clean

We know school's already in session for most kids, but it's still September, so it's not too late to do a back-to-school-related post. At least we hope we're not too tardy.

Anyway, we spotted these school-themed tablet/smartphone "smart" Toddy cloths on the company's Web site and were mildly amused. They're made out of premium microfiber that's treated with a microbe shield, have a plush side to clean and silk side to polish, and are machine washable in cold water. A single Toddy will run you $9.99, but if you … Read more

Entrepreneur Brad Hines' first solar company crashed and burned, but he's already started another venture, a story which offers cues on how the entire green-tech sector can reinvent itself in tough times.

In 2005, Hines left his work as a NASA engineer to build a radically new and powerful type of rooftop solar collector. But even after taking in tens of millions of dollars from top-shelf investors, the company, Soliant Energy, ultimately failed and its intellectual property was sold off, reportedly at bargain basement prices.

Now Hines is at work on another solar startup called Thermata with a whole … Read more

Flash cookies are tiny pieces of software that Web sites place in your PC to store log-on data, passwords, and other personal information to save you the trouble of re-entering it all every time you visit the site. Many Flash cookies also store information about your Web browsing habits and other private data you may not want to share. Flash Cookie Cleaner is a small piece of portable freeware from ConsumerSoft. It identifies Flash cookies in your system and gives them the opportunity to delete them, if you want to. Of course, some cookies are good for your system, and … Read more

My iPad screen has never again looked as good as the day I peeled the plastic wrapper off. My phone looks like I've taken it hiking and set it in the dirt. Which I have.

I'm not the only person with dusty and dingy electronics. That's why there's a thriving industry of electronics cleaning products. Most of these involve some sort of liquid that you spray on. The Qmadix Smudge-Free Dry-Foam Cleaning Kit dispenses with all that dampness.

The $19.99 kit comes with antimicrobial microfiber cloths, but the star of the show is the dry foam spray that comes in a little bottle. Qmadix touts the foam's smudge-resistant, dust-resistant, and anti-static properties.… Read more

If you're looking for a Mac uninstaller with a little extra under the hood, CleanApp offers all the features you need to get rid of unwanted apps once and for all.

With CleanApp, you drag and drop apps to the interface, and then you can view them and their associated files before you decide what to do. But unlike other uninstall utilities for Mac, CleanApp offers a few extras across the top of the interface, so you can zero in on what you want to uninstall. The Applications button displays all installed apps; a System Accessories button lets you … Read more

There are plenty of those awkward moments in the kitchen when your hands are covered in raw chicken bits or eye-searing chile and you're trying not to touch anything. There's only so much you can do with your elbows.

This is why it makes sense to bring touchless technology into the kitchen. Restaurant and gas station bathrooms have been using touchless paper towel dispensers for years. Now there's a fancy version for the home.… Read more

Chicago-based Clean Urban Energy has raised $7 million in Series A funding, the company announced today.

The company has developed a software platform, and the monitoring and analytic services to go with it, that take advantage of a building's thermal mass and thermal-energy storage (TES) to make it run more efficiently and save on energy costs.

Clean Urban Energy says its software analytics platform can reduce the expense of a building's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning energy use by 15 percent to 30 percent.

"By aggregating and optimizing the thermal storage properties of multiple buildings, CUE unlocks … Read more

California's rebate program for electric and hybrid cars has run out of money for this fiscal year.

The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project has been offering California residents who purchase an electric or hybrid vehicle a rebate of $1,500 to $5,000, depending on the type of vehicle purchased.

The state budget had allocated $5 million for the program for the 2010-2011 fiscal year with an additional $2 million coming from the state's Energy Commission. However, as with the federal Cash for Clunkers program, citizens responded much more enthusiastically than anticipated.… Read more

As a new Mac user, you are taught to uninstall an app by dragging it to the trash. While this method does uninstall an app for your computer, often associated files are left behind. These files can add up and hog space on your Mac.

There are much more efficient ways to uninstall an app on your Mac. Here we round up three apps that help you uninstall software on your Mac. … Read more