Technology

MAKEbot – Get the best of MAKE via instant message!

MAKEbot – Get the best of MAKE via instant message!

MakebotguyMAKE has an instant message buddy and he’s now on a permanent server to handle all the messaging! The MAKEbot is a AIM/iChat buddy you add to your buddy list. When you type latest, he will give you the latest news from Makezine.com. You can type subscribe 1 and he’ll deliver the latest news each hour. If you type photos you’ll get the latest photos from the MAKE photo pool, type bookmarks you’ll get our latest bookmarks, type Instructables you’ll get the latest how-to projects. Lastly – if you type keywords like psp, welding, ipod or whatever he’ll search the MAKE site, the pages from MAKE and give you a link from our search engine to help you find what you’re looking for…You can also type help to get a list of commands. That’s right, he’s the first and only bot that uses RSS, Flickr, del.icio.us, Instructables and Google search! Add him now! Here are some screenshots!

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Maker of the day – Matty Sallin, Bacon-cooking alarm clock

Maker of the day – Matty Sallin, Bacon-cooking alarm clock

Maker05TnToday’s Maker from our new book Makers – Matty Sallin, New York, New York. Bacon-cooking alarm clock. When Sallin first woke up to his Wake n’ Bacon alarm clock — constructed from a gutted Wal-Mart alarm clock, a PIC microcontroller, and two 100-watt halogen lamps — everything came back to him again. “My first thought was ‘Mom’s in the kitchen,’ soon followed by “The apartment’s on fire.” Makers: page 48. View photo! See previous Makers of the day here. View sample PDF. Click here to get Makers the book before the holidays!

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Maker of the day – Richard Hull, Homemade nuclear fusor

Maker of the day – Richard Hull, Homemade nuclear fusor

Maker03TnToday’s Maker from our new book Makers – Richard Hull, Richmond, Virginia. Homemade nuclear fusor. “Oh, fusing atoms is easy,” claims Hull with a slight Virginia twang. Well, OK, not that easy. First you have to find a way to generate over 20,000 volts of electricity. Fusor enthusiasts live for the brilliant purple light that emanates from the reaction — an indication that the hydrogen gas has passed into a plasma state and that neutron radiation is on its way. “With this project, you can be killed in so, so many ways!” Makers: page 94. View photo! See previous Makers of the day here. View sample PDF. Click here to get Makers the book before the holidays!

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Maker of the day – Kelly Dobson, Voice-activated blenders

Maker of the day – Kelly Dobson, Voice-activated blenders

Maker04TnToday’s Maker from our new book Makers – Kelly Dobson, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Voice-activated blenders. Getting the blenders to know when you’re talking to them is no mean feat. Dobson programmed algorithms in C++ into 1GHz VIA Epia microprocessors mounted inside each blender, and to get them to work, she imitates the blenders with low, guttural motor sounds. “You have to make sure you have the roughness of a blender, so you might get him started with a rrrrrRRRRRRR,” says Dobson. When she raises the tone, they speed up. Friends have given her the nickname Monster. Makers: page 66. View photo! See previous Makers of the day here. View sample PDF. Click here to get Makers the book before the holidays!

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Maker of the day – David Forbes, Nixie-display clocks and wristwatch

Maker of the day – David Forbes, Nixie-display clocks and wristwatch

Maker02TnToday’s Maker from our new book Makers – David Forbes, Tucson, Arizona. Nixie-display clocks and wristwatch. Forbes has an old HP frequency counter and other vintage instruments in his workspace, and of course, everything has old-style Nixie displays. He just likes they way they look. When the vacuum tubes are charged with 170 volts, they shine numbers and letter with a solid, mellow orange hue. “They’re exotic and big and hopelessly impractical by modern standards.” Makers: page 102. View photo! See previous Makers of the day here. View sample PDF. Click here to get Makers the book before the holidays!

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The MAKEbot is here!

Makebotguy
The MAKEbot has arrived! This is “beta”, so we’ll see how it goes. The MAKEbot is a AIM/iChat buddy you add to your list. When you type latest, he will give you the latest headlines from Makezine.com. You can type subscribe 1 and he’ll deliver the latest news each hour, lastly – if you type keywords like psp, welding, ipod or whatever he’ll search the Makezine.com site and pages from MAKE and give you a link from our search engine to help you find what you’re looking for…You can also type help to get a list of commands. Here are some screenshots and a little more information…

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Maker of the day – Mikey Sklar, shirt with 38 working fans

Maker of the day – Mikey Sklar, shirt with 38 working fans

MakerscoverEach day until 2006 we’re bringing you a Maker from our new book Makers. Mikey Sklar, Brooklyn, New York. Shirt with 38 working fans. The fan shirt does not exactly qualify as business casual at Sklar’s job as vice president of a tony investment bank. “I sort of doubt there are many DIY people on Wall Street,” he says. A spool of wire he found in a dumpster connected all the 12-volt fans in parallel. “When I wear the shirt I’m often asked, ‘Do the fans spin?’ Well, of course they do! Who would walk around wearing a bunch of computer fans that don’t spin?” Makers: page 80. Link to photo. Sample PDF. Click here to get Makers the book before the holidays!

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