focus

Focus on your writing with FocusWriter Portable

Microsoft's Word and its clones dominate the word-processing scene, but some alternatives are worth a look, especially when they take a different approach. Take FocusWriter, for instance. It encourages focus and productivity with a full-screen view and a pared-down interface and features such as autosave, goal-tracking, formatting, spell checker, and find-and-replace. FocusWriter Portable is a fully portable version of this versatile freeware. You can save it on a USB drive and run it on any compatible Windows PC.

FocusWriter opened with a plain gray screen displaying our cursor. Hovering over the top edge produced a menu bar, while at … Read more

Ford taking orders for Focus Electric priced near $40K

Ford today started taking orders for the 2012 Focus Electric, a battery-electric sedan with a retail price just under $40,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit and state incentives.

With the launch of Ford's first full-production, all-electric passenger car, the Focus Electric will join plug-in electric cars Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt, which debuted earlier this year. People can preorder online the Focus Electric, which has a base price of $39,995 including destination fees or will be available through a lease of $713 a month for five years.

For comparison, Nissan's Leaf has a price … Read more

Samsung Focus S, Focus Flash hitting AT&T Nov. 6

America's first "4G" Windows phone is right around the corner. AT&T recently announced pricing and availability for the Samsung Focus S, which will run on AT&T's HSPA+ network (not AT&T's 4G LTE).

Starting November 6, you'll be able to pick up the higher-end Focus S for $199.99, along with the budget and Samsung Focus Flash for just $49.99. Both require a new two-year contract and a minimum $15-per-month data plan. … Read more

Ford shifts its focus to smaller customs at SEMA 2011

At the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas, seeing 100 different custom incarnations of big, powerful Ford Mustangs is par for the course. This year, however, Ford is thinking small.

This year, Ford is choosing to focus on the B- and C-segment 2011 Fiesta and 2012 Focus and will be filling its booth with custom examples of each. We got a sneak peek at 10 renderings of these tiny customs and are happy to see that they run the gamut. From high-performance examples by Roush, Steeda, and Cobb Tuning to styling exercises by the ID Agency, M2-Motoring, and 3dCarbon, if … Read more

2012 Green Car of the Year finalists named

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, 2012 Mitsubishi i, 2012 Toyota Prius v, and 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI are all finalists for 2012 Green Car of the Year, Green Car Journal announced today in a press release.

The winner will be announced during a press conference at a Los Angeles Auto Show press day on November 17. This marks the seventh consecutive year the award has been given out.

Green Car Journal editors considered dozens of models that were designed to reduce their environmental impact and be more energy-efficient. According to the press release, the cars … Read more

Samsung Focus S, Focus Flash in pictures

So far the Samsung Focus S and Focus Flash have remained shy, but now they've gotten over a little of their stage fright.

Microsoft offered a good, clear view of the two Windows Phone 7.5 Mango smartphones at D Asia today. There's no pricing or availability yet, but we did want to pass along Microsoft's photos from the show. Enjoy!

AT&T intros Windows Phone Mango devices from Samsung, HTC

Today, AT&T announced plans to bring three new Windows Phone 7.5 Mango devices to its lineup this fall, the HTC Titan, Samsung Focus S, and Samsung Focus Flash. The carrier did not reveal specific release dates and pricing for the smartphones at this time, but here's a preview of each device.

First introduced in Europe, the HTC Titan offers a 1.5GHz processor, 16GB of internal memory, an 8-megapixel camera, and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. It also features a 4.7-inch WVGA touch screen and will support AT&T's U-Verse Mobile service.

Meanwhile, … Read more

Ford using customer feedback to develop Focus Electric display

Ford is putting its customers to work by giving them a chance to help develop the final in-dash display for the Ford Focus Electric through the use of a specially designed driving simulator.

Inside the simulator, drivers see same information that would appear in the real Ford Focus Electric, including two 4.2-inch full-color LCD screens flanking the speedometer in the center. Then the simulator takes drivers on an 11-mile circuit through a variety of terrain such as hills, cities and flat land.

The screens in the simulator provide details to the driver such as battery charge, distance to the … Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 024: Dashboard DIY (podcast)

In this episode of Roadside Assistance, we decide whether aftermarket is the way to go for car audio, come up with an alternative for HDD-based audio storage, and take a look at a potential revenue stream for the Ford Focus Electric.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 024 SHOW NOTES

LOLcars (photos)

Plan your workout in 3D

iMuscle helps you work out by showing you a 3D representation of the human body with the musculature exposed and animations of the muscle groups used for specific exercises. The app offers over 450 3D animations to show how stretches and exercises effect your body--a great workout aid when your at the gym and want to know how to best focus on specific muscle groups.

The interface of iMuscle lets you choose an area of the "Muscleman" you want to work on and then zooms in on the area. You then get a list of thumbnails that work … Read more