Is the greening of Apple skin deep, or does it run to the core? The mobile and computing device juggernaut released its fall 2009 Macbook laptop and iMac desktop computer recently, touting “environmental,” among other desirable features in each.

These include: a polycarbonate case, longer life battery and LED-backlit display in the laptop, and the use of mercury-free glass and other “highly recyclable” materials for the desktop.

The flurry of comments that follow every Apple release and product review, web-wide, included questions about how well the computer juggernaut is doing …

Tags: apple , clean tech , EcoMeme , environment , gadgets , tech

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Wouldn’t it be great not to rely on batteries or electrical outlets to keep your gadgets running? You don’t have to. These days, you can do anything from charge your cell phone to blend a smoothie just by turning a crank. The combination of simple technology and a little common sense has yielded an assortment of cool windup gadgets, so you can always have power right at your fingertips…literally!

Next time your iPod dies at the gym or your cell phone runs out of …

Tags: gadgets , green , hand crank , portable , rechargeable

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The rumors are true: the bicycle industry is folding.

As much as I love being out and about on my mountain bike, there’s one experience above all that affirms my love for it…and that’s when I arrive anywhere. I step off – padlock – I’m done. But even this hassle-free process is becoming obsolete. Every year designers are squeezing and folding bicycles into ever more compact, portable shapes – take Brompton’s range, this beauty by Mercedes Benz, or Thomas Jowen’s “One” …

Tags: cycling , gadgets , technology , transport

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Firewinder is a swirling corkscrew of LED lights that spins when the wind catches it, getting brighter the faster it turns. It’s as mesmerizing as when you wave a sparkler and your eyes can’t quite keep up, so you see glowing streaks in the air.

What’s it for? Well, to mesmerize you. But there’s a message, too. Here we are, at the bottom of an ocean of air (1 ton of it pressing down on each of us), buffeted by currents we can’t see, still just learning to tap the invisible …

Tags: art , gadgets , home , innovation , lifestyle , nature , technology

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I’m a pretty sore loser at tennis, especially when my husband rockets those serves toward my face and I want to throw my racket at his head. But my arm never aches after as it does with the Wii tennis video game.

I notice I emulate the real motion of the swing with my remote while my daughters execute abbreviated swipes at the screen to place shots, serve and return. They’re so aggressive, if it were the real thing, I’d take them out of school and put them on the circuit …

Tags: electronics , gadgets , gaming , lifestyle , medicine , news , safety , technology , trend , women

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It was always a good idea; now it’s finally been done. Just in time for January fitness resolutions, sing up for the gym that’s partially powered by your workout. (It’s okay to admit that this conjures up images of hamsters on the treadmill, generating energy for the world to go round.) But rodent making the rounds it’s not. The Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon, has set the new standard for eco-fitness, indoors.

The gym is outfitted with Team Dynamo and Spin bikes set …

Tags: city , fitness , gadgets , gym , technology , wellness

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Who says your air filter has to look like hospital equipment and command lots of space in your bedroom? The compact module Blueair AirPod is taking the allergy world by sneeze and storm. Call them the little purifiers that could.

Perhaps it’s the packaging, even more magnetic than those perky patterned paper tissue boxes. Perhaps it’s the idea you can alleviate your allergens at a rate of 45 cubic feet per minute for $100. These adorable systems, sold at A Store Called …

Tags: cleaning , gadgets , germ resistance , home , indoor pollution , personal , remedy

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Bicyclists in Copenhagen will soon be able to take part in a project that will allow them to track the roads they’ve traveled, get a boost up tough hills, and maybe even improve their social lives.

The Smart Biking Project is being developed by the SENSEable City Laboratory, an MIT research group focused on technology and cities, part of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning.

Using a Facebook application called “I Crossed Your Path,” cyclists will be able to make connections with each other by exchanging information – online or through a smartphone – about which routes …

Tags: gadgets , lifestyle , technology , transportation

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Sure, you’ve switched to greener cleaning products, but how eco-friendly is the storage and folding apparatus in your laundry room? Are you still married to cold chrome and first-use plastic?

Here’s the scoop on several better choices for the oh-so-natural laundry maven.

Roll out the bamboo because it’s a better way to store and hang your laundry. It may be designed for the guest room but the bamboo rack, $130, from The Container Store is a natural in the laundry room.

 
Take …

Tags: bamboo , cleaning , decor , furniture , gadgets , laundry , sustainable

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