Table of Contents
Welcome by Mark Frauenfelder
in Welcome
When users make: Editor-in-Chief Mark Frauenfelder on innovation and the entertainment industry's efforts to squelch it. Page 7
Focus by Merlin Mann, Danny O’Brien
in Life Hacks
Boost your productivity by embracing procrastination. Or, why your web browser needs a hypothalamus. Page 10
News from the Future by Tim O'Reilly
in News from the Future
Tim O'Reilly reports on the labs, companies, and garage projects changing the way we live.
Page 13
Made on Earth by Xeni Jardin, Jason Kottke, Bob Parks, Paul Spinrad
in Made on Earth
Reports from the world of backyard technology, including a
cockroach-controlled robot, high altitude glider, student-built
cyclotron, Vee 9 solar vehicle, robotic CD burner, coffee mug ramjet,
and more. Page 14
Ooz and Oz by Dale Dougherty
in Maker
Hacking robot toys is all in a day's work for Natalie Jeremijenko. Dale
Dougherty trails the UCSD professor for a day of fun at the races,
transforming toy robotic dogs into environmental avengers. Page 22
Nicaraguan Know-How by Tim Anderson
in Heirloom Technology
Revisiting, revamping, and reusing forgotten technology. Tim Anderson
describes the homemade solutions he saw on a recent trip to Nicaragua:
hand-pedaled bicycles, reused school buses, horse-drawn carriages, sock
coffee filters, and ancient cooling systems and water filters abound. Page 30
Blockheads by Bob Parks
Lego: the ultimate prototyping material. Seriously. Page 36
Maker Fair by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
Geeks gather together for an evening of DIY fun in our first-ever mini
MAKE Fest at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference in 2005. Page 38
Google DIY Patterns by Dale Dougherty
A DIY project is a design challenge that can best be described as a set
of patterns, just as Google remade the web with a new kind of language
for getting what we want from a web browser. Page 39
Recycled Rubber by Saul Griffith
It's more fun to make a laptop bag from an old wetsuit than it is to buy a new one. Page 40
The Code Da Vinci Lived By by Bruce Sterling
in Hands On
Renaissance hacks by the father of all geeks. Page 43
HDTV on Your Mac by Erica Sadun
Build a simple high-definition video recorder and beat the Broadcast
Flag. All you need is a $10 antenna, a $175 decoder card, and some free
software. Page 45
Retro Game Heaven: The Atari 2600 PC by Joe Grand
After fitting a full-featured wireless PC system into an old Atari 2600
case, you can watch movies, surf the web, and play hundreds of retro
games.
Page 50
Tools for Atari 2600 Homebrew Games by Simon Carless
Even though the Atari 2600 is one of the oldest game consoles around, it has a vibrant homebrew scene. Page 85
Podcasting 101 by Phillip Torrone
Produce and syndicate audio interviews you record online, on the phone, and on the road. Page 86
Mousey the Junkbot by Gareth Branwyn
With a few spare parts, you can turn an old computer mouse into an amusing robot.
Page 96
Resurrecting This Old Amp by Tom Anderson, Wendell Anderson
Restore an old guitar amplifier and make it sounds as good or better than the day it was made. Page 110
Let's Rumble by Craig Engler
in DIY: Home Entertainment
Hack your couch to give you a kick in the pants: attach bass shakers to
your furniture to round out your home entertainment system. Page 119
irock Broadcast Boombox by Tom Anderson
in DIY: Home Entertainment
Pump up the volume with a portable FM radio station. Page 122
Surround Sound, Quick and Dirty by Michael McDonald
in DIY: Home Entertainment
A simple wiring trick derives center channels. Page 125
Thermofooler by Ross Orr
in DIY: Home Entertainment
Who needs a "smart" thermostat when you can trick your dumb one into lowering your heating bill? Page 126
DVD, Uncrippled by Phillip Torrone
in DIY: Home Entertainment
Input a special code to disable Macrovision and play DVDs from around the world. Page 127
Stop Motion Animation, the Easy Way by Phillip Torrone
in DIY: Imaging
With iStopMotion, making Gumby is less pokey. Page 129
Single-Use Digicam for Kite Aerial Photography by Limor Fried
in DIY: Imaging
A simple, lightweight timer circuit triggers a shot every minute. Page 130
Webcam Telescope by Dennison Bertram
in DIY: Imaging
Video from still camera zoom. Forget jerky teleconferences; put a real lens on a 90s era webcam and you've got something. Page 133
Mod Your Pod by Phillip Torrone
in DIY: Mobile
Enhance your iPod with a Linux upgrade. Page 135
Outfitting a Palm Tungsten T3 by Bob Scott
in DIY: Mobile
Getting laptop-like functionality from a PDA. In fact, leave your laptop
at home: use a T3, loaded to the gills with powerful applications. Page 138
All-Seeing Orb by Phillip Torrone
in DIY: Mobile
Your mobile device can play video and music stored on your home computer. Page 140
Peace and Quiet with the Flip of a Switch by Joe Grand
in DIY: Computers
How to add a power switch to an external drive without one! Page 141
No More Cue Cards by Brian Lawler
in DIY: Computers
Make a teleprompter with a laptop, a sheet of glass, and some scrap wood. Page 144
Robot Kits and Techno Glitz by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
Three kits that got me started in the glamorous and fulfilling world of robotics. Page 145
Mechanical Wristwatch Modding by Bob Scott
in DIY: Design
Customizing a self-winding Seiko. Page 147
Hacking the C64 DTV by Mark R. Brown
in DIY: Gaming
Retro-gaming joystick easily converts into full Commodore computer emulator. Page 149
Game Boy Hacks by Phillip Torrone
in DIY: Gaming
Games, music, movies, photos, and eBooks, all on this versatile little device. Page 153
Refreshing an Old Game Controller by Ben Wheeler
in DIY: Gaming
If your retro-gaming skills ain't what they used to be, fix your joystick buttons. Page 154
Get an iLIFE! for Your Playstation Portable by Phillip Torrone
in DIY: Gaming
Play music and vids on a PSP (even Mac users). Page 156
R2-DIY by Howard Wen
The galaxy's most lovable robot inspires its fans to clone him. Page 160
Printed Circuit Boards by Andrew Argyle
in Primer
Step-by-step instructions for making your own PCBs at home. Page 164
HowToons by Joost Bonsen, Nick Dragotta, Saul Griffith
in Howtoons
Make a marshmallow shooter. Page 172
Toolbox by Adam Bernard, Gareth Branwyn, Richard Butner, John Clark, Joshua Ellis, Eeyore Evans, John Irvine, Stefan Jones, Adam Kempa, Merlin Mann, Aleks Oniszczak, Zach Slootsky, Adam Thornton, Marc Weidenbaum
in Toolbox
The best tools, software, gadgets, books, magazines, and websites. Page 174
Reader Input
in Reader Input
Where makers offer praise, brickbats, and swell ideas. Page 184
The Laptop That Wouldn't Say Die by Tom Owad
in Retrocomputing
Twenty-two years later, people still love the TRS-80 Model 100. Page 186
The Last Generation of Engineers by Cory Doctorow
in Make Free
Why digital rights management kills innovation. Page 187
MakeShift by William Lidwell
in MakeShift
It's easy to forget that access to potable water is considered a luxury for much of the world. Page 188
Maker Challenge
in Maker Challenge
Solving proglems, fulfilling wishes. Page 190
eBay Metrics by Chris Smith
in eBay Metrics
Good as gold. Page 191
My Atari 2600 Portable by Benjamin J. Heckendorn
in Homebrew
Page 192
