Make: Technology on Your Time Volume 03

Not sure what magazine Brandnew was reading when he complained "70% of contents are sponsored, and ads appear everywhere", but it wasn't this one. Make has VERY few ads. I just quickly thumbed through this issue (Vol. 1), and was only able to find eleven pages that have ads on them, including inside the covers and the backcover. It's possible that I missed one or two others, but there's no way you'd ever say they were "everywhere". The ads that do appear are all relavent to the target audience. Like most magazines, they do have product reviews, but they're contained in about 10 pages, and again are all relevant to the reader. Later issues do have more ads then the early ones, but even then, they are all clustered at the beginning and end of the magazine. In issue 4 (the latest) there are probably 15 pages of ads, and none appear in the main content area, between page 75 and 184. Ok, now that I'm done debunking the nasty rumors spread by others, what do I think of the magazine itself? I love it. The projects are interesting, fun and informative. It's also one of the rare publications that isn't scared to publish ideas that could hurt someone. They publish all of the appropriate warnings, but they trust that you're smart enough to take responsibility for your own actions. Most of the projects are completely safe, but if you're buying this for your kids, I'd recommend that you check out each issue with them & decide on which projects they can do by themselves & which are better to do together. Of course not every project will appeal to every reader, but they'll likely give you ideas that can be applied to other projects that do interest you. It might not appeal to everyone, but if it sounds interesting, you'll most likely love it.

I stay on the lookout for the "Boys" guides, you know, those old books dealing with science and technology (a hundred years old, perhaps, but still quite educational). I've looked into a few more modern magazines, such as Popular Mechanics (good for what it is), Wired (mostly a culture thing, I guess), and 2600 (fine, if my goal was to electronically knock over a Target store or something). This is what I was after: a 'book' series dealing with hacking together hardware, making stuff work, and making stuff work better. Now my 'to do' list has grown substantially, with a bunch of things I really hadn't thought of doing!

I follow this category of projects on the net very closely and even recognizing some of articles in Make #1 as seen before I can say that I didn't enjoy reading magazine like Make in very long time. I'm web developer myself and not particularly crazy about DIY, but I can recognize good magazine when I see it. There is only one BAD thing about it is that it's not monthly - I can't wait for next issue.

While flipping through this "mook" (as it apparently is called), it brought back childhood memories of browsing my Dad's Popular Science (or was it Popular Mechanics?) magazines. I like the smaller, "bookish" form factor as it makes it feel more - well, uhh - like a book. Since this is a magazine, I was curious to see how many ads I was going to have to wade through. I was pleasantly surprised to discover there were hardly any; I hope they keep them to a minimum going forward. The "how to" articles are very well done, with a great amount of step-by-step information in both visual and written detail. My only problem now is time. Every project looked like so much fun it was disappointing to realize I wouldn't be able to do them all before the next issue would arrive and give me a whole new set of cool projects. =) My personal time management issues aside, Make is high-quality publication, top to bottom.

I just received the premiere issue of Make Magazine from O'Reilly yesterday. Let me just say this mag is a geek's dream come true. It's not a magazine about coding. Heck, I'm not sure if calling it a magazine is even accurate. It's more of a journal or zine (but with higher production values). A geek quarterly, if you will. For example... the premiere issue features an article on aerial photography. Not geeky enough for you? Ok, how about aerial photography accomplished by rigging up a camera to a kite? Still not geeky enough? Throw in a homemade mechanism for triggering the shutter from the ground. The best part is, this isn't just an article full of theory. These guys DO this stuff. The article is full of pictures, plans and step by step instructions on how to make it happen. That's not all... other How-To articles include: making a 5-in-1 network cable, making a magnetic stripe reader, XM Radio hacks, tips and tricks for your IPOD, gmail hacks, IPAQ hacks and a lot more. This puppy is just under 200 pages of D-I-Y technology. Still not geeky enough? How about an article on how to make your own railgun, using magnets, a ruler and some steel bearings? There's also an article about hacking robotic dogs to sniff out toxic waste. This is geek goodness in all it's glory. If you like reading 2600 (the hacker quarterly), Maximum PC and Scientific American, roll them all into one and you have Make (but without the attitude of Maximum PC and the leetspeak of 2600). I'm gonna subscribe!