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.