcoming Superman VS Batman film.

Outcome

Will DC be able to create their own cinematic universe? After Iron Man 3 was slightly less successful than The Avengers, does that signal a decline in Marvel's success? Only time will tell.

New Columns!

Well, we're going to have quite a few more columns at NEST now, in more ways than one.
The obvious columns would be part of our new redesign to help make all content on NEST more accessible in less time.
We now also have a few new columns: NEST Speculative, which will have articles on Wednesdays; NEST Opinion, which will have articles on Saturdays; and NEST News, which will have articles on when a major story happens.
Like the new design? Want to see different columns? Tell us in the comments below.

Ender's Game: Upcoming Science Fiction Epic or Future Flop?

A Good Movie May Be Ruined

Ender's Game has been hailed by many as one of the best science fiction works of all time. I personally am a great fan of the book, so I was excited when the move was announced.
However, two things worry me.
This trailer:


And the fact that Orson Scott Card, the author of Ender's Game, may be the movie's ultimate downfall.

The Trailer

Major book spoilers and quite possibly major movie spoilers:
Fans of the book will notice some key moments, such as Valentine and Ender on the raft and Ender's ultimate victory at the end of the trailer (If I'm correct and that's what it is, then that's a pretty big spoiler to put in a trailer.). However, it appears that the audience will know that Ender's battles at Command School are real and it looks almost as if Ender does too. Hopefully the movie doesn't stray too far from the source material, but you'll hear no complaints from me no matter what as long as the movie is good, faithful to the book or no.

End Spoilers.

The "Skip Ender's Game" Movement

Questionably constructed trailers aside, something else is plaguing Ender's Game, significant enough to get a press release out of Lionsgate.
The Skip Ender's Game movement brings up Orson Scott Card's numerous homophobic comments, with the following quote displayed prominently on their site:

“Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.”
— Orson Scott Card, “The Hypocrites of Homosexuality,” Sunstone Magazine, Feb 1990

Lionsgate, hoping to offset the outrage of fans, released the following statement:

"As proud longtime supporters of the LGBT community, champions of films ranging from Gods and Monsters to The Perks of Being a Wallflower and a company that is proud to have recognized same-sex unions and domestic partnerships within its employee benefits policies for many years, we obviously do not agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card and those of the National Organization for Marriage. However, they are completely irrelevant to a discussion of Ender’s Game. The simple fact is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these views in any way, shape or form. On the contrary, the film not only transports viewers to an entertaining and action-filled world, but it does so with positive and inspiring characters who ultimately deliver an ennobling and life-affirming message. Lionsgate will continue its longstanding commitment to the LGBT community by exploring new ways we can support LGBT causes and, as part of this ongoing process, will host a benefit premiere for Ender’s Game."

Most of the anti-Ender's Game movements were not placated by Lionsgate's statement. However, prominent pro-LGBT author Dustin Lance Black disagrees. "There's so much good to be done right now," Black wrote. "Boycotting a movie made by 99% lgbt equality folks in an lgbt equality industry is a waste of our collective energy. Making one phone call to a relative in the south who isn't quite there yet would be 1000 times more effective."

Final Verdict

The spoiler-filled trailers and the boycott movement don't paint a pretty picture for Ender's Game. I don't know for sure, but the boycott movements look to put a serious dent in the profits of the movie.
What's your opinion? Will the film turn out well? Comment below!

The 12th Doctor Has Been Announced!

The 12th Doctor will be Peter Capaldi, pictured below.

Source (Doctor Who Twitter)

iPad and iPhone ban vetoed by the Trade Representitive

During the patent battle that Apple and Samsung have been locked in for years, it was ruled that the older models of iPads and iPhones infringed on Samsung's wireless technology patents. After the ruling, those models of iPads and iPhones were banned from sale. However, President Obama's Trade Representative vetoed the decision on the grounds that it damaged competition. The President has 60 days to veto the new decision; if he does not, the old phones can be sold again in 60 days.
Source (BBC)

Why Predicting Technology is so Hard

  What are we doing wrong?

