Discounts on top Windows 7-based PCs for students now available.

SEATTLE — May 13, 2010 — With summer internships and travel right around the corner, this season is a popular PC-buying time for students. This week, Microsoft Corp., along with several retailers and partners, unveiled new offers for Windows 7-based PCs that will give students the tools they need to manage their work, stay in touch with friends and have fun.

“These deals will help students get the PC with Windows 7 they want at a great price,” said Brad Brooks, corporate vice president for Windows consumer marketing and product management at Microsoft. “We know that every dollar counts, so we’re partnering with companies, such as Sony, Amazon and Dell, to offer great PCs with the features and sizes that students want.”

Students who want to stream TV, music and videos but don’t want dorm-room clutter should check out Sony Corp.’s offer for a free Blu-ray disc drive upgrade and $90 credit for movies with the purchase of a Sony VAIO E Series notebook powered by Windows 7 Professional. The VAIO E series has a bright 15.5-inch HD screen that makes it easy to watch TV and movies, weighs less than 6 pounds and is available in an array of colors so students can stand out from the crowd. This offer is available in the United States through May 29, 2010.

Also available this week is $50 off the purchase of select Windows 7-based notebooks and netbooks from Amazon.com. This deal is perfect for students who want the flexibility of a full-size notebook to power through homework and stream media, and a lightweight, ready-to-travel netbook for study groups and summer trips. Available in the United States through May 29, 2010, this offer includes an array of PCs to choose from — Dell Inc., HP, Acer Inc. and ASUS are all participating — so students can choose the right setup for them.

Students who want a PC with Windows 7 and Microsoft Office should check out a new deal from the online Microsoft Store — a Dell Studio XPS 13-inch with Windows 7 Home Premium and Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (which includes a free upgrade to Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 once it is available) for a special price of $989, plus free shipping. With this offer, students can create great-looking PowerPoint presentations, take notes on Microsoft OneNote, and stay connected with friends and the latest TV shows, songs and movies. This offer is available in the United States until June 25, or while supplies last.

For the latest information on all Windows 7-based PC offers, students should visit www.windows.com.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

For more information, press only:
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

Phone: (503) 443-7070

Email: rrt@waggeneredstrom.com

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at www.microsoft.com/news.

Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed.

For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

Giving Online Daters the Virtual Wingman They Need

LOS ANGELES – May 13, 2010 – Ever been on date that was so tragic, so awkward, and so criminally awful that you wish you had a wingman to help get you through it, to laugh about it with in real time? Well now, at BadOnlineDates – there’s an app for that!

The BadOnlineDates iPhone app has got your back because they understand there are some moments that are so special – you need to share them in real time with someone who’s in the online dating trenches with you.

BadOnlineDates.com is a fresh and innovative social networking site that combines the best of social networking with online dating. The site gives an ever-growing, ever-frustrated community an opportunity to connect, vent, tell the truth and ultimately laugh about their online dating misadventures and mishaps.

CEO and Founder of BadOnlineDates.com, Jennifer Kelton, understands that anybody who has ever delved into the world of online dating (and at this point, who hasn’t?) knows that the dating pool can get a bit murky. “While other online dating sites tell you it’s okay to look – at BadOnlineDates.com we’re changing the game and letting you know “IT’S OKAY TO LAUGH!”

With the introduction of BadOnlinedates.com’s latest tool, the iPhone App, online daters have a chance to tell their story in real time and interact with other members as well as get immediate advice and comic relief. iPhone users can post their bad date experience as it’s happening from their phone so they’re never alone. Now, when daters find themselves at coffee with the ‘freaky fetish guy’ or having cocktails with a girl they’ve just met who has their wedding tux on hold, they can just push a button and connect with others who understand what they’re going through. This as Kelton states: “is a new kind of virtual dating wingman.” And who doesn’t want an app for that?

Technology
The BadOnlineDate.com’s iPhone application is the site’s companion for taking BadOnlineDate.com on the go is available for free in the Apple Store. This Twitter-like communication tool allows users to engage with their community while mobile, and send out real-time updates from a date – helping users tap their communities when they need it most.

