Deals at MicroCenter

Last month, I blogged that MicroCenter had been touting their "Arduino" (which turned out to be a Ghio clone) for $19.99.  Today's ad is out and the new and improved prices are out.  They state they have the Arduino Uno Rev 3 for $17.99 (item # 869016) and the Mega 2460 Rev 3 for $34.99 (item # 864504).  No sign they are the clone models in their ad.  If that is the case, their Mega costs what Radio Shack charges for the Uno, the prices approaching half what the maker shops charge.
Such pricing could threaten Radio Shack's foray into the Maker market.  I hope not, I have encouraged them to get back to their golden days of electronics.  I spent much of my teen years pocket change buying Radio Shack parts and books.

If you'd like a Maker's kit, MicroCenter has the Sparkfun Inventor's Kit at $69.99 (item # 434324).  It was selling at $99.99 but Sparkfun recently redesigned the box so this is last year's box (link to current model) but it is still cool and $30 off.

If you like PC's, it's hard to beat some of MicroCenter's prices.  They have several stores around the US (yes, there is one nearby here) but you can get most of the same prices online (except processors which are only discounted in-store).