focus

Workshopping innovation

This last week at frog design we hosted a group of almost 40 global executive MBA's from IESE, the renowned business school in Barcelona. It was an intensive and stimulating day looking at issues of innovation - what methods are successful, what mindsets are required, and how do you bring insights from customers into the picture?

The participants were from all over the world, and many of them were working in countries other than where they grew up. Their industries ran the gamut from tech and software to oil and gas and mining, with everything in between, so it … Read more

Ford ad Focuses on the music--but does it ring true?

Aside from the exhaust note of the Shelby GT-500, Ford cars are not often associated with music. But a TV ad currently running in the UK aims to address that by showing an orchestra playing instruments, apparently created entirely from parts taken from a five-door Focus hatchback. The car was turned into 31 instruments, including a "Transmission Case Cello-Dulcimer," a "Clutch Guitar," a "Rear Suspension Spike Fiddle," and a "Fender Bass," according to Ford. The text at the beginning of the ad says that the arrangement, called "Ode to the New … Read more

Review: 2008 Ford Focus SES

Click the image to read the full review

(Credit: CNET Networks)

We just finished up our review of the redesigned Ford Focus, and we suspect that Dearborn may have a hit on its hands. Our top-of-the-line Focus SES tester came standard the impressive Microsoft-designed Sync media and communications interface, which is one of the most sophisticated car-tech systems available. Is this entry-level model the shot in the arm that the troubled Blue Oval needs? Find out in our full review here.

Is 'Knight Rider' Ford Focus a '24' preview?

Ford Europe plans to announce a special Knight Rider edition of the Ford Focus in Europe, according to the car blog Jalopnik .

While Ford has released this photo of the Ford Focus ST Black Edition on its global site, a press release has not yet surfaced as of mid-morning.

Jalopnik reported that a French Ford Europe press release says the new Ford ST Focus Black Edition will be a tribute to the Knight Rider series that starred David Hasselhoff.

But if this is supposed to be a tribute to Knight Rider why does the driver in Ford's press photo … Read more

Light your kitchen the DARPA-approved way

Here's that final touch you've been looking for in the kitchen remodel war with the Joneses: efficient fiber optics (EFO), the "breakthrough in accent lighting technology," could be perfect for your undercounter needs.

You want green? This is the most efficient fiber optic lighting system in the world, according to developer Solon, Ohio based Energy Focus. "One 70 watt EFO lamp delivers the center beam candlepower of eight 50 watt Halogen lamps - replacing a total of 400 watts." The government agrees--it handed out $12.7 million in R&D support and awarded … Read more

Lensbabies makes the jump to medium-format cameras

LAS VEGAS--Lensbabies, a manufacturer of lenses that focus selectively on small portions of an image, has made the jump to medium-format cameras.

The company's Lensbaby 3G model now is available for Pentax 67 and Mamiya 645 camera bodies, the company announced here at the Photo Marketing Association trade show. Medium-format cameras use film or an image sensor larger than with conventional SLR cameras for higher-quality images.

The three-year-old Portland, Ore.-based company announced the new $380 models at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here Wednesday. The 3G model for SLR cameras is a notch cheaper at $270 for … Read more

InFocus preps instant home theater

A handful of all-in-one home-theater projectors have hit the market over the last 18 months, and InFocus jumps into this interesting category with the InFocus Play Big IN1, an inexpensive DLP projector with an integrated DVD player and speaker to output sound. While the info on the unit is a little vague, InFocus says that they are also looking into having an iPod dock for playing back iPod videos, to go along with the DVD player "dock" that attaches to the bottom of the projector.

Here are the details so far:

Price: $499 (subject to change)

Availability: Spring … Read more