Humble Bundle is an organization that bundles up things like video games and books and other stuff that people like to have, offers them pretty cheaply, in various tiers, and then donates a portion of the proceeds to charitable organizations. A couple of months ago, Tor approached me about doing a Humble Bundle project with them, and as it happens, I had a charity that I thought would be perfect for such a bundle: First Book, which provides books to and champions literacy for children all around the United States. Children’s literacy, and their access to books, is more important now than ever. So I was happy to come on board.
With all that as preamble, allow me to announce the John Scalzi Humble Book Bundle Collection, which for the next 20 days allows you get up to $184 worth of the electronic versions of many of my novels, novellas and short stories for a mere fraction of that cost, with First Book as the bundle’s official charitable recipient.
For those who have never done this Humble Bundle thing before, it’s pretty simple: There are tiers of access, and the more you pay, the more you get. Want to pay a single dollar? We’re happy to give you Old Man’s War for that. Got $10 to spare? Then you get Old Man’s War, The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony and Zoe’s Tale, the first four books in the Old Man’s War series.
But if you really want to splurge, for $18, you can get all six books of the Old Man’s War series, all three books of the Interdependency series, the two books and novella of the Lock In series, four stand-alone novels including Redshirts, my Hugo award winner, and the Kaiju Preservation Society, as well as my Hugo-winning essay collection Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded, and even a smattering of short stories, including the infamous “Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue” (which was, improbably and delightfully, nominated for a Hugo as well). All told there are 21 items in the top tier package, if you pay $18 or more. That’s a pretty good deal.
(And yes, you can pay more if you would like, and allocate the percentages so that more of what you spend goes to First Book. It’s all right there on the bundle page.)
Oh, and another thing: Yes, I will get a cut of the amount that goes to Tor/Macmillan for this sale. You should know that half of my cut is going directly into The Scalzi Family Foundation (up to $50k), which we use to fund our own charitable, educational and cultural giving. The Scalzi Family Foundation, as you may recall, was the primary sponsor of the GenCon Writers Symposium this year, and this year we’ve also donated to local food banks, educational and cultural organizations, and other organizations which benefit both our local communities and communities across the US.
I hope you’ll take a look at the bundle and consider stocking up on the Scalzi eBooks that you haven’t gotten yet. Additionally, I hope you’ll tell other people about it. You probably know some folks who wouldn’t mind getting more Scalzi ebooks really cheaply and/or supporting a very excellent literacy charity. Here’s how to do both!
We are excited to offer you an incredible 50% discount on your first-year subscription to Darkroom+. Instead of paying $32.99, you can get it for just $16.49 for the first year. Darkroom+ comes with a suite of premium features that will unlock a world of endless possibilities and elevate your creativity. Yes, you heard it right - all of this at half the price! This is by far our biggest offer ever, and we are not waiting for Black Friday to start. We are launching the sale a full week early because who likes to wait?
Friday November 17th until Monday November 27th
Our Black Friday Week sale will run for a limited 10 days only. Set a reminder, mark your calendar, and get ready to dive into a world of endless possibilities with Darkroom+. Trust us, you don't want to miss out on this and make sure to take advantage of this massive deal during our Black Friday Week before the turkey hits your table this Thanksgiving.
What do I have to do?
It's simple! Make sure to download the latest version of Darkroom (6.6.3) and follow the steps in the app to become a Darkroom+ member. No need to remember or apply any promo codes. We’ll also remind you about the Black Friday Week offer in the app. Alternatively, tap or click the button below to open the membership step in the app directly.
Don't keep this incredible deal to yourself! Share the news with your fellow mobile photographers, friends, and family. This is the perfect and very affordable opportunity to join our Darkroom+ membership.
Darkroom+
Darkroom+ is our membership that provides access to the growing bundle of already 9 premium features. Whether you want to add a distinct style, make precise adjustments, or manage your photo library efficiently, Darkroom+ has you covered with its collection of premium features.
With Color Grading, AI Powered Masks, Video Processing, Flag & Reject, Curves Tool, Selective Color, Premium Presets, Watermark, and Custom App Icon, you will have toolkit ready to transform your photos on the go without the hassle of complex legacy software.
Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to elevate your creativity and unlock endless possibilities with Darkroom+!
New to Darkroom?
Whether you're a seasoned shutterbug or just casually dipping your toes into the world of mobile photography, Darkroom offers a comprehensive suite of foundational tools beyond Darkroom+ that cater to all your photo management and editing needs.
Manage: Darkroom seamlessly integrates with Apple iCloud Photos, so all your memories are already there, waiting for you. So you can effortlessly import, browse, and organize your growing photo library. Plus, the intuitive interface means you can view, edit, and manage your photos, albums, and folders across iPhone, iPad and Mac with familiar ease.
Select: Dive into your photo library and the confidently curate. With Darkroom you can efficiently swipe and edit through your collection. Use the batch feature to speed up the process. Keep what captures your heart, and effortlessly discard what doesn't make the cut.
Adjust: Unleash your inner artist with Darkroom's professional, non-destructive adjustment tools and broad file format support. Embrace the power of state of the art tools like Clarity and Highlight & Shadow recovery, and the wealth of Community Presets to make your photos stand out. Even better, share your own unique presets with the world or apply your favorite edits to multiple photos with just a few taps. And for that extra flair, add colorful frames or conveniently export your shots for social media stories.
Export: Ready to show off your work? Darkroom makes it a breeze to share your beautifully crafted photos, videos, and even your custom presets with anyone, anywhere and any app. It's not just about editing; it's about sharing your vision and creativity with the world.