Why are predictions of technological advancement so often wrong? Why can't we predict where breakthroughs are going to come from? Often, we'll predict something could never happen, only to be laughably wrong later.

"A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth's atmosphere." -The New York Times, January 13, 1920
"That the automobile has practically reached the limit of its development is suggested by the fact that during the past year no improvements of a radical nature have been introduced." -Scientific American, January 2, 1909.
"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share." -Steve Ballmer 2007
"With over fifteen types of foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself." -Businessweek, August 2, 1968.

Well, even logical sound predictions can be completely turned on their head by a few phenomena described below.

The Public Doesn't Know What it Wants

"A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them." -Steve Jobs
Sometimes, a new or emergent technology will catch on unexpectedly because people hadn't realized they wanted it. Sound in movies, personal computing, and even the iPhone have been described as impractical and too niche to succeed on a large-scale market. In this case, possibility isn't a question- it's feasibility, practicality, and just the question that every investor asks- "Where's the market for this?"

Innovation comes from an unexpected place

One of the troubles with predicting specific breakthroughs is you never know what will be the focus of innovation and invention. The Industrial Revolution focused on manufacturing, the early 20th century focused on travel, the late 20th century focused on processing, and the 21st century has focused on communication. Of course, processing has improved this century, but nothing so major as the silicon chip versus vacuum tubes. Travel has improved, but nothing like the jump from carriages to automobiles and aircraft.

While communication is really the biggest improvement for the last decade, our focus may soon change. 3D printing is very close to bringing focus back to manufacturing, and trouble in the Middle East may soon cause an invention of necessity in the travel industry. Just remember- before you write something off as impossible, think of the quotes above.

Moto X: Everything we know about Google's All-American Phone, Designed by You

As some may already know, Google has officially purchased Motorola. Their first phone under Google will be called the Moto X, and it is sizing up to be an Android flagship. The advertisement campaign has pushed the American manufacturing aspect of the phone. This is likely a direct response to the somewhat recent revelation that Apple's iPhone and iPad are manufactured in China by workers who frequently are underage and/or underpaid.
The Moto X doesn't just focus on it's American aspects- it also touts that is "designed by you."

A quote from Motorala's website: 

"People are skydiving out of space ships. But you can't design your own phone? Not anymore. Now Moto X lets you choose the front, the back, the accents, the wallpaper, the memory, and even a short message. It's all your call."

Below is a table comparing the Moto X to other big-name Android phones. (courtesy of DroidLife)

As you can see, the Moto X isn't a standout in terms of its technology, but the strong Google Now integration and the customizable, Made in the USA ad campaign may help it pull ahead.

Who will be the 12th Doctor?

UPDATE: Peter Capaldi will be the new Doctor! 
The subject of who will replace Matt Smith as the Doctor is a hotly contested topic amongst fans of BBC's Doctor Who. This Sunday, at 2PM Eastern Standard Time, we'll find out the identity of the actor to play the 12th Doctor in a live event on BBC One.
However, that doesn't mean Smith's run as the Doctor is completely ended; he'll appear in the 50th anniversary special alongside his predecessor David Tennant and then later in the 2013 Christmas special. After that, the actor to be announced tomorrow will step into the role of the Doctor.

The Hollywood Effect in Action: Avatar

Fox released the following official statement.

The three pictures will be filmed simultaneously with production beginning next year. The release of the first sequel will be in December 2016, with the second to follow in December 2017, and the third a year later. AVATAR 2, 3, and 4 will be produced by Cameron and Jon Landau through their Lightstorm Entertainment banner. Like the original film, Lightstorm will work with Joe Letteri and his team at WETA Digital to realize the worlds of the sequels.
Commented Cameron: “Building upon the world we created with AVATAR has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that AVATAR’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. And to help me continue to expand this universe, I’m pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh — all writers I’ve long admired -­ to join me in completing the films screenplays.”
Commented 20th Century Fox chairman and CEO, Jim Gianopulos: “We at the studio have no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of AVATAR. The growing breadth and scale of Jim Cameron’s plans for his magnificent fantasy worlds continue to amaze us all.”

