Table of Contents
Follow the Bouncing Ball by Dale Dougherty
in Welcome
Pinball's magic juju and the unanticipated effect of one thing on another. Page 11
News From the Future: Games with Purpose by Tim O'Reilly
in News from the Future
What makers understand is that play is as important as work. Page 13
Why Those Kids from Podunk Are Keeping You Down by Merlin Mann, Danny O’Brien
in Life Hacks
Don't worship successful geeks — emulate 'em. Page 14
High-Definition = Highly Deadly by Cory Doctorow
in Make Free
Forget plugging in a PC or Slingbox. Goodbye open platforms, hello monopoly lockware. Page 16
Custom Travel-Game Mod by Harry Miller
in 123
Make a travel edition of your favorite, and otherwise housebound, board game. Page 17
Mr. Cranky by David Battino
in Made on Earth
Ernie Fosselius' menagerie of mechanical woodcarvings. Page 18
Belly of the Beast by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
in Made on Earth
Theo Jansen's huge, self-propelled sand walkers. Page 20
Camera-on-Wheels by Megan Mansell Williams
in Made on Earth
Jo Babcock turns RVs into giant pinhole cameras. Page 21
Open Source Open Water by Bob Parks
in Made on Earth
Bryan Horling rescues houseplants with his Linux-based plant waterer. Page 22
The Secret Life of Death Clouds by Eric Smillie
in Made on Earth
Artist Matt Jones welds garbage bags into spooky hot-air balloons. Page 23
Blue Spark by Kirsten Anderson
in Made on Earth
Charge your tech gadgets on Sean Barrow's elegant, sustainable furniture. Page 24
Kinetic Fauxbot Sculptures by Bruce Stewart
in Made on Earth
The robotronic fantasia of sculptor Gould Nemo. Page 25
Egghead by Bruce Sterling
in Hands On
Inventor Nikola Tesla saw reality in his own way. Page 26
I, Pleo by Robert Luhn
Can a machine have a soul? Can it think? Can it laugh and cry, bug you
for a snack, tease you, or curl up on your couch and dream robotic
dreams? Can you build such a machine? And can you sell it for $250? Page 28
Grandpop's Shop by Robyn Miller
A tribute to Robyn Miller's favorite maker. Page 37
Heavy Lifting by Dale Dougherty
Placing huge towers up a mountain is just the start to reaching Troy Caldwell's ski-resort-on-a-budget dream. Page 38
Charlie Asquith's Jet Dory by Tim Anderson
in Heirloom Technology
Charlie is 78 years old and he's been fishing for mullet in Hawks Nest, Australia, for over 60 years. Page 40
Unhindered Creativity by Saul Griffith
in Making Trouble
Enable kids to invent their own games. Page 42
Homebrew Magnetometer by Dr. Shawn Carlson
in Citizen Science
Build a torsion balance to measure tiny changes in the Earth's magnetic field. Page 44
Shaker Flashlight Power Source by Cy Tymony
in 123
Powering small electronics with your muscles. Page 48
Homebrew Game Design by James Ernest
Turning wacky ideas into fun board games. Page 50
The Secret History of MYST by Robyn Miller
Co-creator Robyn Miller reveals why it became the best-selling adventure game of all time. Page 54
1966: A Big Year for Games by Joe Grand
An afternoon with Ralph Baer, the "Father of Video Games." Page 62
Photos from the Inside by Shawn Connally
Toys sent through the X-ray machine give new insights. Page 64
Pinball by Bill Bumgarner, Dale Dougherty
Pinball, Resurrected by Bill Bumgarner (pg. 66)
Restoring a crusty, beat-up Cyclone.
