Table of Contents
Tones Dem Tones, Damn Ringtones by Dale Dougherty
in Welcome
Shouldn't people make their own ringtones, not buy them? Page 11
News from the Future by Tim O'Reilly
in News from the Future
We have met the artificial intelligence, and he is us. Page 13
Death Before Dullness! by Merlin Mann, Danny O’Brien
in Life Hacks
How to do boring tasks, or why robot-run dystopias can be fun. Page 14
Hands On: Elegant Innovation by Bruce Sterling
in Hands On
From lamps and chainsaws to saving the planet. Page 16
Made On Earth by Shawn Connally, Dan Gonsiorowski, Keith Hammond, Peter Kirn, William Lidwell, David Pescovitz, Bob Scott
in Made on Earth
Report from the world of backyard technology. Page 18
A House Divided by Cory Doctorow
in Make Free
Hollywood feels the sting of its own copyright laws. Page 26
T-Shirt Laptop Pouch by Ross Orr
in 123
Reincarnated tee "iShirt" protects your computer and deters thieves. Page 27
Tech-Nomading From Shore to Ship by Howard Wen
in Maker
Twenty-three years ago, Steven Roberts went on a bike trip and never returned. Page 28
Sky Cutters by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
in Maker
Pulling the strings at the Berkeley Kite Festival. Page 36
Boiler Room by Brian Jepson
in Maker
A visit to the annual Yankee Steam-Up. Page 38
Ship of Cards by Alex Handy
Popular card games become an exercise in miniature construction. Page 39
Space Cases by David Pescovitz
in Proto
The balloon men at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Page 40
Distributist Technologies by Tom Owad
in Maker
At last, Tolkien meets capitalism. Page 44
You Are the Platform by Quinn Norton
in Maker
How hardware hackers are remaking their bodies. Page 46
Simply Cad by Saul Griffith
in Making Trouble
Computer-aided design doesn't have to be awful. There's a CAD program out there for you. Page 48
Totch Brown's Pit Pan Gator Boat by Tim Anderson
in Heirloom Technology
Start your boat-building hobby by building this one. Page 50
A Beginner's Guide to BEAM by Gareth Branwyn
The BEAM design approach creates nimble robots from simple components, with no programming required. Page 54
Panzeroids by Dave Prochnow
Become a desktop general with these battlin' bot tanks. Page 58
Bots in a Snap by Michael Rosenblatt
The nuts and bolts of Lego robot design. Page 62
Cogs and Cocktails by Cory Doctorow
Meet the drink-serving, drunk-driving droids at Roboexotica. Page 65
The Vex Robotics Design System by Gareth Branwyn
Versatile, powerful design raises the bot in prefab robotics construction kits. Page 66
Mini Mars Rover by Tom Zimmerman
A wireless remote control camera on wheels. Page 69
Hot Air by Mister Jalopy
in The Quick and Dirty
Build a do-everything manifold to control, dry, route, and use compressed air. Page 72
Two BEAMbots: Trimet and Solarroller by Gareth Branwyn
Solder together one simple circuit and use it to control two very
different solar-powered robo-critters: a little satellite that scoots
and bumps around, and a mini cart that just keeps a-rolling until the
sun goes down. Page 76
Soccer-Playing Robot by Matthew Russell
Make an autonomous robot that can chase a ping-pong ball, push it into a
goal, and take other programmable actions. When you're finished, you'll
have a few more wrinkles in your brain and no more fears of robot
attacks. Page 88
Building Tensegrity Models by William Gurstelle
Make a "needle tower" sculpture from dowels and elastic cord that seems to defy the laws of physics. Page 100
Tower PC by Robert Bruce Thompson
The standard tower-style PC is blessedly modular, designed to be opened and upgraded. Page 114
LED Throwies by Graffiti Research Lab
in 123
Make and toss a bunch of these inexpensive little lights to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. Page 116
It's Email Time by Tom Igoe
