makezine.com: Web Site

View all Tools | By Type | Login and tell us about a tool you love! | TNT Newsletter | RSS

Find Tools and Tips:

Web Sites

Unclutterer
While the writers on this great organization blog can sometimes be scarily fanatical about cleaning clutter, it's still a fantastic resource. It has posts on everything from c... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: clutter organization blog tips

Saving Electricity
I just stumbled across this site in the pursuit of answering the question "Why is my electric bill so high?" and really like how utterly accessible and easy to understand it i... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: electricity tips save energy

Free Rice
Shawn Connally, the managing editor of MAKE, has gotten all of us at the office hooked on Free Rice, a vocabulary game that also puts your brains to a good cause. For every wo... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: rice donate hunger vocabulary

Watt Watt
Watt Watt is a "community for individuals interested in electrical energy efficiency." It has forums on topics ranging from appliances to transport to renewable energy. An... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: electricity tips save

Event Coordination
Gina Trapani at LifeHacker posted about a cool-sounding new collaborative event organizer. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like it's perfect for everything from organizi... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: organization events collaboration

Sound Money Tips
Sound Money Tips is a nice site to keep yourself on top of your game. They post a short personal finance tip every day. Some are pretty obvious (like "stay organized" — w... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: money tips finance

Speedy Metals
Tip: Speedy Metals is a great place for ordering small quantities of metals for your projects. I've ordered brass tube stock, 7075-T6 aircraft-grade aluminum, and tool steel f... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Raw Material, Web Site
Tags: raw+metal metal brass steel cast+Iron aluminum

A Real Flight Tracker
A few weeks ago, I was preparing to leave a dinner party to pick up my sister at the airport, when Artur Bergman suggested I check Flight Aware rather than the airline website... Read More
Comments: 3
Type(s): Tip, Web Service, Web Site
Tags: flight tracking track flight+tracking airline airport

Bug Me Not
I found out about this great web service on Erin McKean's Dress a Day blog. It basically generates usernames and passwords to use to get into free "registration required" webs... Read More
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: registration email

Electric Metric
I first found out about this blog from Brady Forrest's post about energy consumption. It's a compilation of energy-saving device reviews, comparisons between different devices... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: electric metric power consumption energy conservation

Tracking Power Consumption
Two recent posts on O'Reilly Radar caught my attention. They both talk about ways to track the hidden power consumption of our gadgets, as well as discuss ways to change how w... Read More
Type(s): Electronics/Gadget, Tip, Web Site
Tags: power+consumption conservation energy

BBQ-tiful
Phil Torrone pointed me to this great listing of BBQ accessories (Father's Day, anyone?) and extras. Some are perhaps more polished than practical, but I love the BBQ wok for ... Read More
Type(s): Kitchen Tool, Tip, Web Site
Tags: bbq grill pizza vegetables wok "father's day"

Hack The Razr . com
Restore the features your cellular provider removed from your Motorola Razr v3c and v3m.... Read More
Type(s): Software, Tip, Web Site
Tags: Razr cell phone

Bathroom Maps
As far as I'm concerned, this is what the internet was invented for (whoever it was that did it). As a frequent user of whatever public bathroom happens to be nearest, a list ... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: bathroom map

Tie Yourself in Knots
Instant merit badge: Animated Knots by Grog shows how to tie a hundred useful knots, each with its own clear animated photo sequence. From necktie Windsors to bowlines to the ... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: rope knots ties

Sappy Cards
Dear Toolbox, A neccessity I recommend including in your column: Sappycards ... the right tool for dealing with holidays, awkward crushes, and general communication of ... Read More
Type(s): Art Supply, Web Site
Tags: cards sappy

Dictionaria
MAKE Senior Editor Phil Torrone sent along this link to a talk about dictionaries by Erin McKean, editor of the New American Oxford Dictionary (which sounds a bit like an oxym... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: dictionary erin+mckean words

Lulu
Lulu is a print-on-demand system that you can use to make, publish, and sell your own books. I used lulu.com to create a book for my nieces and nephew and was really happy wi... Read More
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: lulu book self+publishing

Google Calculator
One of the most useful tools I've found for Makers is Google's built-in calculator. It knows about all kinds of units and is as simple as typing in plain English. For examp... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: google calculator

Food Expiration Dates
A couple months ago, I finally got fed up with not knowing how long things last in the refrigerator, and spent several days compiling the web's largest (so far as I know) repo... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Service, Web Site
Tags: expiration+dates

Gadget Organizer
Gina from Lifehacker has a great tip from a reader: buy a clear plastic shoe organizer and use it to store all your gadegets. You'll be able to see everything at a glance, and... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: gadget organizer

Cable Guy
For those of you who have ever cursed while wrestling with a mess of cables under the desk, or behind the entertainment center, or under the Christmas tree (i.e. all of us), h... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: organizing cables tip

The Names of Things
Ever feel like techno-creep has got you down? Don't even know what that means? Well, check out the Word Spy and you'll at least solve the second problem, if not the first. Wor... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: wordspy words new

Worthy Wordie
Another great site for word lovers, Wordie.org is sort of "like Flickr, but without the photos." Instead of uploading photos, you add in words. Your favorite words. Your least... Read More
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: words wordie lists tags users

