I just got the premiere issue of MAKE magazine
by snailmail. I happen to be one of the columnists,
and it's full of old pals and ideological
fellow travellers, so I was expecting something pretty wack.
Boy is that thing weird. That is one strange
publication. I think it's the only paper publication
on the market that is odder and more far-out than
websurfing.
You should subscribe immediately.
http://make.oreilly.com/01/
The first magazine devoted to digital projects, hardware hacks, and D.I.Y. inspiration.
Volume 01: Premiere
Table of Contents
7: Welcome
The making of Make: Publisher and Editor Dale Dougherty presents the philosophy of MAKE in a nutshell: We're all Makers now.
10: Yak Shaving
Stuck in the middle of a stack of stuff you're supposed to do? Sharpen your wool clippers, and stop getting distracted by the pointless activities which surround any serious problem–unless you want to, that is.
12: Gauss Rifle
A linear accelerator for studying high-energy physics costs around $5 billion. But you can make one for about 30 bucks with four strong magnets, a wooden ruler, some plastic tape, and nine steel balls.
13: News from the Future
Reality is catching up with science fiction, thanks in a large part to DIY technologies. Tim O'Reilly identifies the laboratory and garage projects that promise to change the way we live.
14: Made on Earth
Amazing things that ordinary people are making in their garages and backyards, including the Niles Monorail, steam locomotives, desktop trebuchets and guillotines, serious legos, a thermo-electric keg wrap, Meccano computing machinery, and more.
22: Hacking the Dog
Who says you have to spend thousands of dollars to get a cool robot? The world's toy stores brim with cheap-ass, rough and ready robotic platforms just begging to be modded. Meet a hacker who converts toy robots into toxic waste dump avengers.
23: Welcome to the Fab Lab
Neil Gershenfeld shows us that personal fabrication can be fabulous. The teacher of MIT's course "How to Make (Almost) Anything" gives us a tour of the Boston fab lab, one of a growing network of field labs all over the world.
34: Glowstick a Go-Go
Bunnie Huang prototypes two kinetic glowsticks: instead of creating a single arc of light, glowsticking dancers can now create their own two-dimensional fantasias.
38: Heirloom Technology
Finding the technology of the future from the forgotten ideas of the past.
44: The Open Source Car: a Design Brief
The time is right for a true people's hybrid vehicle. The web is peppered with how-to sites for converting your old car into an electric vehicle, but why not develop SourceForge-style documentation for an open source hybrid?
47: Dorkbot
Warehouse of wild, weird, and wonderful projects. A profile on the monthly (or thereabouts) meetings of "people doing strange things with electricity" all over the world.
50: Kite Aerial Photography Puts Your Eye in the Sky
To take pictures from a kite, you need three things: a kite, a camera, and a special rig that attaches the camera to the kiteline and activates the shutter button on the camera. Here's how to do it.
84: $14 Video Camera Stabilizer
You don't have $10,000 to spend on a Steadicam? Make this ultra-low-cost video camera stabilizer and see how much better your video shots turn out.
96: The 5-in-1 Network Cable
Nothing's worse for a network administrator than being without a needed cable. So I made a single cable to replacet he five I used to carry. The result: no more tangles and no more scrounging for a missing link.
106: Magnetic Stripe Reader
Have you ever wondered what information is stored on the magnetic-striped cards in your wallet? Now you can find out. This project shows you how to make a magstripe reader for less than $40.
118: Make the Tools That Made You
Flintknappers are making the tools that people have been making since before they were human.
119: Crack Open an iPAQ
Replacing your PDA's batter requires the proper knowledge, adequate courage, and a set of Torx screwdrivers.
122: Portable Satellite Radio
Portable satellite radio makes the Delphi XM Roady ready to wear.
123: Unzap Flash Memory
How to salvage deleted pictures from camera memory.
126: Flexible Gooseneck Camera Mount
Put a camera or camcorder pretty much anywhere with this flexible camera mount built from a cheap desk lamp.
127: Using a High-Speed Wireless Card
Would you sacrifice a few meals each month for wireless networking away from home? The low-down on all high-speed wireless has to offer.
130: Extending the Range of the Airport Express
Tips for getting the most out of a weak Wi-Fi signal.
132: Mesh Networks with Airport Express
How to break through concrete walls using Wireless Distribution mode.
134: Reading eBooks on a Palm Handheld
Discover the pleasures of reading by backlight.
136: Pairing a Bluetooth Headset with a Mac
Using a wireless headset with Apple's iChat AV isn't as easy as you might think.
140: Fun iPod Tricks
Four ways to extend the usefulness of your digital music player.
143: Urban Camouflage
With the right accessories, your vehicle can always be on "official business."
147: Using Ecto for Almost Automatic Blogging
An easy-to-use application to manage routine and time-consuming weblog chores.
149: Ten Cool Gmail Hacks
With Gmail, Google has loosed upon the web another monstrously useful service.
152: Two Handy Excel Hacks
Calculating on the quick, plus fast formatting of imported dates.
153: Speed Up Your Text Entry with TypeIt4Me
If you're not an avid, constant user of TypeIt4Me, you're not really getting things done.
155: Tiny PC Tote
Make rubber tie-down handles for a Small Form Factor PC.
158: Taking the "Video" Out of Video Game
Most people program video games. Niklas Roy built one, literally. The 30-year-old from Berlin, Germany constructed a fully mechanized facsimile of one of the grand-daddies of video games, Pong.
162: Soldering and Desoldering
Step-by-step instructions for making (and unmaking) the perfect solder joint.
170: MakeShift
Imagine this: Your car battery is dead, and you're stuck in the woods. Your mission: Get home before you freeze to death.
172: Motormouth
Make a simple motor in minutes.
174: Toolbox
The best tools, software, gadgets, books, magazines, and websites.
185: Reader Input
Our regular feature with reader comments sent to the editors of MAKE.
190: Maker Challenge
Got a problem? Ask MAKE's readers to solve it for you.Do you find yourself wishing for some kind of machine or system to solve a problem or fulfill a wish? If you have a problem, tell us about it. We'll run our favorite problems and solutions in the next issue and on our website. Send your stuff to
191: eBay Metrics
What eBay's sales reports tell us about trends in tinkering.
192: My First Computer
Remembering how my dad built an Apple II from scratch.
