Books/Movies/Music Deals, Sales, and News

Today only, Amazon offers its Prime members select MP3 Albums for $4.99 each via coupon code GOPRIME. That's up to $9 off (the average savings (around $5), with most albums at significant price lows over iTunes and Google Play. Available titles include Michael Jackson's Thriller, The Best of Billie Holiday, Sara Bareilles' The Blessed Unrest, and ... 2Cellos'
Celloverse.

Amazon offers Prime members an Audible 3-Month Trial Membership for free. That's a savings of $45 and the lowest price we've seen for any 3-month Audible membership. This trial gives you a free audiobook download for each month.

Amazon prime is a great way to save on shipping costs for thousands of products. But, with Prime Music, you can listen ad-free to over a million songs from top artists like Daft Punk, P!nk, Bruno Mars, Blake Shelton, The Lumineers, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna. Best part, it's all free with an Amazon Prime membership.

Load up your library with Prime Music. Find more music from your favorite artists or let Amazon’s personalized recommendations introduce you to your next favorite band. Prime Playlists are perfect for any mood.

Prime stations play until you stop them, with no interuptions from ads. You also get unlimited skips. The more you listen, the more personalized your stations get. Simply tap a thumbs up to hear more songs like the one playing, or thumbs down if you don’t like it. Prime Stations will learn from your feedback to create the perfect soundtrack for you.

Here's another cool benefit. You can download songs from the Prime Music catalog to your mobile devices for offline playback on a plane, train or anywhere without an Internet connection.

Visit the provided link to learn more about Prime Music and get started with Amazon Prime today!

Amazon MP3 now offers downloads of the Best of Rock n Roll & Jukebox Music: 100 Greatest Hits from the 50s & 60s MP3 Album for $2.59. most of these songs cost $0.99 each at the iTunes Store). Featured artists include Brenda Lee, Roy Orbison, The Dovells, and Clyde McPhatter. these are hit songs, not something you've never heard of. This is a great deal for anyone who loves the oldies!

Audible offers a $10 Audible Credit for free via coupon code BUDGET2015. That ties our mention from last week as the best free Audible.com credit deal we've seen for everyone. It's valid only for audio content; it can't be used for purchasing membership or gift cards. The credit expires 60 days after redemption.

SecondSpin.com offers 25 to 50 percent off Your Favorite Music. This is the best deal we've seen from this website for music! No coupon is needed, just use the provided link to start shopping. Deal ends January 1.

SecondSpin.com offers 15 percent off CDs, Videos and Games. Use coupon code DEC15LS to get the deal that ends on December 31.

The Interview, the controversial and much talked about comedy about North Korea will be released after all on Christmas day in over 300 independent theaters, some of which offer audio description. While major theater chains have opted not to screen the Sony Pictures movie, some smaller chains, notably Alamo Drafthouse will offer the movie in many of their theaters. Most Drafthouse locations offer audio description of movies in all of their screens, and a descriptive audio track was created for the movie, meaning it should be available with audio description. Check the link on this post for other theaters showing the movie. If your theater is listed and it typically offers audio description, then there's a good bet you'll be able to enjoy the Interview with description. The movie is also available online for rent or purchase, albeit without the description track.

Amazon takes 30% off any one book (up to a $10 discount) via coupon code HOLIDAY30. Plus, Prime members bag free shipping on all orders. (Non-members can spend $35 or more for free shipping; otherwise, it starts around $5.) That's the first time we've seen this discount and it yields many price lows on some popular titles. Kindle eBooks and Audible Audiobooks are excluded. Deal ends today.

Amazon takes 30 percent off any single book using coupon code "holiday30". It's one of the few such deals we've seen for books on Amazon, and applies to just about any book sold by Amazon, excluding Kindle and audiobooks. Enter th coupon code on the payment page while checking out. A maximum discount of $10 is available. Deal ends at 2:59 AM Eastern on Monday morning, December 1.

Native Instruments has launched a Black Friday sale that includes 50 percent discounts on some of their instrument packs among other deals. These can be used by musicians to create realistic-sounding productions. From orchestral sounds to drum kits, there's a wide variety to choose from. Check the link on this post for details.

GiftCardMall via eBay offers $50 Guitar Center gift cards for $40. Plus, shipping is free. That's potentially a 20 percent savings, depending on how you use these. We did not see a limit on how many you could purchase. These are physical cards to use at a Guitar Center retail store.

