models

FaceGen Modeller is a powerful and surprisingly easy-to-use program that lets users create 3D faces either from scratch or based on photos. Whether you're a beginner or a professional when it comes to using this kind of technology, FaceGen Modeller can help you create impressive, realistic results.

The program's interface is plain and easy to navigate, with its major features arranged in tabs. You can have the program generate a random face and then customize it as desired, or upload one or more photos of an actual face to use as a starting point. You can select faces … Read more

Tesla has released yet another preview video of its upcoming Model S electric sedan. This time, rather than a single Model S blasting down a back road, a trio of camouflaged Alpha sedans have a go at a track to collect data for the Beta sedan, which is the next step in the Model S' development. Normally one of the coolest parts of checking out a track testing video is hearing the roar of the engine, but the Model S is all electric and all silent, so you'll have to make due with the sound of wooshing wind and … Read more

Tesla Motors is getting the hang of this electric car thing, and plans to debut the alpha version of the Model X crossover way ahead of schedule, according to an article in VentureBeat.

During its quarterly investor call, CEO Elon Musk reportedly told listeners that the company will unveil the alpha version of the seven-seater electric SUV sometime in mid-December, which is in half the time than the company planned, and about one-third of what it budgeted. But don't add the Model X to your holiday wish list yet--the crossover isn't expected to go into production until 2013. When it does, Tesla expects to produce only 15,000 units per year of the SUV when it ramps up production in 2014.

The Model X is the third electric vehicle that Tesla is producing. The SUV is designed as a 5+2, and uses the same power train as the Model S sedan, which will also seat up to seven. Tesla recently began assembling the Beta version of the Model S electric sedan and, according to VentureBeat, expects to reveal it in October. … Read more

Three-dimensional models are essential if you're in the design field. Google SketchUp gives you the ability to easily create your own 3D models. With an easy-to-use interface and a wide swath of Help features, it's the perfect tool for beginner and intermediate designers alike.

To begin, Google SketchUp puts all of the help options in plain sight, which include video tutorials, tips and tricks, a blog, and a help center. It asks you to select a template from a long list that includes templates for architectural design, woodworking, Google Earth modeling, and basic plans. We started simple with … Read more

Tesla's Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and Model S Program Director Jerome Guillen announced on the company's blog that they've begun working on Beta versions of the Model S sedan.

Tesla is breaking up the vehicle's development into two stages: Alpha and Beta. Earlier this year Tesla revealed the Alpha version of the electric sedan. In a recent blog post on the company's Web site, von Holzhausen and Guillen said that they've begun assembling the Beta versions of the vehicle to help them prepare for the preproduction of the vehicle that is expected to … Read more

We've had the unfortunate experience of working for employers who did not clearly define their business processes. The consequences of this are numerous: training is a nightmare, important tasks fall through the cracks, nothing gets documented, efficiency suffers, and employees are frustrated. Creating flowcharts that clearly illustrate your business's processes can save a lot of time, money, and headaches. Bizagi Process Modeler makes it easy to create attractive flowcharts that outline every aspect of your business.

The program's interface is sleek, resembling recent versions of Microsoft Office products. There are tabbed menus across the top and an … Read more

Khush, the company that released LaDiDa (remember the "reverse Karaoke" app that takes a poorly-sung song and Auto-Tunes it into an arguably passable rendition), has gone a step further with its automatic song creation technology in its latest iPhone app, Songify.

Songify takes spoken text and then tunes, chops, and sequences it with pre-written backround music into what's supposed to be a little musical number.

It's fun for a bit, but there's only so much you can do with some of the source material. See the example below, which is a Songified version of me … Read more

HAMBURG, Germany--Sure, Miniatur Wunderland is the world's largest collection of model trains, but to describe it that way would do it a serious injustice. What it really is is a beyond-belief collection of fantastic dioramas depicting scenes from the Swiss and Austrian Alps, Germany, the United States, and Scandinavia throughout which run 900 trains on the more than eight miles of tracks.

I had planned to come here as part of Road Trip 2011, because I'd read that Miniatur Wunderland had recently added a giant scale model of a working airport. And when I looked into that, I … Read more

The trend is on to unplug red-light cameras...Cambridge Crude could be the electric oil of tomorrow...Tesla turns a corner...and we take you for a run in one of the new four bangers that shame most hybrids.

• CNET reviews the 2011 Hyundai Elantra

• L.A. seriously considers dropping red-light cameras

• Can "Cambridge Crude" make electric cars more practical?

• What do you think of a mini-er Mini?

• Tesla ends production of Roadster, gets ready to sell Model S… Read more