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10-deal Tuesday: Free Pi, cheap K.I.T.T. and lots more!

From the Cheapskate: It's my birthday, so I'm celebrating with a ridiculous number of deals. It's almost better than cake!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
3 min read

CNET's Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page.


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Mmmm....Pi. Packt Publishing

Ruminations from a 47-year-old: Everything in moderation. Meditation isn't just for hippies. Cake is really just a frosting-delivery vehicle. Time doesn't fly, it rockets. Never pay retail for anything.

Speaking of paying for things, I've rounded up a whopping 10 deals for you today. Big ones, little ones, silly ones. Let's get started!

1. Free Pi. You've heard of the dirt-cheap computing platform Raspberry Pi, but you're not sure how to get started doing cool stuff with it. Here's how: Packt Publishing and TradePub.com are offering a free e-book edition of "Raspberry Pi for Secret Agents, Second Edition." Regular price: $14.95. Just be prepared to pony up some information about your and your place of business.

2. Aw, snap! Elenco's Snap Circuits kits are all kinds of awesome, especially if you can wrestle them away from your kids. Today only, and while supplies last, Woot has the Snap Circuits SCA-200 electronics kit for $39.99, plus $5 for shipping. Regular price: $64.99. Awesome holiday gift for a kid if you're into early shopping.

3. Stow and go. Copious amounts of mobile storage for stupid-cheap. That's the only way I can describe this: B&H Photo has the Toshiba Canvio Connect 2TB USB 3.0 portable hard drive for $64.99 shipped. Features include scheduled and cloud-enabled backups, remote file access and a two-year warranty.

ThinkGeek

4. To the mall, K.I.T.T.! If you're old like me, you probably have fond memories of "Knight Rider." Which is why you absolutely positively must buy the Knight Rider K.I.T.T. USB Car Charger, which not only makes your car look and sound like K.I.T.T., but also charges two USB devices. It's on sale at ThinkGeek for $17.99 (normally $29.99).

5. Or this much lamer car-charger. If you don't want your car to look super-dope while charging your devices, and you do have an iPhone, get the Inateck USB car charger with Lightning cable for $16.99 when you apply coupon code TSJLYNM7. In addition to the uber-handy built-in cable, it has two 2.1A USB ports for your other gear. I've been using one for about a month; works great!

6. Or if you don't have Apple gear... OK, last charger deal, I promise. Buy the "="" mobile="" wall="" charger="" for="" $10.99"="">iClever 2-port "smart" mobile wall charger for $10.99, get a free "="" car="" charger"="">iClever 2-port "smart" car charger. Add both to your cart, then apply coupon code SMARTCHR at checkout. I've used the former; works great!

7. More iTunes, less money. If you tend to buy a lot of music, movies, apps and other stuff from Apple, here's a no-brainer: PayPal Digital Gifts is once again offering a $50 iTunes code for $40. After you make your purchase, the code is delivered more less instantly via e-mail. "Supplies" are limited, however, so don't wait too long to decide.

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8. Read (and hear) a classic. Before there was "Pirates of the Caribbean," there was "Treasure Island." Grab the Kindle edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic for free. Before you click Buy Now, however, make sure to check the box for "Add Audible narration to your purchase for just $0.00." Yep, you get the audiobook version for free as well.

9. "It's not a question of where he grips it. It's a simple question of weight ratios!" (Monty Python reference, for those of you who wonder what the heck I'm talking about.) One of my favorite products of 2015 is also one of the simplest -- and cheapest. The Ninja Loop is a simple strap that makes it much easier to hold (and operate) your phone one-handed. Price: $5.37. I positively love mine. Seriously.

10. Halloween costume done. Bam. OK, this isn't exactly a tech item, but it makes me laugh. Tanga is offering 20% off all its Lazy Halloween shirts and hoodies when you apply coupon code TooLazy20 at checkout. Best shirt for nerds: "Error 404: Costume Not Found."