Build Your Own Stonehenge
For most of us, celebrating the winter solstice at Stonehenge is a bit of a hike. Paul Doherty has a solution for you: make your own. His fact-filled website has instructions... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: stonehenge solstice sunrise sunset

Vinyl Fruit Bowl
Have an old, scratched-up LP you were going to toss? Don't! Turn it into a fruit bowl instead, following the steps in this well-done Instructable. A lovely way to reuse otherw... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: record fruit+bowl vinyl

Photo Cube
A nice twist on the classic gift of a beloved photo in a frame, this clever photo cube project on Instructables.com allows you to use more than one photo and create interestin... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Toy, Web Site
Tags: photo cube frame display

Dreidel Droids
Hanukkah is fast approaching, so you better get your dreidel on. Want to make your own, but don't have time to make one out of clay? Try out this awesome paper version (using ... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Toy, Web Site
Tags: dreidel droid star+wars hanukkah

Magnatunes
I think of Magnatune as the standard bearer for open music. They: [1] Always share half of their proceeds with the artists they distribute. [2] Provide you with multiple... Read More
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: music+download mp3 open+source

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
Yet another of Turkey Tek's Thanksgiving innovations, this ice cream frozen in liquid nitrogen makes running out to the store for a last-minute Breyers run obsolete (assuming ... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: liquid+nitrogen ice+cream

Flaky Fractals
As if the recirculating fountain wasn't enough, Turkey Tek also constructed a giant pecan pie in the shape of a fractal. While this is probably more work than anyone in their ... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: fractal pecan+pie

Gravy Train
Instructables user Turkey Tek is full of creative ideas for Thanksgiving. This recirculating gravy fountain might just be my favorite, although it seems about as decadent as C... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: gravy fountain

Extreme Pumpkin Carving, part II
These pumpkins are extreme, too, but not in the Tom Nardone sense. Ray shows you how to turn your pumpkin into a gargoyle worthy of Notre Dame. His tips are designed to bring ... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: pumpkin+carving

Extreme Pumpkin Carving
I wrote about ExtremePumpkins.com in our Halloween issue last year, but thought that Tom Nardone's site deserved to be highlighted again. Covering topics like "fire, light... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: pumpkins carving extreme+pumpkins halloween

30 Ways to Eat a Pumpkin
Yahoo put together 30 ways to eat a pumpkin. These look pretty good: * Pumpkin Pancakes * Pumpkin Brownies * Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll * Pumpkin Ale ... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: pumpkin eat cooking recipes

Rentometer
This is the type of site that shows why maps mashups are so popular; when the right data is displayed on a map it just comes to life. Rentometer will let you know if you are p... Read More
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: rent meter calculator website

Lehman's Non-electric Catalog
Yes, I realize it's strange to promote a "non-electric" catalog here. This catalog is a throwback to the makers of yesteryear. Some people never stopped doing things themse... Read More
Type(s): Book, Travel and Outdoors, Web Site
Tags: diy camping

The Soul of the Shop
In his essay, "Shop Class as Soulcraft," Matthew B. Crawford writes in praise of manual labor, lamenting the disappearance of the shop class (and shop teachers) as our culture... Read More
Type(s): Tip, Web Site
Tags: shop soulcraft article

Cool Tools
Kevin Kelly's "Cool Tools" comes in three different forms: as a website, as a traditional book, and as a PDF digital book. A descendant of the Whole Earth Catalog, Cool To... Read More
Type(s): Book, Web Site
Tags: cool+tools tools catalog reviews kevin+kelly

18watt.com
18watt.com started as a Yahoo group for people interested in a rare Marshall guitar amp made in the 1960s. People shared details of the circuit and design. There are now ... Read More
Type(s): Electronics/Gadget, Web Site
Tags: amp community build

Bloglines.com
As the number of online news sources grows, keeping current becomes difficult. An RSS client helps organize the mess. But if you want to read your feeds anywhere, you h... Read More
Comments: 2
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: rss

McMaster-Carr Online Catalog
McMaster-Carr is a hardware supply outfit that sells a bewildering variety of tools, equipment, and raw materials — plastics, metal stock, cable and wire, and rope —... Read More
Comments: 1
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: catalog hardware supply

Tasty Tool
From the clever domain name department comes http://del.icio.us. Forget Yahoo's categorized links and Google's web directory, del.icio.us is a far tastier treat. del.icio.us... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: links

American Science and Surplus
Years and years ago, I ordered from Jerryco newsprint surplus catalog. I looked them up on the web recently, and they are now American Science and Surplus. Not only do they h... Read More
Comments: 6
Type(s): Source or Store, Web Site
Tags: surplus supplies chicago milwaukee

Build Your Own Arcade Controls
When I decided to build my “Taxicab” jukebox/MAME machine (see MAKE Volume 02, p. 21), I found that all internet roads pointed to one definitive how-to source: the &... Read More
Type(s): Web Site
Tags: arcade

NINJAM
Not only does NINJAM enable musicians to play together online, it even saves the jams as Creative Commons-licensed recordings. But the breakthrough is the way it overcomes the... Read More
Type(s): Web Service, Web Site
Tags: collaborative music

eBird Online Database
Backyard scientists have kept lists of the birds they’ve seen for centuries. These lists of have been useful to scientists who are able to correlate the observed changes ... Read More
Type(s): Travel and Outdoors, Web Service, Web Site
Tags: birding