in DIY: Circuits
Innocent-looking "clock" monitors the unread-message pileup in your inbox. Page 117
Rumble Mouse by Greg Lipscomb
in DIY: Circuits
For FPS gaming, a cellphone vibrator gives a kick to your clicks. Page 120
Video Podcasting by Howard Wen
in DIY: Computers
Producing TV shows on the cheap. Page 123
Dual Booting Linux and Windows XP by Mark R. Brown
in DIY: Computers
Turn your PC into a switch-hitter the easy way, with a LiveCD. Page 124
Da Xerox Code by Annalee Newitz
in DIY: Computers
How to read the tracking dots in your color Xerox printer. Page 126
Let There Be (Front) Light by Dave Prochnow
in DIY: Gaming
Add an LED front light to your Game Boy Advance for $5. Page 129
Sticky Fingers by Damien Stolarz
in DIY: Gaming
Modifying tech for pre-mouse toddlers. Page 131
Homecasting Digital Music by William Gurstelle
in DIY: Home
Good old FM beats wi-fi for sending streamed music around your house. Page 133
Born-Again Boomboxes by Larry Cotton
in DIY: Home
Up from the ghetto blaster, a new life as a functional-art stereo component. Page 136
Run, Lala, Run by William Gurstelle
in DIY: Home
A rodent-powered nightlight. Page 139
Spider Rifle by Matt Lind
in DIY: Home
Humane, compressed-air-powered bug trapper. Page 141
3D Photography by Bill Coderre
in DIY: Imaging
Taking stereographs is easier and more fun than ever. Page 143
Macro Photography On a Budget by Haje Jan Kamps
in DIY: Imaging
Pringles-can lens extender produces dazzling ultra close-ups for peanuts. Page 146
$130 Digital Picture Frame by Mike Kuniavsky
in DIY: Imaging
Build one in 15 minutes. Page 148
The Secrets of Monitoring Atmospheric Haze by Dr. Shawn Carlson
in Citizen Science
Make a measuring instrument with an old video case and $20 worth of parts. Page 153
Makin' Man by Shawn Connally
in Workshop
Inside a versatile maker's machine shop. Page 158
RFID for Makers by Joe Grand
in Theory & Practice
Build this kit to read radio frequency ID tags. Page 160
The MAKE Controller by Liam Staskawicz, David Williams
in Making
Announcing a just-maybe-revolutionary microcontroller for all things DIY. Page 164
HowToons by Joost Bonsen, Nick Dragotta, Saul Griffith
in Howtoons
Toss your own ice cream. Page 170
MakeShift by Lee D. Zlotoff
in MakeShift
The creator of MacGyver challenges you to survive an earthquake, a flood, and a hungover neighbor. Page 172
Toolbox by Shawn Connally, Travis J.I. Corcoran, Steve Johnson, Goli Mohammadi, Tom Owad, Dave Prochnow, Joel Raedeke, Matthew Russell, Terrie Schweitzer, Dan Strunk, Phillip Torrone
in Toolbox
The best tools, software, gadgets, books, magazines, and websites. Page 174
Aha! Puzzle This by Michael H. Pryor
in Aha!
Win your roommate's sock full of quarters, and other puzzles. Page 182
Reader Input
in Reader Input
Where makers tell their tales and offer praise, brickbats, and swell ideas. Page 183
Blast from the Past: The Boy Mechanical by Mister Jalopy
in Blast from the Past
A look back at the glory years of engineering for common folk. Page 184
Old Hardware: Anything but Garbage by Tom Owad
in Retrocomputing
Scavenging components from cast-off tech. Page 185
Roomba Tronic by Phillip Torrone
in Tales from the MAKE: Blog
Take a tour into the underground robotic relentlessness of Roomba hacks,
robots in the streets of Austin, and robot cockfighting. Page 188
Maker's Calender by William Gurstelle
in Maker's Calendar
Our favorite events from around the world June-July-August 2006. Page 189
Off-the-Shelf Parts, Off-the-Wall Ideas by George Dyson
in Retrospect
Looking for the dawn of the digital universe? Check in the basement, next to the lavatory. Page 190
My Version of Einstein's Amplifier by Tyler Rourke
in Homebrew
Tyler Rourke tells how he built a replica of a hi-fi system built by Jack Rosenberg for Albert Einstein's 70th birthday gift. Page 192