According to the statement, Cameron has decided to film all three films simultaneously to have the movies ready to release the movies every year. This decision is related to the Hollywood Effect I described in  my previous post. Hopefully Avatar won't fall into the trap the Aliens franchise did; the first and second movies were received well critically and commercially, but ratings plummeted for the third and fourth installments. I wish Mr. Cameron luck in his endeavor.

The Hollywood Effect

Everything is a Sequel

Has anyone else ever noticed that media seems to always be ruled by giant, monolithic publishers? The effect is most apparent when everything that comes out from that media seems to be the same or is just another sequel. On Business Insider's list of top grossing video games, only four of the ten games listed aren't numbered sequels, only one of them was not a sequel (direct or indirect), and even that one non-sequel (The Sims) went on to have sequels of its own. On IGN's list of top grossing movies, we have 2 prequels, a movie of an existing property, an original movie, an original movie with two sequels already in the works, and 10 sequels. Call of Duty (often abbreviated CoD), a franchise that is one of the most widely recognized in gaming, currently has quite a few games. The original trilogy of Call of Duty games was followed up by another trilogy titled Modern Warfare. In between installments of those six games were Call of Duty: World at War, and two games in the Black Ops series. At present time, one more game has been announced and is forthcoming: Call of Duty: Ghosts. That's ten games for one franchise! Instead of innovating, why do video game developers and movie makers keep making sequels?

Giant Publishers

The real reasons there seem to be a plethora of sequels and a derth of new intellectual property is cost. According to Wikipedia, "An average development budget for a multiplatform game is $18-28[million], with high-profile games often exceeding more than $40[million]." Since Hollywood is more secretive about costs of production, I can't find figures as informative, but most blockbusters cost multiple millions of dollars. Considering these costs, it makes that there isn't a lot of risk in those industries. Even though the cost for a book's publication don't generally top a million dollars, the effect is still present in books; a writer must first find a literary agent who then  must find a publisher. Television has some of the greatest variety of publishers, since there are hundreds of networks and channels, but those networks and channels must maintain a good relationship with television providers such as Cable and DirectTV. If someone won't or can't work through these established channels, where can they go?

Independent Artists

Ever heard of indie developers, independent film makers, or self-published authors? These artists don't work within the bubble of publishers. Independent game developers are generally respected within the industry and are known for creating games that have a deep, moving message or new innovative game play, and can publish through a variety of virtual stores, such as Desura. Independent film makers also have a similar reputation for meaningful, but short, films that they can either sell as physical media through services such as CreateSpace or they can publish on a digital platform such as Amazon Instant Video (again using CreateSpace). Self-published authors aren't viewed the same way, largely due to the low to nonexistent costs of self-publishing; due to low costs, many subpar writers have flooded the self-published market with poor writing and it makes it difficult to locate any good works.
As popularity of digital distribution of video games, television, movies, and books grows, independent artists will have an easier and easier time getting their content to a growing audience. Hollywood, the games industry, and book publishers may have to change slighlty, but it seems television may be immune due to the prohibitive costs of producing high-quality work in a sustained manner that independent film makers may not be able to handle. So it seems the Hollywood Effect is still going to continue, at least for now.

Hello World!

Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
Console.ReadLine();
cout<< "Hello World!";
System.out.println("Hello World!");
printf("Hello World");

I'm Ryan Goldstein, the main (and, at pres. time, the only) researcher, writer, and editor at NEST.
Of course, you'll need more introduction than that.
This blog will be about exactly what it says- Entertainment, Science, and Technology.
Every week, I'll post an observation about, you guessed it, entertainment, science, or technology.
I'll also post any news that I think is interesting and pertains to the NEST set of items and topics.
I hope you'll enjoy the science-fiction filled ride!