Two Humble Bundles you won't want to miss
From the Cheapskate: Choose between a best of public radio audio collection or an "Origami Yoda" e-book collection. Even better, choose both! Plus: free Rihanna and a killer ultrabook.
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What's better than one sweet media bundle? Two sweet media bundles, of course.
First up: the Origami Yoda e-book bundle. You can name your own price for "The Strange Case of Origami Yoda," a top-rated, immensely popular book aimed at kids in grades 3-7.
Beat the average price (currently $8.79) and you'll net another three books from the series, including "Darth Paper Strikes Back" and "The Secret of the Fortune Wookie." Seriously, though, just pony up $15 and get the complete six-book collection. Because how can you resist "Emperor Pickletine Rides the Bus"? (You can't.)
But assuming you don't have kids in that age range (or just don't love them), you might prefer to click on over to Humble's Best of Public Radio audiobook bundle.
The same three tiers are available, but here with a lot more content overall -- a combined value of $256, in fact, all yours for just $15. The selections range from "The Best of Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me" to "Fresh Air: Just for Laughs" to "Car Talk: 25 Years of Lousy Car Advice."
In other words, it's like all the great stuff NPR trots out during its fund drives, but without the hours and hours of begging for donations. (I kid, I kid. I'm a supporter!)
As with all Humble Bundles, these let you portion your contribution as you see fit, with the option of supporting some great charities. (Feel free to pay more than $15 if you're feeling generous.)
Likewise, everything here is DRM-free, so you can read or listen wherever, however.
Needless to say, I snapped up the public radio bundle without hesitation. Alas, too old my kids are for the e-books (see what I did there?), but if yours are the right age, grab this deal!
Bonus deal: Tune time! For a limited time, you can score Rihanna's new album, "Anti," for free. Once you supply your name and email address, you can download the album in MP3 or, if you're into lossless, FLAC format. And if you're new to Tidal, the music service behind the giveaway, you'll also get a 60-day trial subscription.
Bonus deal No. 2: If your old laptop is limping along on a slow processor, dying battery and clogged Windows, it may be time to splurge on a new one. "Splurge" being the operative word: Efurb (via eBay) has the Dell XPS 13 Core i7 touchscreen laptop for $999.99 shipped. (Note: That price kicks in at 11 a.m. ET.) It's new, not refurbished, and it sells elsewhere for at least $1,399. This is a seriously packed ultrabook: In addition to the Core i7 processor, you get a 256GB SSD, 3,200x1,800-pixel touchscreen, super-slim design and 15-hour battery. It comes with Windows 8, but it's free and easy to upgrade to Windows 10.
Bonus deal No. 3: Much as I hate to repeat myself, this particular product is a Cheapskate-reader fave...so here it is again! StackSocial spin-off Citizen Goods has the Martian Notifier smartwatch for $34.20 shipped when you apply coupon code martiandeal5off at checkout. That link will take you to the black model. It's also available in red and white for about $1 more. That's not the lowest price I've seen, but it's close. And from what I've heard from buyers, everyone loves this simple, notification-friendly timepiece. (I certainly do.) Expected delivery time is about a week.