Today, stories both serious and fun on skinny bundles for cord-cutters, WordPress.com flips the switch on encryption, new digital archives and the collecting of oral histories. In deals, you can find savings on memory sticks and cards. Amazon is still offering fabulous deals on Kindle and Fire tablets.

Daily Links for Saturday, April 9, 2016:

The Rise of Skinny Bundles And How They Could Change Cord-Cutting (Mediashift) A look at where we are at at this point in time in the a la carte pay-TV system.

WordPress.com turns on HTTPS encryption for all websites (Techcrunch) WordPress.com had lagged behind Facebook and Twitter in this department….

Makeup Tips for Google Hangouts (Racked) Who knew that there’s a special way to apply makeup for online sessions? I’m including this one as a PSA. 🙂

Chicago organization brings oral histories of African-Americans to colleges (Chicago Tribune) Reminiscent of some of the WPA projects during the Great Depression, these  oral history programs preserve essential stories.

The British Library’s oldest Qur’an manuscript now online (British Library) This eighth century manuscript has been fully digitized and is available online.

PeTreaT PetPal WiFi Automatic Pet Feeder: Automate Your Pet’s Feedings and Have Fun While Doing It (Gear Diary) Talk about the digital life! Cat owners will appreciate this review of a wi-fi connected pet feeder that even has a camera. One of my cats really wants this….

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes the classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Modern Classics) by Betty Smith for $1.99 and a Georgette Heyer Regency Romance, Sprig Muslin, also for $1.99. (This is a great deal as the Georgette Heyer romances are usually $9.99 and up.)

In Today’s Deals, Amazon is offering savings on both SanDisk and  PNY memory products as well as $80 off a Fire HDX 8.9, 8.9″ HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 64 GB.

There are still plenty of Kindle and Fire deals as well: You can still save on the Fire HD 6, pre-owned Fire tablets,  15% off Fire TV models, and the great  Kindle Deals for customers with Amazon Prime. The 16 GB version on the 7″ Fire is $$64.99! (That’s $5 less than the original price of $69.99. The tablet has been going up in price about $5 each day.)

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is three Star Trek Next Generation novels in the classic Q Continuum series  for just $1.99 each. The Romance Daily Find is Major Misconduct: An Aces Hockey Novel by Kelly Jamieson for 99 cents.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Fool A Novel by Christopher Moore for $1.99. This is an interesting take on the King Lear story.

In case you  missed it, Kobo is running several promotions. Through April 11, get 3 ebooks for the price of 2 (terms and conditions apply). You can get free shipping on any Kobo e-reader through April 13, 2016. And, until April 18, select Romantic Times winners & nominees are on sale for under $3.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone is Not Enough by Matthew Edlund, M.D. for $1.99.

(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.

Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)

Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.