Rip your LPs! Get a USB turntable for $32.99
The Vibe Sound VS-2002-SPK is also a good old-fashioned record player, with built-in speakers and RCA outputs for connecting to your stereo. Vinyl FTW!
Are you sitting on a stack of LP and/or 45 records? Or maybe you've gotten swept up in vinyl's resurgence, and you're looking for a way to convert some new platters to a more mobile format. Whatever the case, you need a USB turntable.
In other words, a record player that feeds audio not just to your stereo, but also to your PC. In the past (and, in some cases, the present), these gizmos sold for around $100, but Geeks.com has the Vibe Sound VS-2002-SPK USB turntable for $32.99. Shipping adds around $8.
The VS-2002-SPK can play 33-, 45-, and 78-rpm records. It features RCA-out jacks for connecting to your stereo, a USB port for connecting to your PC or Mac, and built-in speakers for listening to your tunes old-school.
The actual process of converting albums into MP3s can be complicated, as you have to manually break one long recording into individual files--or start and stop the LP (and the recording software) after each track. A little more automation would be great, and I reckon there's software out there that'll provide it--but it's not included here.
Instead, you get freeware favorite Audacity--a great program, but not particularly user-friendly. And from what I've read about the VS-2002-SPK, the included manual is barely worth the paper it's printed on. So this is not a great solution for tech-challenged users.
Even so, I probably have 50 old albums collecting dust, and many of them (early Police, nearly every Bill Cosby album) I never got around to replacing with MP3s. For 40 bucks and a few hours of my time, I can make my vinyl past live again. I'm verrrry tempted. You?
Bonus deal: Beware cheap tablets! I'll talk more about this in the future, but if you see a 7-inch, no-brand Android tablet selling for under $100, steer clear. I've test-tapped a bunch of these, and they're all terrible. I realize that's not actually a bonus deal, just something I've been meaning to mention. Sooo...
Bonus deal No. 2: From now through my birthday, October 13, my buds at AppSumo are holding a contest. The prize: a free 50GB Dropbox account for life. The only requirement for entry: your e-mail address. Hmmm, that's not really a deal, either. One more try...
Bonus deal No. 3: In honor of Steve Jobs' passing, this seems appropriate: AT&T has the first-generation 64GB iPad Wi-Fi + 3G for $479.99 shipped--just about the lowest price ever on the top-end iPad 1. It's new, not refurbished. For comparison's sake, the 16GB, Wi-Fi-only iPad 2 sells for $499.