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New tech 'addictions' are mostly just old moral panic
The World Health Organization took an unprecedented step in January when it decided to include "gaming disorder" in its 11th International Classification of Diseases (IDC). Though doctors and researchers have examined the effects of heavy internet usage since the days when access arrived on AOL CDs, this marks the first time that the organization has listed this disorder as a mental health condition. Doing so could have far-reaching, and potentially negative, implications for how the disorder is diagnosed and treated.
US Army to deploy Individual Gunshot Detector, essentially a radar for bullets
Latest in our series of "when video games turn real," here's the US Army's newest addition to the wargadget arsenal. The Individual Gunshot Detector, produced by QinetiQ, is an acoustic monitor attuned to tracking down the source of gunshots just by their sound. It has four sensors to pick up the noise of incoming fire, and its analysis of those sound waves produces a readout on a small display that lets the soldier know where the deadly projectiles originated from. The entire system weighs just under two pounds, and while it may not be much help in an actual firefight -- there's no way to distinguish between friendly and hostile fire -- we imagine it'll be a pretty handy tool to have if assaulted by well hidden enemies. 13,000 IGD units are being shipped out to Afghanistan later this month, with a view to deploying 1,500 each month going forward and an ultimate ambition of networking their data so that when one soldier's detector picks up a gunfire source, his nearby colleagues can be informed as well.
GDC08: Joystiq live at the IGF and GDCA awards
6:34 pm PT -- We've arrived at the GDC's annual IGF and GDCA award show. This year we've moved up to the the tables in the front Very snazzy. So far, we've heard Pixies and Muse play overhead. We think we're hearing right now a very trance remix of the Wii Shop Channel music ... and it's wonderful.6:37 pm PT -- Lights fade, clouded scene gets up. Someone from Mega64 thanks everyone for attending IGF until it cuts into a metal music explosion. "Do not get up" We're pretty sure it's a play on the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie Introduction. Simon Carless and Jamil Moledina takes the stage.6:38 pm PT -- "The show will be televised on national television" He means G4TV -- close enough, we suppose. Introducing the folks from developer Flashbang. A round of applause for the indie developers, the "heart and soul" of the industry.%Gallery-16565%
