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MAKE: Technology on Your Time Volume 04 (Make: Technology on Your Time) | 
| Author: Mark Frauenfelder
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $11.69
You Save: $3.30 (22%)
New (26) Used (9) from $4.00
Format: Illustrated
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.6 x 0.5
ISBN: 0596100817
Dewey Decimal Number: 004
EAN: 9780596100810
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
If you like to tweak, disassemble, re-create, and invent cool new uses for technology, you'll love MAKE our quarterly publication for the inquisitive do-it-yourselfer. Every issue is packed with projects to help you make the most of all the technology in your life. Everything from home entertainment systems, to laptops, to a host of PDAs is fair game. If there's a way to hack it, tweak it, bend it, or remix it, you will find out about it in MAKE. This isn't another gadget magazine. MAKE focuses on cool things you can do to make technology work the way you want it to. The publication is inspired by our bestselling Hacks series books but with a twist. MAKE is a mook (rhymes with book). We've combined the excitement, unexpectedness, and visual appeal of a magazine with the permanence and in-depth instructiveness of a how-to book. Whether you're a geek or hacker who delights in creating new uses for technology, or a Saturday afternoon tinkerer who loves to get his hands dirty, you'll keep every issue of MAKE on your bookshelf for years to come.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Nicely laid out magazine with many challenging projects February 23, 2007
ninjasuperstar (Iowa)
I purchased this magazine specifically to make the cigar box guitar. One material in particular (#15 mason twine) was impossible to find. I went to no less than a dozen mom and pop and chain hardware stores, with no luck. I ended up having to improvise and use mason twine of lower gauge. But that's the fun and challenge of making something on your own out of cheap, random parts. If you aren't adept at crafts (like me), I suggest doubling up on parts and essentially make two guitars. The second one will likely be crafted better.
The magazine is constructed out of heavy-duty paper and every page (not just the covers) has a matte finish. It's colorful, has many helpful photographs, and is fairly well written. There's also a website tie-on that's of decent quality.
There are a variety of articles and editorials. The main projects are the cigar box guitar, homemade synthesizer, strobe photography, programming computer chips, LP-to-MP3 converter cabinet, and a webcam music machine. All of these projects (and other smaller ones scattered throughout the magazine) are exciting, but you will need to have some familiarity with electronic circuitry to build some of them. None of them are impossible to do, but bear in made that Make isn't devoted to the easiest and least frustrating kinds of hobbies.
Making something on your own is a humbling experience. You realize what ingenuity must go into professionally made products. In the end, my cigar box guitar was nothing special, but I had fun, challenged myself, and got away from the television. It was definitely worth my time and money. I think you'll agree.
 I'll never know February 22, 2006
DisgruntledFellow (Portland, OR)
0 out of 11 found this review helpful
... I'll never know how to rate this magazine; it may be great, but don't expect it to ship "within 24 hours"; I've been wating two weeks. Thanks, Amazon.
Wow! This magazine feels like home for creative minds who like technology! February 20, 2006
Scott A. Miller (Central Iowa, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Have you ever taken something apart because... you were interested in how it works? ... you wanted to try and fix it? ... you thought you could improve it through modification? Do you enjoy the satisfaction of doing something yourself? Keep reading, because I think have found something you will enjoy.
When browsing in a bookstore a week ago, I discovered Make. I grabbed a copy and a coffee drink and sat down to see what it is all about. Make is a technical geek's dream come true. After skimming the steps for building your own cigar-box electric guitar, I read an article on how to modify your old battery-powerd electronic keyboard to allow for bending notes and other cool effects. I was also fascinated by an article on how to build a rig to take a picture of a balloon popping. At this point my neurons were in a state of nirvana! I exclaimed "Wow, this is the coolest thing ever!" to no one in particular.
Make is a cross between a magazine and a book published four times a year by O'Reilly. It's full of articles on how to modify existing commercial products and how to build new things from scratch. The magazine also features reviews of do-it-yourself books, kits, and a few geek-friendly tech toys. I hesitated for a moment when I discovered the price was $14.99, but realized... Make has almost no ads so the nearly 200 pages are packed full of original ideas - it really is 3 months worth of material (or more) jammed under a single cover. Every article features high quality color photos and/or diagrams, and the printing and binding are book-quality. I realized I had made up my mind when the next thing that crossed my mind was "this is volume 4, it hasn't been out long, I wonder if I could still find volumes 1 through 3 anywhere?" (Yes, I did find them! As of this writing, Amazon has them in stock.)
Parents and guardians, I caution you that many of the things described in Make have an element of danger. The children under your care need your supervision, but this is a great opportunity to nuture their curious and creative minds. Don't miss out! I'm in no position to gauge the age-appropriateness of Make, but I suspect that many creative-minded 13 year-olds would find it hard to close the covers on an issue of Make. So either hide your magazine well, or be prepared to supervise. :-)
Just DO Something! November 13, 2005
Gary Fisher (West Michigan, USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Ever wonder how to upgrade that old music keyboard that's been sitting at the back of the closet for years? Want to improve that "almost good enough" coffeemaker? How about building a mobile WiFi hotspot, cooking up a batch of biodiesel fuel, or turning an old computer mouse into a robot?
MAKE magazine offers a tremendous variety of articles for those who want not only to know how things work, but how to make them work better and perhaps how to build something that does more than "off-the-shelf" technology. Building on traditions ranging from "Mechanics Illustrated" to the old "Mother Earth News," MAKE combines a huge range of hands-on articles with in-depth interviews, opinion pieces and technology news. MAKE addresses a wide spectrum of interests and abilities, offering simple projects for kids as well as some which might present a refreshing challenge for even the skilled hobbyist.
O'Reilly publishing has a well-deserved reputation for excellence; with MAKE magazine they have simply confirmed and expanded that reputation. Subscribe to MAKE; you'll enjoy it.
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