cleanweb

The future of clean tech? Try hacking code

BOSTON--Internet, meet clean tech.

A weekend hackathon here showcased the promise -- and limits -- of applying mobile and Internet software development toward efficiency. To advocates, the "cleanweb" will succeed where clean tech fell short.

The Cleanweb hackathon, held in a warehouse-turned tech incubator in South Boston, on Sunday afternoon finished up a day and a half of furious coding by about 80 programmers, with some spending the night to finish their demos.

The 16 teams presented a very varied set of applications but they have one thing in common: they all seek ways to use natural resources … Read more

Cleanweb hackers get busy with energy data

Armed with little more than data sets, APIs, pizza, and beer, a group of software developers this weekend set out to demonstrate the power of information technology to help the environment.

The Cleanweb Hackathon attracted about 100 developers in New York City as well as a panel of judges that included New York City's chief digital officer and the U.S. chief technology officer. The first hackathon took place last September in San Francisco.

Yesterday afternoon, 15 teams, including one from Columbia University, showed off their "hacks" and received awards. The Web and mobile applications touched on … Read more

Cleanweb Hackathon app measures gadget energy

What happens when you let a group of crack developers and entrepreneurs direct their energies to environmental sustainability for a couple of days? As this weekend showed, you get some interesting apps.

Organizers this week hosted the first Cleanweb Hackathon in San Francisco this weekend and announced the winner of app development contest yesterday.

The overall winner for the event was team TACO (total cost of ownership) which showed a prototype of a Chrome browser plug-in that shows electricity use of electronics and other products to people when shopping, according to one of the organizers and investor Sunil Paul.

The … Read more

Tendril opens smart-grid platform to more developers

Start-up Tendril announced today that it's opening up its smart-grid communications platform to more developers.

The Tendril Connect Platform Application Developer Program will allow developers to build on Tendril's platform for energy management and services for both utilities and consumers. The platform has the ability to reach 70 million households connected to the smart grid, according to Tendril.

Launched two years ago, Tendril's platform already includes a range of companies from ThinkEco to Siemens that use the platform. The company also offers compatible hardware in the form of smart thermostats and communication tools to go with its … Read more