tech tips - great sites worth a visit

what is a great site?

Not only is it a challenge to keep up with technology, but it's easy to miss truly extraordinary websites. What makes a website extraordinary? From DoctorGeek's point of view, an extraordinary site provides visitors with extraordinary online content via an elegant, user-friendly design that demonstrates the best use of web technologies. Periodically these sites will be featured as a tech tip - a site well worth visiting.

save $$$ on gasoline

Are gas prices getting you down? An example of how the web puts practical, up-to-date information at one's fingertips, GasBuddy.com lists high and low gasoline prices anywhere in the US and Canada. While some might not call the site elegant, it is definitely user-friendly and well-designed for the audience.

Yes, it's a commercial site designed to help you save money and make some money too. The site offers sobering historical price charts for the past three years, and helpful hints on how to save money on gas. The site is easy to use. There's a search tool for gasoline or diesel prices by area and brand, gas price trends, and a way to report a price to the site.

When I looked, the range in San Bernardino County went from $3.27 to $3.66 per gallon. A local Arco station (listed as and convenient to Claremont but actually in Pomona, LA County) matched Costco and Sam's prices.

Sundance shorts films

The Sundance Institute, a non-profit founded by Robert Redford in 1981, is "dedicated year-round to the development of artists of independent vision and to the exhibition of their new work." Each January the Sundance Film Festival showcases creative new independent films; a selection of Sundance Short Films can be viewed online free.

These extraordinary and diverse films by American and international filmmakers are presented online in Adobe Flash format, so they are easy to view regardless of your connection speed or computer operating system. Educators with access to a "smart classroom" can show these films to their students in class to reach a wide range of learning objectives. These short documentaries should appeal to lifelong learners of any age! The shorts are a treat to watch for any film buff.

• 2007 Sundance Film Festival short film program is online for your viewing - no charge.
• 34 short films - Experience the exclusive collection of Short Films from the 2006 Sundance Film Festival without even needing a ticket! Free from the constraints of running time, subplots, and other feature-length expectations, this year’s Short Film artists take all the chances they can. Watch 2007 short films here.
  
• short documentaries - Exclusively from the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, these Short Documentaries steer us through the hottest issues of our times, explore the lives of complex heroes, bring the past into focus, and reveal the most profound dramas in actual events and people. Watch 2007 documentaries here.
  

Consider making a small donation to "keep it free." The films are available "free from Adobe for now."
[Note: the Sundance Donate page does not seem to be as user-friendly as the rest of the site.... if you go there, just click on the "Make a Donation" button to donate.]

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