Pinheads in Oddball Places by Dale Dougherty (pg. 74)
Inside the electromechanical underground, with Lucky Ju Ju and the Pinball Hall of Fame. Page 66
Chris Ware's ACME Papercraft by Gareth Branwyn
Comics you can build! Page 76
Tabletop Terrains by Gareth Branwyn
That's no pile of trash; it's my asteroid mining colony! Page 80
Making Your Own Video Game by Dean Johnson
Microsoft's XNA Game Studio Express opens up game development. Page 83
Pummer, Dude! by Gareth Branwyn
Part robotic plant life, part techno-sculpture, these desktop toys are easy and fun to make. Page 84
Roachball Goes Open Source by Mike Kuniavsky
In this fast-paced lunch-hour sport, changing the rules is part of the game. Page 87
Project: Building an Ornithopter by William Gurstelle
Can humans fly by flapping? Build a small, rubber band-powered ornithopter whose motion is similar to a bird in flight. Page 90
Project: Gun-Operated Alarm Clock by Roger Ibars
Hack a retro gaming light gun with tilt switches to control a vintage
digital clock radio. When the alarm wakes you up, grab the gun and kill
it off! Page 100
Project: Coffee Roaster by Larry Cotton
To experience coffee nirvana, roast your own beans with this cheap, portable coffee roaster. Page 110
Streamerator 2000 by Professor Greg Arius
in 123
Launch streams of toilet paper into midair, or completely mummify your friends. Page 122
TV-to-Synth Interface by Tom Zimmerman
in DIY: Music
Triggering sound from video images. Page 123
World's Loudest iPod by Tom Anderson, Wendell Anderson
in DIY: Music
iBump crossover lets you crank it up without distortion. Page 128
Project Redshark by John Riney
in DIY: Music
Turn your Xbox into a mobile media monstrosity. Page 130
My Love Affair with LEDs by Charles Platt
in DIY: Home
Build a bright, low-powered desk lamp. Page 133
TV Spinner by Alan Mellovitz
in DIY: Home
Motorized lazy Susan aims the screen where it's needed. Page 136
Smart HVAC by Dave Mabe
in DIY: Home
Energy-efficient A/C knows when you're in the room. Page 140
MIDI Controller Sock Monkey by Peter Kirn
in DIY: Circuits
A/V monkeyshines with flex sensors and a MIDIsense board. Page 142
Clean Out a Dishwasher by Thomas Arey
in DIY: Workshop
Salvaging components from unwanted appliances. Page 146
How Not to Make a How-To Video by Travis J.I. Corcoran
in DIY: Imaging
Ignore these handy rules and your instructional video will turn out great! Page 149
Van TV by Ethan O'Toole
in DIY: Imaging
Big sights and sounds hit the streets. Page 151
Quick and Dirty Light Table by Hiram Cook
in DIY: Imaging
A storage bin, a pane of glass, and fluorescent light saves hundreds of dollars. Page 154
Rola Bola by Joost Bonsen, Nick Dragotta, Saul Griffith
in Howtoons
Make this balance trainer and go surfing in your imagination. Page 156
Castaway by Lee D. Zlotoff
in MakeShift
The creator of MacGyver challenges you to survive on a deserted island. (See previous MakeShift challenges and winning entries here.) Page 158
Moldmaking by Adam Savage
in Primer
How the pros replicate objects. Page 160
Toolbox by Barton Blum, Christy Canida, Dale Dougherty, Mark Frauenfelder, Saul Griffith, Arwen O'Reilly Griffith, Joseph Pasquini, Kristina Reed, Matthew Russell, Phillip Torrone
in Toolbox
Create your own computer games, discover magnetic attractions, and
become a paper airplane champion. Plus: Recommendations from kids, and
from and the designers at Wild Planet.
Page 168
Tips and Tricks by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
From maker to maker: renew, repurpose, recycle. Page 177
Gaming on the EDSAC and PDP-1 by Tom Owad
in Retrocomputing
From the earliest computers came the first computer games. Page 178
Gold chains and chicken nuggets. by Michael H. Pryor
in Aha!
Gold chains and chicken nuggets. Page 179
Blast from the Past: The 1948 Union Hardware Catalog by Mister Jalopy
in Blast from the Past
Glimpse how modern civilization was built without laser levels or pneumatic nail guns. Page 180
Paper Water Bomber by Ewan Spence
in 123
Winged origami missile with front-load tank delivers wet payload. Page 182
Reader Input
in Reader Input
Where makers tell their tales and offer praise, brickbats, and swell ideas. Page 184
Making It by Mikey Sklar
How I went from cubicle slave to full-time maker. Page 188
Barricelli's Universe by George Dyson
in Retrospect
Early experiments in digital evolution. Page 190
Maker's Calendar by William Gurstelle
in Maker's Calendar
Our favorite events from around the world. Page 193
My LED Heirloom Clock by Blake Hannaford
in Homebrew
Page 194
