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A Tesla Model S is a very hard car for reviewers to get significant time with. The company has exactly two press cars for the globe, prioritizing all other production to deliver to patient buyers. So it was with no small pleasure when Tesla's Shanna Hendriks let me know she had an S ready for me to play with for a full day (which turned out to be more like a day and a half). I hope you'll find my take a little refreshing as this car has been talked about and bloviated over like nothing this side … Read more

PARIS--One of the easiest ways to increase fuel efficiency without sacrificing drivability is to shave weight. Lose a gram here, save an ounce there, and before you know it, you could be looking at sizable weight reduction and a complementary reduction in fuel consumption and particulate emissions.

On the first day here at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, we heard this theme repeated over and over from automakers as they put their vehicles on a diet, shaving hundreds of pounds off of their newest models.… Read more

I'm a big fan of any program that saves me time. And because I spend most of my day in front of a PC, the best time-savers are those that cut down on keystrokes and mouse clicks.

ActiveWords Plus cuts them down considerably. This insanely handy Windows utility performs a variety of time-saving functions, including substituting text, opening files and programs, loading favorite Web sites, and more.

It normally sells for $49.95 (which should tell you something about how robust this tool is), but for a limited time, as part of a Cheapskate exclusive, you can get ActiveWords Plus for $29.95.… Read more

They are odd ducks at Apple. They proclaim revolutions, yet they are curiously controlling.

They want to be cool, yet they are curiously ubiquitous.

At times, one just wishes the company could be a little more consistent and a little more, well, liberal.

It is well known that the majority of humanity uses curse words. Not necessarily in public, but I suspect even nuns and bishops sometimes offer a little f-ing and blinding.

Yet every time I try to text a curse word on my iPhone 4, teacher interjects to tell me it is verboten.

I understand that curse words … Read more

A fan had a dream. He dreamed he would some day roll around Vice City in a souped-up DeLorean, dressed as Marty Mcfly, packing heat, and terrorizing the town. Then he made it happen.

The creator of the Back to the Future Grand Theft Auto mod (SeedyROM34 on YouTube), spent months working on the elaborate creation with many hours of file editing thrown into the bargain. This is quite a bit more than just a skin. There's time travel, an excellent-looking Marty McFly character, and a detailed DeLorean complete with flux capacitor.… Read more

The first auto clicker appeared not long after the first mouse, and since then they've evolved alongside mice. Some auto clickers have stayed simple, though. Like primitive but successful organisms that have found their niche, the most basic form of auto clicker lives on, emulating mouse clicks on demand. Auto Clicker by Shocker is as good a specimen as any. This simple freeware can simulate single or double clicks by your left, middle, or right mouse buttons at intervals you select, including pauses, freezing the cursor, and stopping automatically after a predetermined number of clicks. You can also set … Read more

Kia has radically restyled its model lineup over the last five years, coming up with a consistent look for everything from SUVs to compact hatches. Renderings of the next-generation Forte (to be called the K3 in Korea) show further evolution of Kia's design language, which should point the way for other Kia models.

With its lack of door handles and side mirrors, the front and rear renderings show a model that greatly resembles a concept car. These necessities will surely be added by the time the new Forte makes a public appearance. Current Kia design traits, such as the tiger nose grille, are present in this design.… Read more

Right when you launch AutoRap, you can get started by tapping your screen and speaking. The app immediately records your speech until you tap the screen again to stop it. After a few seconds of "rappification" (AutoRap's proprietary syllable-mapping technology), the app will replay your recording, autotuned, timing-adjusted, and laid over one of its generic rap beats.

Off the bat, you get two free beats to play with: Turkey Burgers and OneOneOne (I've never heard of them either). You can use these as many times and as often as you like. If you want more beats, … Read more