Why You Can Trust CNET Three-deal Tuesday: A flash drive, a desktop, and a free download
Get an 8GB flash drive for 8 bucks, a Core i7 desktop for $779.99, and Microsoft's student-friendly Mathematics 4.0 absolutely free.
What's better than one great deal? Three great deals, of course! Now that I'm all rested up after the long weekend, I bring you this money-saving threesome:
1. Today only, a deal-of-the-day outfit called PricePlunge has an 8GB Dane-Elec flash drive for $7.99, plus 99 cents for shipping. Compatible with Windows and Mac systems, the drive is capless and retractable, two features I quite like. Plus, it comes with a five-year warranty. I should note that I've never purchased anything from PricePlunge, so I can't vouch for the reliability of the company. (If you can, or you've bought from them before, hit the comments!)
2. Last week, several commenters asked me to find a killer desktop deal. Try this on for size: HP has the Pavilion Elite HPE-570t Core i7 desktop for $779.99 shipped. That's after applying coupon code DT642387 (which, FYI, expires after 450 total uses). This machine is all about horsepower, as evidenced by its 3.4GHz Intel Core i7-2600 quad-core "Sandy Bridge" processor and 8GB of RAM. Everything else is pretty standard. Not everyone needs this kind of muscle, but if you want a bleeding-edge processor, this is the deal to beat.
3. Calling all students! Microsoft Mathematics 4.0 is available free of charge. Formerly $20, this graphing calculator plots in 2D and 3D and offers step-by-step equation solving. (Click the screenshot for a larger view.) It's designed to help with subjects like algebra, trigonometry, physics, chemistry, and calculus. Free to download, Mathematics 4.0 runs on Windows XP and later.
Bonus deal #1: It's not a tech item, but I feel obligated to mention today's Woot: two Eco Canteen stainless-steel water battles for $4.99 (plus $5 for shipping). Given that similar bottles often sell in stores for upwards of $20 apiece, that's pretty sweet. I bought a couple a few months back, and I really like them. Tempted to grab a couple more!
Bonus deal #2: If you're a fan of The Decemberists (and you should be), Amazon MP3 has "="" for="" $3.99"="">their brand-new album, "The King is Dead," for $3.99. iTunes price: $9.99. I'm listening to it right now, and loving every indie-folk-rock note.