CLEAN

In what could be viewed as a shot in the arm for U.S.-made electric cars, Tesla Motors has repaid a government loan nine years early.

"Today, Tesla Automotive repaid the entire remaining balance on a $465 million loan from the Department of Energy nine years earlier than originally required," the U.S. Department of Energy said in a statement Wednesday.

That clean-energy loan was made in 2010.

And the U.S. energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, seemed to address critics of clean energy loans while trumpeting the success of Tesla.

"When you're talking about cutting-edge … Read more

The attractions of Snapchat are essentially intellectual.

In creating the conditions for a spontaneous "now you see me, now you don't" aspect to your life, it allows for a greater and more nuanced level of excitement to permeate human relationships.

Recently, however, there have been concerns that the topless, bottomless, or merely hapless shots sent by Snapchat users might not truly disappear. … Read more

Keeping track and organizing all files and folders on your Mac may become quite time-intensive and complicated, especially if you let them pile up. If you get stuck trying to organize your computer, Cleanup for Mac may be able to assist you. Even though its interface could use some improvement, this app is quick and efficient, making it an adequate option for users looking for an easy way to organize their files and folders.

Despite the lack of a native installer, CleanUp for Mac downloaded and installed quickly. The app is very easy to use and straightforward when it comes … Read more

My friend is convinced that the slowing of his iPhone 4S is part of a vast Apple conspiracy. I'm not completely persuaded.

I mean, sure Apple has sent out updates to iOS that are arguably a step in the wrong direction, like that whole Apple Maps fiasco. But I believe the main culprit for decreasing smartphone performance (from any phone) is software cruft. Sometimes, you just have to do a little housekeeping.

So here's what I suggest. First, take a minute to get rid of any bulky apps you never use. Dive in to Settings>General>… Read more

Windows 7 Manager is an all-in-one system cleaner, tweaker, and maintenance tool that, among other capabilities, incorporates a wide range of "fixes," many of them built into Windows, yet tucked away in odd corners that make them difficult for ordinary users to access. That's sometimes because inexperienced users who misuse a fix or a tweak can cause more problems than they started with. Windows 7 Manager is a good example: It probably packs more features than any tool of its type we've seen thus far. Yet with so many things to run, inexperienced users can end … Read more

A crowded hard drive slows you down and stops you from fully enjoying all your favorite programs. Duplicate Cleaner helps you make some more room by removing unnecessary or copied files in bulk. This program delivers exactly what you would expect based on its name, and it does it quickly and effectively. You won't believe how much space it frees up.

The program's slick interface is a welcome change compared to what you might expect from utility programs. Scanning any drive or file location takes only one or two clicks. It only took the program about 90 seconds … Read more

CleanMyMac is designed to remove old and unnecessary files from your hard drive, as well as optimize system performance. A trial version of the program is available for download, and the full version is available with either a six-month license for $7.47 or a lifetime license for $14.97.

CleanMyMac performs two different tasks that help your Mac computer run better. The first task it tackles is getting rid of orphan and unnecessary files, including cache files. CleanMyMac searches your hard drive and makes recommendations of files that can be deleted, including files for multiple Mac architectures and localization … Read more

Samsung revealed yesterday (albeit, with little detail) its latest robotic vacuum cleaner -- the Smart Tango Corner Clean -- just a week before a potential CES debut.

For those of you with visions of a Samsung-made Rosey the maid robot from "The Jetsons" zipping about your home, well, we're not quite there yet. However, due to the inclusion of appendages, the latest robotic vacuum from Samsung might give pause to prospective buyers of Roomba or Neato devices. … Read more

Memory Clean is an app for cleaning up your Mac OS X device memory at intervals. Memory Clean is available from the App Store or several download sites, and installs easily. Memory Clean is a free app.

Memory Clean is meant to be run after using memory-intensive applications or games, which can fragment the blocks of free memory in your system. Fragmented memory can lead to degraded performance. Memory Clean does not work continuously, but whenever you launch it. A nice touch is an interface that shows you the amount of free memory you had before running Memory Clean as … Read more