Darkroom is more than just a tool; it's a gateway to expressing your creativity and sharing your story with the world. Serious or amateur, every mobile photographer has a home here.
Frequently Asked Question
What does a Darkroom+ Yearly membership cost?
In the United States the Yearly membership costs $32.99 ($2.75 per month), and is currently being offered at a 50% discount for the first year. So instead of $32.99 it will be $16.49. After the first year the membership will automatically default back to the normal pricing.
Be aware that prices vary per country, listed below are the prices for the United States. We recommend going to our app store page to see the exact pricing for your specific country.
Can I use my Darkroom+ membership across my Apple devices?
Yes, as a Darkroom+ member, you can use it on multiple devices. There is no need to purchase or subscribe to Darkroom+ multiple times. However, please ensure that you log in on all devices using the same App Store account that you used to make the initial purchase.
Does this discount apply to Darkroom Legacy customers?
Yes, we learned from last year's mistakes and ensured that this discount is also available to our Legacy customers. Please make sure to update to the latest version of Darkroom (6.6.3) to access the Black Friday Week Offer. Considering the substantial discount offered in the first year, we didn't find it necessary to provide any additional special discounts. On average, Legacy customers paid approximately $8 for all their features. With this year's Black Friday Week discount, we are now offering a $16 discount on the first year.
Is the Darkroom+ Forever option discounted?
No. We are only offering this year's Black Friday Week discount for our annual membership. The one-time forever membership option already includes a substantial discount considering the length of time and loyalty our customers typically have towards our product.
Bridges is a new app out by Jonathan Ruiz, designed to collect, organize and then use links. It’s great for creating collections that you want to share later on social media, in a blog post or in the notes for a podcast episode. It’s a one-time purchase of $3.99 for the iOS and iPadOS app, and the Mac app is the same price. No subscriptions. Check out Ruiz’s blog post for more.
When a movie is almost 5 hours long, it can’t quite be one genre. Wim Wenders’ cult classic from 1991 Until the End of the World is a near-future science fiction story, an epic road trip, a slow-burn indie love story, a fin de siècle meditation, and a political commentary all at once. It also has one of the greatest soundtracks of the 90s. Here’s more from Critereon:
You can sense this openness, this anxious awe at the vastness of the world, in every globe-hopping minute of Until the End of the World. Wenders famously reached out to twenty of his favorite international musical acts to contribute a song they might imagine themselves playing in the year 1999. Almost all of them accepted the challenge, and he wound up with an epoch-defining rock soundtrack, which could be heard only in bizarre snippets in the shortened version but is allowed to breathe in the full director’s cut, where the music becomes just as much a part of the aura of the film as its images. Meanwhile, Robby Müller’s colorful, eclectic cinematography incorporates multiple shooting formats and styles—from shadowy noir to urban grit to placid naturalism to elegant classicism to pixelated techno fuzz and more. Wenders was one of the world’s foremost filmmakers at the dawn of the nineties, but he also had a (not entirely fair) reputation for making grim, angst-ridden movies—reflecting the stereotype of the bespectacled, black-clad German artiste. Until the End of the World, however, feels like the work of a free man, working in a newly free world.
Wenders told the Los Angeles Times during production: “This is not a science-fiction film. It’s a contemporary film that we set ten years into the future so we could take a few liberties.” He took more than a few, and many of them turned out to be strikingly prescient. The characters drive cars guided by navigation systems not unlike today’s GPS. The internet had only just begun to be commercially available at the time Until the End of the World was made, but the movie accurately portrays the use of search engines, as well as our ability to find people anywhere on earth thanks to their digital footprints. Even the film’s framing device, involving worldwide panic over an Indian satellite crashing on the eve of the millennium and wiping out all electronic communications, makes for an interesting analogue to the very real fear many had in 1999 and the years leading up to it that the Y2K bug would plunge a technologically reliant planet back into the Stone Age.
Hey Everyone,
So, it’s been a wild ride of about 6 years since we dived headfirst into the mad world of music apps with Digital D1, AudioKit’s first paid music app. We were fairly new to a lot of concepts, and AUv3? That was like sci-fi to us.
It’s been a long journey, and it feels like I’ve racked up enough experience to earn what feels like a PhD in music app-making. There’s been lots of late nights to create those $3 and $4 apps. It’s been a tough gig, but hey, I’m still standing.
As many of you old school folks remember – D1 launched launched ages ago with a little over 300 presets. People loved the retro sounds, the dual filters, stacked views, and great presets.
More and more people contributed, and I’ve been secretly recording and gathering sounds for the D1 sequel. It’s kind of crazy to think that King of Digital is dropping with
Brace yourselves…
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900 presets!
The new sounds are pretty epic. And the old ones are like a time machine through the past six years of iOS Music, with legendary presets from Brice Beasley, DMT Cymatics, Moby Pixel, Red Sky Lullaby, Jakob Haq, Electronisounds, Sound of Izrael, rs2000, Mitch the AudioDabbler, Brian Funk, and more.
Creating a new app inspired by an old one presented unique challenges. One funny one – During the testing phase, I discovered that some presets in King of Digital sound different from D1, no matter what I tried. This was because some of the original samples in D1 weren’t playing back correctly! So for some of you, this will be the first-time experiencing the original D1 PCM Sounds as they were truly meant to be heard.
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I toyed with the idea of slicing up these PCM Cards and presets into pricey in-app goodies. But you know what? Scrap that. You get the whole dang thing, all in one.
As a gift to the iOS music app community. I’m offering the complete package – The full, uncut experience is yours for just $3.99. So, if this is interests you at all, grab it before I come to my senses and raise the price. Which could sooner than later.
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