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Submission + - Computer game designed to treat depression as effective as traditional treatment (news24.com)

Submitted by sirlark
sirlark writes: Researchers at the University of Auckland tested an interactive 3D fantasy game called Sparx on a 94 youngsters diagnosed with depression whose average age was 15 and a half. Sparx invites a user to take on a series of seven challenges over four to seven weeks in which an avatar has to learn to deal with anger and hurt feelings and swap negative thoughts for helpful ones. Used for three months, Sparx was at least as effective as face-to-face conventional counselling, according to several depression rating scales. In addition, 44% of the Sparx group who carried out at least four of the seven challenges recovered completely. In the conventional treatment group, only 26% recovered fully.

One has to wonder if it Sparx specifically, or gaming in general that provides the most benefit. Given that most of the symptoms of depression relate to a feeling of being unable to influence one's environment (powerlessness, helplessness, ennui, etc) and games are specifically designed to make one feel powerful but challenged (if they hit the sweet spot).

Submission + - Pay less if you're a nice person: Valves fremium model for DOTA 2 (develop-online.net)

Submitted by Canazza
Canazza writes: In an upcoming interview with seven day cooldown, and summarised by Develop, Valve Boss Gabe Newell discusses the payment model for the upcomming DOTA 2.
""The issue that we're struggling with quite a bit is something I've kind of talked about before, which is how do you properly value people's contributions to a community? [...] An example is – and this is something as an industry we should be doing better – is charging customers based on how much fun they are to play with. [...] Now, a real jerk that annoys everyone, they can still play, but a game is full price and they have to pay an extra hundred dollars if they want voice.”"
Politics

Submission + - US Small-scale Nuclear Reactor Industry Gains Traction in Missouri (stltoday.com)

Submitted by trichard
trichard writes: From this article on STLtoday.com:

"Ameren Missouri is vying to be the first utility in the country to seek a construction and operating license for a small-scale nuclear reactor, a technology that’s appealing to utilities because of the smaller upfront costs and shorter development lead times.

The small reactors, about a fourth or less the capacity of full-size nuclear units, are appealing to the nuclear industry because they could be manufactured at a central plant and shipped around the world. By contrast, building nuclear reactors today is a more cumbersome process that must be done largely on site and takes years."

Submission + - Mobile Application for the Blind & Deaf (v-softinc.com)

Submitted by
warmerslofts
warmerslofts writes: "Mobile application development for the blind and deaf have been done by a Indian computer student that allow the blind and deaf to send and receive SMS on smartphone devices such as the Android app development that is even much cheaper than the more expensive Braille devices."
Robotics

Submission + - We Robot' Explores Robot Law & Policy

Submitted by
Froomkin
Froomkin writes: "This weekend, April 21 & 22, the University of Miami School of Law is gathering experts on the front lines of robot theory, design and development, as well as those who will design or influence the legal and social structures in which robots operate to discuss robot law and policy at We Robot 2012. All the We Robot conference papers are online, and there wil be live streaming video. Topics include automated law enforcement, to whether robots should have rights, miliary drones, sex robots, and roboethics. This isn't Laws of Robotics Isaac Asimov style, but rather the start of a long conversation about what robots should be able to do — and what happens when things go wrong. Robots that can work closely with humans will be the source of policy, regulatory, legal and – yes – philosophical problems, and it is time to start working through them."
Businesses

Submission + - Workers Did Not Overstep on Stealing Data, Court Says (computerworld.com)

Submitted by
MikeatWired
MikeatWired writes: "In a somewhat startling decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that several employees at an executive recruitment firm did not exceed their authorized access to their company's database when they logged into the system and stole confidential data from it. The appellate court's decision affirms a previous ruling made by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The government must now decide if it wants to take the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The judge wrote that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, under which they were charged, applies primarily to unauthorized access involving external hackers. The definition of "exceeds authorized access" under the CFAA applies mainly to people who have no authorized access to the computer at all, the judge wrote. The term would also apply to insiders who might have legitimate access to a system but not to specific information or files on the system Applying the language in the CFAA any other way would turn it into a "sweeping Internet-policing mandate," he wrote."
NASA

Submission + - NASA Unveils Greenest Federal Building in the Nation (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: NASA just unveiled its new Sustainability Base — an exceptionally efficient building that harnesses technology developed for the International Space Station. The high-tech complex produces more energy than it consumes and it was just awarded LEED Platinum certification, making it the greenest federal building in the nation. The project features an extensive network of wireless sensors that allow the building to automatically react to changes in weather and occupancy and NASA's forward-osmosis water recycling system, which cuts water use by 90% compared to a traditional building.

