Gaming Addiction Officially Recognized

Addiction to video games is a mental health condition according to the World Health Organization. It’s going to add it to an official list used for both diagnosis and statistics.

The condition “gaming disorder” is scheduled to be part of the 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases, which is being updated for the first time in 26 years. The list is a template for countries to use in their own systems, making it easier to compare and track a condition worldwide over time.

Unlike a physical condition that’s diagnosed by symptoms, “gaming disorder” will be diagnosed and classified based mainly on the effect it has on the players life, particularly if they continue playing despite knowing and seeing that it causes problems with other areas of their life. The threshold is set as “significant impairment” on other areas of life.

The listing of the condition notes that it should usually only be diagnosed when it’s evident the problems have been happening for at least a year. The only exception would be in the case of severe symptoms.


WANT: Funko POP! Bob Ross Vinyl Figures Series 2

Because we all need happy little trees in our life… Let Bob’s soothing nature calm you once the inlaws leave after the holidays.

Measuring just 3 3/4″ tall, these versions of Bob can go with you anywhere, ready to add some happy little clouds or trees to your next outing. Choose Bob Ross in Overalls or Bob Ross w/Raccoon. “Overalls” comes with a comically oversized paint brush and “w/Raccoon” comes with the baby raccoon from the episode “Forest Edge” (“he’s a loaner raccoon”) and features Ross holding a fantastic little painting that we think you’ll enjoy.

[Funko POP! Bob Ross Vinyl Figures Series 2]

Apple Cuts Battery Replacement Cost Immediately

Apple says it will offer reduced price battery replacements for iPhones immediately. It had previously said the move — a response to revelations about a slowdown designed to prevent unwanted phone shutdowns — would come at the end of the month.

The offer affects out-of-warranty models from the iPhone 6 or later and is good for all of 2018. It cuts the battery replacement price from $79 to $29. Although the offer is available immediately, Apple has warned there may be delays in actually getting the new battery, which makes sense given replacement demand will be much higher than usual.

The price reduction is part of Apple’s attempts to cope with a problem that’s as much about publicity and communication as it is technology. It says it slowed down older models to avoid spikes in processor demand that could cause phones with degraded batteries to shut down unexpectedly.

The problem is that it didn’t tell people about the change, which only fuelled the conspiracy theories that Apple deliberately slows down older models just when a new one is coming out, making an upgrade feel more worthwhile. (That’s even explicitly mentioned in some of the attempted class action lawsuits filed in recent weeks, though nobody’s publicly provided evidence the timelines even match up.)

Apple’s also planning an iOS update to add improved battery stats so users “can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.”

Netflix Is Apple’s Most Likely Target, Analysts Claim

Apple has a 40 percent chance of buying Netflix in 2018 according to one pair of market analysts. While the number is somewhat arbitrary, by the analysts’ logic it might now be a better than even chance.

The prediction comes from Asiya Merchant and Jim Suva of Citi, who listed the chances of several possible takeovers. Others included Activision, Electronic Arts and Take-Two at around 10 percent and Tesla and Hulu as longer shots.

The figures effectively suggest it’s a guaranteed certainty that Apple will buy one (and exactly one) major company this year. While that clearly makes no statistical sense, there is something behind it. The analysts note that the recently-passed US tax law changes mean Apple has a one-off chance to bring money held overseas back to the US with a heavily reduced tax bill. That means it’s in Apple’s interest to spend the money by striking a takeover deal.

Although only just made public, the paper behind the forecast was clearly written several weeks ago as it shows Disney as a 20-30 percent chance. That’s now out of the window, meaning Netflix is effectively rated as having as much or more chance of being taken over than all the other listed countries put together.

The logic appears to be that while streaming video is a complementary product to Apple’s devices, it’s an area where it doesn’t have any particular expertise and it’s likely a case of if you can’t beat them, join them.

Could Humans Survive Prolonged Space Travel? [Science Video]

Prolonged space travel plays a severe toll on the human body: microgravity impairs muscle and bone growth, and high doses of radiation cause irreversible mutations. As we seriously consider the human species becoming space-faring, a big question stands: even if we do break free from Earth’s orbit, can we adapt to the extreme environments of space? Lisa Nip examines our odds.

[Ted Education]