Today only, for current members, Audible offers a $10 Audible Credit for free. (You might have to sign out of your account and then click the already a member? link.) That's the best free Audible.com credit deal we've seen. They have offered a $10 credit several times before, but only for new Audible members; this one is for everyone.) It's valid only for audio content; it can't be used for purchasing membership or gift cards. The credit expires 60 days after it is issued.

The team at Hollywood Access Services announced today that they are deciding to shut down the company. The team, which was comprised of descriptive audio professionals has spent the past few years trying to expand descriptive audio and enter into new markets. Last year, they released a track for the movie Philomena on the MovieReading app for the iPhone. They also have done tracks for shows like Breaking Bad, The Wire, and The Walking Dead. According to the email to customers, the tracks they've already created will still be available for purchase from iTunes or Amazon for the next year. Visit the Solo-DX website to find ways to buy their tracks.

I reached out to the team at Solo-DX to learn more about why they are shutting down. This was their official response: "Thank you for your email and kind words. Unfortunately, our company was not getting enough business to cover expenses, and after stretching ourselves as far as we could, we had to make the hard decision to shut down. We truly wish we could have lasted to get MovieReading more on its feet, but we hope that the enthusiasm the app generated and the in-roads we made will help them continue on and get more content."

email.

The writer Rosemary Mahoney has just released a new book called "For the Benefit of Those Who See". It describes her time spent at the Tibetan school for the blind known as Braille Without Borders. To celebrate the book and braille, the National Braille Press is giving the book away for free for those who sign up for their monthly eNews. The free copy is an eBraille file. If you're interested, follow the link in the headline.

Back in August, we told you about the Coalition of E-book Reader manufacturers asking the FCC to waive the requirements to make their basic e-book readers accessible. Then in October, we let you know that a temporary waiver had been granted to the Coalition while the FCC reviewed the case. Today, we're sad to announce that the FCC has decided to grant the waiver, granting these companies the right to not have to make their basic e-book readers accessible to people with disabilities. According to the Digital Journal, here are some of the requirements that the FCC laid out for which devices would qualify for the waiver: the device must not have an LCD screen, the device must not have a camera, and the device must be marketed as a reading device. The waiver that was granted will last for one year.

. As a huge fan of twitter and the connections that it's brought me over the years, I feel like more of the blind community need to be informed about how easy twitter is to use, and how it can connect you to those who can answer questions, provide you information, and make you feel like you're part of a community. When I joined twitter I knew almost no one in the blind community, but by reaching out and searching for people who had my same interests I've been able to get employment thanks to my social media skills and even be asked to cohost a podcast.

If you are someone who has been holding off on joining twitter because either you don't know how it works or you don't know how accessible it is, then the new book from Jonathan Mosen called Tweeting Blind may be for you. The book can bee purchased in many different formats including braille and BRF from the National Braille Press, or you can get the book in PDF or RTF from the Jonathan Mosen Consulting website for $19.95.

According to the NBP website, the book is quite comprehensive. Readers will learn what twitter is, how to sign up for a twitter account, how to follow, mention, direct message, and block users, and how to access twitter on multiple platforms including windows, mac, iOS, and Android.

If your streaming video needs aren't being met by Amazon, Netflix, iTunes, or any
of the other options, then you now have one more to choose from. On Wednesday, Target announced the availability of <a href=\"
http://www.targetticket.com">Target Ticket after months of beta testing.
\"> Target Ticket is very similar to Amazon or iTunes since there is no monthly
fee. The over 30,000 titles can either be rented or bought and then watched on many
different devices. I decided to try out the service to see if it was accessible and worth the money.

Fedora Outlier is coming out with a new version of their Old Hat Guide to iPhone Accessibility. The new version will cover iOS 7 and all of the new features. You can pre-order the book through October 15th for $4.99. According to the website, some of the topics that will be covered include: accessibility settings and how to adjust them, voiceover gestures with tricks on how to master them, techniques of how to browse the web using Safari, and how to use Siri and dictation. The book also comes with video tutorials and voiceover tips.

There are a number of changes that are coming in the new release of iOS. Many writers are likely going to focus on the visual changes, and Apple will release a new handbook, but the mainstream is not going to focus on accessibility and the changes to Voiceover. Jonathan Mosen who has been beta testing the new iOS 7 is writing a book that will be specifically for Voiceover users. He is offering the book at 50% off, or $9.95,if you pre-order it before iOS 7 is launched. The book will be released when iOS 7 comes out. According to his website, here are some of the chapters included in the book, "What’s new in VoiceOver, Working with the Control Center, Notifications - a New Look and Feel, Search gets the Spotlight, App Switcher Changes, Siri Comes of Age, A better App Store, and iTunes Radio."