Not sure if its worth $10 per person to see the latest movie releases? Should you wait for the paperback version of the new bestseller saving more than 50% of the hardback price? Before you spend your hard earned money and time, check out MetaCritic.com for the latest reviews from top newspapers and publications around the country on movies, books, games and tv shows. MetaCritic.com offers a “Metascore” (average of the critics’ scores) for each item giving a quick glance at its overall rating. You can read the critics’ reviews as well as the opinions and ratings from non-critics. You can post your own opinions or participate in group discussions.

You can access the information through the website or through an RSS feed or your smartphone.

“If your food and wine adventures are more about the journey than the destination, Behind the Burner is the perfect place to explore your culinary desires.” From BehindTheBurner.

BehindtheBurner.com offers advice, tricks and secrets from the country’s top chefs. Learn about the chefs’ and restaurateurs, watch videos of chef’s cooking signature foods (I liked the chocolate french toast by Chef Peyard – Chocolate Epiphany), and read articles on everything from wine and travel, to how-to and health. Plus you can get great recipes.

If cooking (and eating) is your life, be sure to visit BehindtheBurner.com.

Are you a fledgling artist, filmmaker, musician, writer or creative soul? Need some cash to pursue your creative project? Then check out Kickstarter, which touts itself as the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Don’t worry that investors will have part ownership of your project. Through Kickstarter you keep 100% ownership over your work.  Instead, investors are thanked or compensated in other ways such as copies of the completed project. Current projects include documentaries, game boards, comics, art app for iPad and more.

If you don’t have a project, but are interested in supporting artists, Kickstarter has thousands of project looking for your help.

To learn more, visit Kickstarter.

Dealing with old outdated gadgets is a hassle. You don’t want to throw them in trash, after all you paid good money for it and it probably still works. And of course, sending them to the landfill isn’t good for the environment. On the other hand, throwing them in the junk drawer just adds more clutter.

There are many organizations willing to take your old cell phones but what about your old digital cameras, MP3 players, GPS systems, laptops and other gadgets? Gazelle offers you good money for most of your gadgets. And if your gadget isn’t worth anything, it will still recycle or dispose of it in an environmentally safe way. Gazelle offers other ways to make a difference by allowing you to donate the money you make from your gadgets to a cause. If you have a cause that needs money, Gazelle can help you fundraise as well.

Gazelle is easy to use. Create an account, type in the gadget you have into the search box, answer some questions about its condition and ask for a price quote. Gazelle will give you a price and let you know what the item is selling for in the regular market. Next you request packaging so that you can send your item in at Gazelle’s expense. You’re paid when the item is received.

To learn more, visit Gazelle.com!

Its easier and easier to find places to work no matter where you go. Locations like Panera Bread and Barnes and Noble offer free wi-fi and in a bind you can get access at Starbucks if you’re a reward card member. But occasionally I still get stuck without wi-fi or at least free wi-fi. There are many online resources you can use to find free wi-fi and all seem to yield different results. None of the few I tried were able to find the free spots where I live. I know I have at least 2, but my area is rural so maybe its not worth listing on the map. Here’s a few resources you can try if you need free wi-fi:

Hotspotr can search using your address and will provide other nearby city options on a Google Map.

Jiwire can search worldwide although Paris wasn’t on the France list and I don’t remember enough about France to know what region its in. When searching my local area, it had a few options that didn’t come up on Hotspotr but was also missing a few that had been on Hotspotr. It provides results on a list with an option to click on a map for specific locations.

OpenWiFiSpot at first had no options when I searched the larger city near me. But then there was a list of other options that included the zip code I initially searched with. Clicking on that I got a list with some of the same options offered on Hotspotr and Jiwire. It gives an option to get results by list or on a map.

Having trouble finding someone to watch your kids? Planning a trip and need someone to watch Fido? SitterCity offers a resources for families to find full-time childcare or the occasional sitter. It provides help for other needs including pet sitting, senior care, housekeeping and tutoring.  SitterCity provides a directory where you can search profiles of sitters and helpers to learn their experience, expertise, and references. Some sitters have their profiles marked with “background check”.