About BadOnlineDates.com
On BadOnlineDates.com, users can post stories, pictures and videos about their real life dating experiences and also comment on others’ experiences. Video, blogs, Chat Rooms, Twitter integration and and the iPhone application will allow users to message others “live in the trenches”, offering the opportunity to laugh with others whether it’s before, after, or during a bizarre date live. The administrative and editorial staff ensures the site is a supportive and interactive place by moderating communications within the community while providing expert commentary and advice for specific stories.
About Jennifer Kelton, The Face Behind BadOnlineDates.com
BadOnlineDates.com was created by Jennifer Kelton, an indelicate and uncensored voice in the dating world. Jennifer built a league of dedicated followers with her biting truths and down-to-earth takes on the modern singles scene. She rose to popularity with her humorously candid book, Don’t Use my Sweater Like a Towel, which chronicled a year of bad dates, missed connections and frankly-described sexcapades. An avid believer in the convergence of technology and online/offline communications, Jennifer created BadOnlineDates.com in the fall of 2007 with her sights on creating a revolutionary new space that would rise above the cliché’s of online dating. By combining a social networking and online dating, BadOnlineDates.com connects people through the good, bad and hilarious of their shared dating experiences. Jennifer created BadOnlineDates to be a cyberspace that is more human, honest and organic; a site to help heal the wounds of anyone who has been rejected by a computer, gone to dinner with their worst nightmare or been bamboozled by the profile-liar. There’s not better to bond or make lasting relationships than laughter. Jennifer believes that when it comes to online dating, not only is it okay to laugh – it’s necessary!

Contact Information

BadOnlineDates.com is located in Los Angeles, CA.

For more information please contact

Carol Ruiz

Principal, Red Rocket LA Public Relations

8695 West Washington Blvd., Ste. 205

Culver City, CA 90232

Phone: 310.841.0994, ext. 118

Email: cruiz@redrocketla.com

Jamie Latta

Red Rocket LA Public Relations

Phone: 310.403.6724

Email jamie.latta@gmail.com

Please visit www.badonlinedates.com to review the site.

Just in time for the end of the semester, customers can now choose from over one million books to trade in for high prices at Amazon.com

SEATTLE– May 10, 2010— Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that over 1 million books are now eligible for the Textbook Buyback program, which allows customers to quickly and easily exchange used textbooks in return for an Amazon.com Gift Card. Available year-round, the Textbook Buyback program offers students the ability to trade in textbooks they no longer need for a high price. For more information about the Textbook Buyback program, visit: www.amazon.com/buyback.

Textbook Buyback offers great prices on over 1 million eligible titles. Not only is it easy to use, but students can avoid long lines at the bookstore and trade in their textbooks from their dorm rooms or from home without facing buyback deadlines. Students just visit www.amazon.com/buyback, and search for the books they want to trade. Then students can print a pre-paid shipping label and drop the package in the mail. Once the book is received and verified by the third-party merchant that purchases the titles, an Amazon.com Gift Card will be deposited into the student’s Amazon.com account. This gift card can be used toward the purchase of next semester’s books, or the millions of other items on Amazon.com.

“With a great selection of titles, low textbook costs and high prices for Textbook Buyback, we continue to make the Textbook Store an easy and economical option for our student customers,” said Julie Todaro, director of Books at Amazon.com. “Buying textbooks is no longer the financial burden it once was for students, and we’re happy that we’ve been able to make Textbook Buyback even more convenient with over 1 million books now available to trade in for high prices. Students are crazy if they’re still selling their books back on campus.”

The Amazon.com Textbooks Store (www.amazon.com/textbooks) helps students manage the high cost of textbooks by offering savings of up to 30 percent off the list price of more than 100,000 new textbooks and up to 90 percent off the list price of millions of used textbooks.

About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that w irelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10- K and subsequent filings.

Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180
www.amazon.com/pr

###

Akron, OH (May 6, 2010)— The Invent Now Collegiate Inventors Competition, now in its 19th year, is inviting inventive students to enter its 2010 competition.

The Collegiate Inventors Competition is designed to recognize and honor student innovators at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Since 1990, the Competition has honored numerous individuals and teams for their outstanding inventive contributions and innovative research. This year, nearly $80,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the winning undergraduate and graduate students and advisers at a special awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. in the fall. The Competition is sponsored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Abbott Fund.

The deadline for entering this year’s Competition is June 25, 2010. Entries are judged on originality of the idea, process or technology, and their potential value and usefulness to society.

Collegiate Inventors Competition winners from 2009 included a team from Dartmouth who developed a device to filter arsenic from drinking water in third world nations, Geoffrey von Maltzahn from MIT who created nanoparticles that communicate with each other to more effectively target therapy to tumors, Stephen Diebold from U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign who invented a tool to facilitate independence for quadriplegics, and Harris Wang from Harvard U. whose Multiplex Automated Genome Engineering, or MAGE, is an efficient way for faster cell programming, perhaps resulting in manufactured microorganisms.

Competition judges select 10-12 finalists who receive an all-expense paid trip to the final judging round and awards ceremony. National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees participate in the final round of judging, and past judges have included individuals such as Don Keck, inventor of optical fiber for communications; George Smith, 2009 Nobel Prize recipient and inventor of the charge-coupled device; and James West, inventor of the electret microphone.

Entry forms and more information on the program are available at www.invent.org/collegiate.

Contact
Rini Paiva
Invent Now, Inc.
330-388-6160
rpaiva@invent.org

# # #