Software to give 3D image of looks post-plastic surgery

A new software, based on real clinical data, will give patients a more accurate 3D before-and-after picture, before the scalpel comes down in a cosmetic surgery.

Alex Bronstein of Tel Aviv University's department of electrical engineering and his partners have built a tool that can generate an anatomically accurate after-surgery image.

With the help of experienced plastic surgeons, the tool can work like an engine to retrieve geometric objects in the same manner Google retrieves web pages, according to a Tel Aviv statement.

It helps patients avoid unexpected results in the plastic surgeon's office, and can also help a surgeon determine the most favourable outcome for the patient.

"Our program is more like a virtual mirror. It gives surgeons and their patients a way to see a 3D before-and-after image as though the patient has really undergone the operation," says Bronstein.

Apple to Tighten Control on Content

Apple Inc. is working to funnel more electronic sales of magazines, newspapers and other content through its iTunes store, an effort that is making some publishers uneasy.

The effort is aimed largely at spurring more subscription sales of digital content for Apple's hit iPad, which the company hopes to accelerate with the aid of a coming new delivery and billing system that it discussed at an event Wednesday. At the same time, Apple is tightening enforcement of a rule governing how some apps for the iPad must handle sales, a shift that affects online books as well as other electronic publications.

Apple's moves are a hot topic, in part because they could require publishers to share revenue from some content with the Silicon Valley company for the first time. The hardware maker also could require that publishers forgo collecting valuable subscriber data they rely on to market their products, an issue that has emerged as a sticking point in discussions with publishers, people familiar with the matter say.

So far, Apple has announced only one customer for the forthcoming content delivery and billing system: News Corp., which is using it for The Daily, a long-anticipated digital publication for tablets that made its debut Wednesday.

Smartphone squint causes premature wrinkles

Wrinkles may be a sign of approaching middle age but younger women now have a reason to worry - the smartphone squint.

Many of them are developing premature wrinkles from staring at their smartphones, says London-based anti-ageing expert Jean-Louis Sebagh.

He said peering at a small screen causes facial strain, around and between the brows.

Sebagh, who treats celebrities like Cindy Crawford, said the phenomenon "can be seen on anyone who has and regularly checks a BlackBerry or iPhone".

"It's easily rectified with the light use of Botox by an experienced doctor," said an Evening Standard report quoting the expert, according to the Daily Mail.

London beauty therapist Nichola Joss has also noticed the phenomenon among her customers.

Joss said: "I've noticed a huge difference over the past 18 months in my clients' faces - it's the constant peering intently down at that mini screen. It's the same with an iPhone."

Smartphone-related wrinkles are the latest condition that doctors attribute to overuse of technology. Others include 'BlackBerry thumb' - a form of repetitive strain injury caused by excessive texting.

Another is 'computer vision syndrome' - dry eyes caused by computer users failing to blink enough when staring at a screen for long periods.

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Sony Q3 profit drops as TVs erase gaming gains

Japan's Sony Corp posted a 5.9 percent fall in third-quarter profit on Thursday as a price war hit its TV unit and a stronger yen weighed, and lowered its revenue forecast on slower-than-expected TV sales.

The consumer electronics giant, which competes with Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics in televisions and Canon Inc and Nikon in digital cameras, has been struggling to keep pace with rivals in terms of profits and products.

Since CEO Howard Stringer took the helm in 2005, the company's share price has fallen by a quarter and Sony has failed to replicate its early successes with iconic products such as the Walkman and PlayStation game console.

Sony reported an operating profit of 137.52 billion yen ($1.68 billion) versus 146.1 billion yen in the same period a year earlier, beating an average quarterly estimate of 127 billion yen in a poll of eight analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"In this strong-yen environment we see this as a pretty healthy result," Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato told reporters.

"We are getting stronger, but we feel we are still only partway there," he added.

The maker of Vaio PCs and Bravia TVs left its full-year operating profit forecast unchanged at 200 billion yen, compared with a consensus estimate of 217 billion yen in a poll of 23 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Smartphones to run operators into the red in 3 years

Rocketing smartphone use could drive mobile operators into losses in three years unless they rapidly adopt technology to capture more revenue from data services, a US network company said Thursday.

Rising investment costs to handle exploding data traffic combined with lower revenue per unit of data could begin to drive some operators into the red in as soon as two years, Tellabs said it calculated based on independent analyst data.

"Carriers can spend themselves bankrupt well before users run out of hunger for capacity," said Tellabs chief executive Rob Pullen.

"Our study shows that simply adding dumb capacity is unsustainable. To avoid the 'end of profit', carriers must bring intelligence to their networks -- it is critical to carrier survival," he was quoted as saying in a statement.

A number of industry players expect mobile data traffic, driven mostly by smartphones , to nearly double each year for the next several years.

While operators are investing heavily to add capacity and roll out fourth-generation networks, they are having difficulty earning money from data transfer and forecasts see falling revenue per unit of data transferred if current trends continue.

Dozens of companies such as Tellabs are offering mobile operators solutions to manage network traffic, reducing needed investments and opening possibilities to capture more revenue through priority services.