Submission + - FBI seizes server providing anonymous remailer (riseup.net)

Submitted by sunbird
sunbird writes: At 16:00 ET on April 18, federal agents seized a server located in a New York colocation facility shared by May First / People Link and Riseup.net. The server was operated by the European Counter Network ("ECN"), the oldest independent internet service provider in Europe. The server was seized as a part of the investigation into bomb threats sent via the Mixmaster anonymous remailer received by the University of Pittsburgh that were previously discussed on Slashdot. As a result of the seizure, hundreds of unrelated people and organizations have been disrupted.
Games

Submission + - If You Resell Your Used Games, The Terrorists Win (hothardware.com) 1

Submitted by
MojoKid
MojoKid writes: "Game designer Richard Browne has come out swinging in favor of the rumored antipiracy features in the next-gen PlayStation Orbis and Xbox Durango. "The real cost of used games is the damage that is being wrought on the creativity and variety of games available to the consumer," Browne writes. Browne's comments echo those of influential programmer and Raspberry Pi developer David Braben, who wrote last month that "...pre-owned has really killed core games. It's killing single player games in particular, because they will get pre-owned, and it means your day one sales are it, making them super high risk." Both Browne and Braben conflate hating GameStop (a thoroughly reasonable life choice) with the supposed evils of the used games market. Braben goes so far as to claim that used games are actually responsible for high game prices and that "prices would have come down long ago if the industry was getting a share of the resells." Amazingly, no game publishers have stepped forward to publicly pledge themselves to lower game prices in exchange for a cut of used game sales. Publishers are hammering Gamestop (and recruiting developers to do the same) because it's easier than admitting that the current system is fundamentally broken."
The Internet

Submission + - Online therapy: Taking mental health services out of the office (patexia.com)

Submitted by
techgeek0279
techgeek0279 writes: "Web-based psychotherapy is emerging as an alternative to conventional therapy sessions, with Skype and other telecommunication technologies serving as platforms through which patients can communicate with their therapists from miles away. At first, video conferencing was used to provide therapy for patients in supervised facilities such as prisons, rural clinics, and veteran’s healthcare facilities. But the trend is expanding and now many patients are finding it easier to talk to a therapist from the comfort of their living rooms. Online psychotherapy sites dedicated to providing web-based therapy sessions are on the rise. Breakthrough.com is one such site and has enrolled 900 therapists over a two-year time span. There is also the Telemental Health Institute, an online training institution for telepsychiatry and online psychotherapy services."
Open Source

Submission + - Counterfeit Open Source Hardware — Knockoffs 101 (makezine.com)

Submitted by
ptorrone
ptorrone writes: "“Clone” in many of the the hardware circles I’m usually in means a knockoff, including the logo, etc. It’s made to fool people; however I think I will say “counterfeit” in addition to clone since there were a couple people on Slashdot that were confused about clone versus counterfeit. This might make it easier to explain exactly what I’m talking about. So this week I’m going to outline some counterfeits to look out for when you’re looking for a deal on an Arduino or any other types of open source hardware."
The Courts

Submission + - Verizon sued for false advertising about broadband (paidcontent.org)

Submitted by
Fluffeh
Fluffeh writes: "It seems that the days of getting "Up to" this or that speed may be coming closer to the end. A suit against Verizon, which is trying to become a class action suit, is putting some of these many shadier promises to light. This isn't just about the "up to" speeds being marketed though. In this case, a woman was convinced to upgrade her account from a 768k top speed account to a 1.5 Mb top speed account — at $10 more per month — only to find that her line could only handle the 768k, based on her distance from the CO. She then had a Verizon rep tell her she should downgrade her account, but the company was unwilling to reimburse her for the higher fees she paid on a level of service she couldn't technically get."

Submission + - Does Anyone Repair Electronics Any More? (electronicdesign.com) 1

Submitted by futuristic
futuristic writes: The comments on this article are an interesting read, covering a wide span of interest and experience in component-level electronics repair. Personally I enjoy harvesting components and assemblies for re-use and am looking forward to refurbishing a 1970's analog synthesizer my son recently acquired.

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