Get $50 Gift Card with XBox 360 Holiday Bundle

In a deal similar to the earlier one for the Wii/Wii Fit bundle, Amazon is currently offering a $50 gift card along with the Xbox 360 Elite Winter 2009 Lego Batman / Pure Bundle. You have to order the two items together on the Deals Page, where you can't see the bundle price, but I just checked it in my cart and it was $239. The two included games usually sell for about $20 each (although you can get both together right now for $17.79) and the bundle is discounted $60 from list price. I don't have an Xbox, but they are excellent gaming consoles, from what I've read, and have the ability to stream Netflix movies (although that appears to require an Xbox Live subscription).

I do see one restriction - you can't use any promotional or gift certificates to pay for the purchase (I have $20 in promotional certificates from an earlier game deal), so you may need to change your payment method during checkout, to ensure you don't try to apply any balances. Offer valid January 17, 2010 through January 23, 2010 or while supplies last.

Bundle Description

* Includes LEGO Batman: The Videogame and PURE
* 120GB hard drive
* Sleek black console with matching wireless controller and headset
* HD ready - with an HDMI port (HDMI cable sold separately)
* Ethernet cable

The Xbox 360 Elite Holiday Bundle is a great value with two great games included, a massive hard drive, an HDMI port (HDMI cable sold separately), a black wireless controller and headset, and a premium black finish. With three powerful core processors and full surround sound, the console redefines what games look like, sound like, feel like, and play like to engage you like never before. Every Xbox 360 game title supports a minimum of 720p, and up to 1080p high definition resolution or 480p standard definition resolution, in 16:9 widescreen.

LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame (included):
Play as Batman and his sidekick Robin as you build, drive, swing, and fight your way through Gotham City. Then jump into the story from the other side and play as Batman’s foes! There’s no rest for the good (or the evil!). (Rated "E10+" for Everyone 10+)

PURE® (included):
Take off-road racing to a new level. Experience pure adrenaline and emotion as you execute incredible aerial tricks and death-defying massive jumps. (Rated "E" for Everyone)

Amazon Increases Author DTP Royalties to 70%

Amazon has announced a change in their royalties for authors and publishers using their Amazon Digital Text Platform to publish their books, with a new royalty rate of 70% net after delivery costs, provided they meet certain conditions.

Delivery costs will be based on file size and pricing will be $0.15/MB. At today's median DTP file size of 368KB, delivery costs would be less than $0.06 per unit sold. This new program can thus enable authors and publishers to make more money on every sale. For example, on an $8.99 book an author would make $3.15 with the standard option, and $6.25 with the new 70 percent option.

Each book listed on the Kindle platform may choose the old or the new pricing structure, which is good for indie authors who are currently listing books below the minimum to quality for the new rates. The rates also don't apply to any public domain books, so all those republishing Pride and Prejudice are out of luck. There are a few other conditions, as well:

• The author or publisher-supplied list price must be between $2.99 and $9.99
• This list price must be at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the physical book
• The title is made available for sale in all geographies for which the author or publisher has rights
• The title will be included in a broad set of features in the Kindle Store, such as text-to-speech. This list of features will grow over time as Amazon continues to add more functionality to Kindle and the Kindle Store.
• Under this royalty option, books must be offered at or below price parity with competition, including physical book prices. Amazon will provide tools to automate that process, and the 70 percent royalty will be calculated off the sales price.

Looks like they are making publishers that disable features, restrict global sales or price gouge on ebooks, put their wallets where their principles are. There are a few gotcha's hiding in there - Amazon has the ability to set any price they wish and the 70% royalty will be based on the end sales price, not the list price set by the author/publisher. Those who have massive files, due to including lots of high resolutions pictures or multiple copies of the cover (I counted five in one book) will pay a penalty, as the delivery charges are higher. But most customers will love the new structure, as it will guarantee global access and TTS on all titles that choose the higher payment plan.

The Terms and Conditions page doesn't yet reflect the new rates, which become an option for US authors on June 30, 2010 (with International authors to be added later), but you can read the press release HERE.

Free Audiobook - 2006 MLK Memorial Dedication

You can get a free download of the audio from the 2006 broadcast of Martin Luther King National Memorial Foundation Groundbreaking Ceremony from Audible, featuring Maya Angelou, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Tommy Hilfiger, Jesse Jackson, Wynonna Judd, Jack Kemp, Soledad O'Brien, Barack Obama, Tavis Smiley, Oprah Winfrey.

Audio Description
At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial along the Tidal Basin near the Lincoln Memorial, participants spoke about the legacy of Reverend King and the civil rights movement.

The ceremony included speeches by former president Clinton, President Bush, members of Congress, and other dignitaries, as well as musical entertainment by several performers.

Free Book (PDF) - The Surgeon

Tess Gerritsen’s The Surgeon ($4.99 Kindle) was one of the first free books I read on my Kindle and one of the first I posted about here on the blog (on 9/11/08). After reading it, I immediately went and found more books in the series to read. If you missed it then, you can still get this book for free over on Scribd, in PDF format. Just run it thru Calibre or the Amazon conversion services and you can read it on your Kindle or other reader (I wouldn't try it in PDF format, except on a DX or similar size screen).

Book Description
In her most masterful novel of medical suspense, New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen creates a villain of unforgettable evil--and the one woman who can catch him before he kills again.

He slips into their homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, unaware of the horrors they soon will endure. The precision of the killer's methods suggests he is a deranged man of medicine, propelling the Boston newspapers and the frightened public to name him "The Surgeon."

The cops' only clue rests with another surgeon, the victim of a nearly identical crime. Two years ago, Dr. Catherine Cordell fought back and killed her attacker before he could complete his assault. Now she hides her fears of intimacy behind a cool and elegant exterior and a well-earned reputation as a top trauma surgeon.

Cordell's careful facade is about to crack as this new killer recreates, with chilling accuracy, the details of Cordell's own ordeal. With every new murder he seems to be taunting her, cutting ever closer, from her hospital to her home. Her only comfort comes from Thomas Moore, the detective assigned to the case. But even Moore cannot protect Cordell from a brilliant hunter who somehow understands--and savors--the secret fears of every woman he kills.

Filled with the authentic detail that is the trademark of this doctor turned author . . . and peopled with rich and complex characters--from the ER to the squad room to the city morgue--here is a thriller of unprecedented depth and suspense. Exposing the shocking link between those who kill and cure, punish and protect, The Surgeon is Tess Gerritsen's most exciting accomplishment yet.

Click HERE for the free download.

Free Audiobook - Haitian Creole

Pimsleur and Audible are giving away a quick intro course on Haitian Creole, Lessons 1 to 5: Learn to Speak and Understand Haitian Creole and Lessons 6 to 10: Learn to Speak and Understand Haitian Creole.

Audiobook Descriptions

1. Includes two-and-a-half hours of spoken-language practice in five 30-minute lessons. Contains lessons 1-5 from the Pimsleur Compact program, plus an introduction to reading. Also includes a User's Guide to introduce you to the Pimsleur Method.
2. Includes two-and-a-half hours of spoken-language practice in five 30-minute lessons. Contains lessons 6-10 from the Pimsleur Compact program, plus an introduction to reading. Also includes a User's Guide to introduce you to the Pimsleur Method.