The database is fairly extensive; there were several sitters listed from my tiny, rural area. You can do a search and see a list of sitters for free, but to get their details you’ll need to join. The service offers a free 7 day trial and then a monthly or yearly membership option.

Find great sitters in your area on Sittercity.com. Try Sittercity for free today!

Sometimes the hardest part of research is figuring out where to look. Patricia Pmerleau created CEO Express

…to be the executive’s interface to the Internet. The site’s peer editor recognizes that executives have precious little time to obtain all the information they require to conduct business. At the same time, much of the information that executives need is available on the Internet. CEOExpress takes all that information, and by employing expert human editors and “mind ergonomics,” pares it down to the 20% that is most critical and useful.

At CEO Express you can get up-to-date information from top news organizations, business and government organizations, and more. You get information on current events, statistics, health news, travel and weather updates, business tools, leisure information and more. Its like the Readers Digest of Internet information.

CEO Express offers a default (free) and membership services. The default offers only limited services such as Daily Polls, search capabilities, and daily editor notes. The upgraded services ($29/yr) offers extensive customization, RSS feeds and mobile access.

Visit CEO Express to learn more.

Have you ever accidentally deleted or lost a file you wanted to keep? Well now recovering that file is easy. A free program, Undelete Plus can scan your computer for the lost file and restore it. ” It can also recover files that have been emptied from the Recycle Bin, permanently deleted files within Windows using the Shift + Delete, and files that have been deleted from within a Command Prompt.”

Undelete Plus works on Windows systems and supports all Windows file systems for hard and floppy drive.

To use the program, simply download and install (there is no spyware, adware, malware or registration). When you lose a file simply:

1) Do a quick check were the file should be as well as look in your recycle bin.

2) If its still missing, launch Undelete Plus and use it to search for the file.

3) From the list generated, find the missing file and re-save.

If you can’t find the file, try a new search. If its still missing, you can try some other free file recovery resources such as Restoration and PC Inspector File Recovery.

Mac users can use Data Rescue II which unfortunately isn’t free. You can check out other options at FreeDownloadManager where you can find free and shareware options.

Here are some great tips and news on digital tools and resources.

• Include the Word "Solved" In Your Searches to Troubleshoot Tech Issues [Search Techniques]
  Source Lifehacker
  It happens to all of us: we run into a bug in a program, a feature you want that isn't there, or something other software issue. Reader protiki offers some tips on finding a solution using Google....
• RD Mute Mutes Your Phone When Face Down and When You're Driving [Downloads]
  Source Lifehacker
  Android only: I like to mute my phone when I'm buried in work, sleeping, or driving my car, but turning on my phone and fiddling with the sound isn't ideal. RD Mute will mute your phone whenever you...
• Flightlite Tracks Airline Flights on a Map, in Real Time [Travel]
  Source Lifehacker
  Flying comes with all kinds of unexpected delays—and of course the occasional early arrival—that can throw off your plans to pick someone up . Coordinate your next airport pickup, to near perfect...
• Cookmate Suggests Meals Based on What's in Your Pantry [Video]
  Source Lifehacker
  iOS: Cookmate helps you come up with meal ideas based on what you've got in your pantry, and when you need one or two extra ingredients, it creates a shopping list you can pull out at the store....
• Plugin by C. Murray Consulting

• Evil Downside of Better Mobile Devices: More to Carry & Choose
  Source GigaOMtech
  Yesterday, at our Net:Work event, Evan Kaplan from iPass spoke about the mobile workforce, and one phrase stuck me: Kaplan mentioned the concept of a new “hardware stack” in mobility. For the enterprise, that stack is composed of a phone, tablet...
• Most Popular Photography Tips, Tricks, and Hacks of 2010 [Video]
  Source Lifehacker
  Whether it's before, during, or after you shoot, we've posted some awesome photography tips, tricks, and hacks this year. Here are the most popular for 2010. More »
• Use Photos to Stand Out in the Facebook News Feed
  Source ProBlogger Blog Tips
  This guest post is by Tommy Walker, Online Marketing Strategist and owner of Tommy.ismy.name. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? This old cliché has become especially true in blogging. It’s statistically proven that by inserting compelli...
• Plugin by C. Murray Consulting