Make:

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 Download Sample PDF of this article.

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.

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 Download Sample PDF of this article.

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 Download Sample PDF of this article.

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

MakeShift: 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

Puzzle This 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