RepairPal Auto Repair Expert is a free iPhone app that will give you an accurate estimate of how much a car repair job should cost, for comparison with what you're actually quoted at the dealership or at an independent shop. With internet access, it will even give you a list of nearby repair shops complete with address, contact details and service ratings. Designed as an iPhone equivalent of the free online service at RepairPal.com, accuracy is reportedly quite good, although users should note that it is US-oriented, so repair shop listings are US only, figures are in US dollars, and costs may be different in Canada, UK, and elsewhere. But still worth it as a ballpark figure.
(CanWest News Service) | Cost: Free | Requires: iPhone, iPod Touch | For further info...

Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, near Seattle, offers books while you wait, using a new Espresso Book Machine and one of the million titles available through Google Books, Project Gutenberg, and other online storehouses of out-of-print books. Total time, from inception to completion: 15 minutes. Like all the other public-domain Google Books, the cover price is $8. The store is working on creating a widget for its website in the next few weeks that will enable customers to browse and order books. Authors who want to self-publish can also approach Third Place Books with digital copies of their books and basically treat the bookstore as a publisher.
(the Stranger) | Cost: $8.00 | For further info... and here

Battery University provides a wealth of information about batteries of all types, in English and in German. Sponsored by Cadex Electronics, the material is based on the book Batteries in a portable World - A handbook by Isidor Buchmann on rechargeable batteries for non-engineers. The site is divided into three parts, on the make-up, charging and storing of batteries; explanations on the different types of batteries; and the people behind Battery University, respectively.
(David Alison's Blog. Photo: Wikipedia) | Cost: Free | For further info...

Wired's quick guide helps you select the perfect flat-panel for your room and personal preference, while Macworld has comprehensive buying advice to learn what features to consider, shopping tips to keep in mind when you're browsing the store aisles. Both give recommendations on the best ones to buy for each situation.
Finally, check out Green Irene’s tips to cut your HDTV’s energy use.
(Macworld, Wired, Green Irene)

MacFamilyTree 5.4 from Synium Software is a genealogy program that includes an interactive globe for visualization through space and time, a 3D kinship view with fly-through, an animated Family Assistant, support for unlimited relationships between any two people, drag-and-drop from iPhoto, built-in CD/DVD burning, and other features. This release brings new web page design, themes, and workflow for web page export, custom fonts and improved editing for charts, much better coordinates lookup for Virtual Globe, a larger and more detailed locations database, an option to save reports as HTML files, and more.
(Source: Macintouch) | Cost: US$49 | Requires: Mac OS X 10.4+ | For further info...

Tips for making your own own floor, window and tile cleaners, can be found on the site www.creativehomemaking.com and www.thriftyfun.com. Some are geared towards saving money – e.g. substituting bubble bath for the more expensive liquid hand soap – others allow you to avoid using and storing toxic chemicals in your home. Continued…