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A TV Show Based On MAKE Magazine
ptorrone writes "Make: television debuted online and on public television (broadcast / cable tv). The series encourages everyone to invent, reinvent, recycle, upcycle, and act up. Based on the popular Make magazine, each half-hour episode hopes to inspire viewers to think, create, and, well, make. Each episode can be viewed or downloaded DRM-free, in HD on makezine.tv — the show is also available on Vimeo, YouTube, blip.tv and iTunes."
you could MAKE me watch it. Sorry, couldn't help it.
I just can't see how you can have very many episodes on Make. Maybe if they threw in autoconf, gcc, and a few other tools, then they could have good show...
My blog
The whole Make: phenomenon had greater promise than I have seen yielded. Being someone brought up in the era of Popular Electronics, I thought that it would herald a continuation of the hobbyist tradition. However, I have been somewhat disappointed in what I found. Fad gadgets and flashy toys are fine, but remain just an extension of the consumer culture. Where are the schematics? Where is the technical background? Too many Make: articles detail trivial novelty projects.
The spirit of Popular Electronics lives on in Bob Pease, Jim Williams, and yes in wonderful offbeat Don Lancaster.
O'Reilly, I had far greater hopes of thee. Still the best row on my bookcase, of course.
I strongly doubt that America's Next Top Model need fear for its slot; but as a niche program, MAKE is quite promising. Their magazine isn't on track to replace People on the newstands of America; but it has a solid niche, I suspect the show will be about the same.
Also, you might be underestimating the willingness of people to try stuff like that. Look at scrapbooking: Most of the people doing it would be better off buying kitchy "rustic" art somewhere, given their skill and taste levels; but there are swarms of them doing it anyway.
My main criticism of Make: is it's heavy reliance on kitch. There's some robotics in there, sometimes, but mostly it's kitch.
Until the recession. There are stories all over the internet about how Goodwill/Salvation army is booming and how auto mechanics are seeing everyone repairing their old cars to extend the life.
I'm hoping that changes the attitude of most Americans where 'old' isn't necessarily bad.
@gothmolly - "real engineers" and people doing "real engineering" usually agree that every single component does not need to be 100% understood top to bottom, especially in task based learning. in time some components will be explored more, others may not.
sometimes it's more about the output for the specific task - the point is that it was the right choice for this project and the article was about a task (espresso machine) not about PID control, but we didn't just stop there. there are many PID resources on MAKE and many PID projects.
the articles *do* have many resources for PID, but in print, where space is limted, we utilize our site - that's where we can expand upon topics.
@RMH101 - every time MAKE is mentioned on /. it appears that this person (sometimes anonymously) posts the same thing over and over.
I cancelled my subscription when I read the article about adding a PID controller chip to an espresso machine. The author of the article used an off-the-shelf IC designed for the task. He was quite glib about saying how much he didn't understand PID control, but was assured that the chip handled it, so there was no reason to get bogged down in the details. Sorry, but the mechanics of PID control are not just 'details'. Make is decidedly un-intellectual.
Trust me when I say that MAKE probably does a better job communicating with the layman than the average Engineer does. This is why you find only a small portion of the population is stout enough to handle the "devil in the details" with EE/ME work. If the project works in the end without blinding detail minutiae, then so be it.
I look towards MAKE for fun with my kids, not to find an intellectual endgame, which I can find at work.
MAKE magazine have been doing Youtube shorts for quite a while now, which in itself is just bits of the magazine 'acted out' in fast motion, while leaving out a couple of details, like exact measurments for some things, or model numbers - refering you instead to the magazine (which you have to go buy)
The fact they have a TV show means it'll probably be just an extension of this philosophy and - call me cynical - will just be another advertising platform (confirmed by the fact that being able to 'view the TV show' links at the top send you to the MAKE Youtube shorts channel)
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
Although I hate miro as software, I have to give them credit for getting the concept right (Tivo for internet TV) and having a great library of content feeds (including MAKE and most of the TED series) which makes me happy enough to use it despite it's resource hogging and glitches.
Oh honey look... How cute... an angry slashdotter!
The irony in this is that old cars, electronics equipment, and so forth, are typically far less efficient and/or environmentally friendly. As such, the unfortunate consequence is that the move to greater energy efficiency will likely be greatly hampered by the precise trend you've identified.
Or: while old may not necessarily mean "bad", it sure doesn't necessarily mean "good", either.
There was a time, before surface mount components, when US manufacturers made products to last. Products that were repairable. Products of quality. About the time that surface mount components came along, everything turned to 'throw away' production values. If the electronics is not repairable, no need to make the rest of it last 27 years. This was before trade with China. Zenith televisions? Remember them? Motorola started making throw away radios about 1988. Before that you could use the mic cord to repel from a burning building. Walmart made stuff cheaper, and to keep up, manufacturers started making things of lower quality to be cheaper. Later on, there was a kind of backlash on the cheaper craze, and we have Lexus et al to show for it.
Chances are that your phone was designed to be replaced before or at the end of life of the battery in it. It's not designed to be upgraded or refurbished per se'... just replaced. Your microwave oven is the same, and on and on. Many things manufactured in the last 15 years can't be maintained. Look inside a blender or other such appliance. If a piece of the plastic breaks, it's fucked. Nothing short of a super glue miracle will fix it. Does your car come with a gizmo for reading information from the computer? The typical handyman toolkit from Sears doesn't have a spark plug wrench any more.
It will take quite a bit to turn the throw away consumer into a maintenance consumer. There are some brand names that still represent value and quality. Hopefully they will see a benefit from all this and other will have learned their lesson about quality.
Interestingly, computers have not quite run the same gauntlet. Hardware quality has remained about the same. Custom hardware like Compaq still sucks for upgrading etc. but all in, pretty much the same or better quality for systems as in the last 15 years. Software has only improved, no matter how bad it seems some days :)
Furniture restoration should revive. Home DIY will/is. Computers remain throw away in as much as they always were. New OS available, buy new hardware. This is why I like Linux. It breaks that cycle.
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Make is not a hardcore magazine that delves deeply into a few areas like "Glass Audio" or "Speaker Builder" tried to do (and sort-of failed at). But rather a liberal arts type of approach where you get a basic understanding of a wide range of topics.
The above mentioned (and beat to death) PID example is a good illustration of this. Another 12 pages could have been consumed with a cursory introduction to PID control, but they used that space for another project.
They have a target audience and I suspect are doing quite well hitting that target. But my projects tend to be a bit deeper and more involved than I see on the pages of Make. Shameless plugging: Electrostatic Loudspeakers with active crossover built from scratch. Allegro based stepper driver built from scratch. Etc (http://quadesl.com).
I let my subscription lapse because it was too fluffy. No I don't want to litter LED thowies everywhere. No I already made 2 liter bottle water rockets in jr high school. They have too many of these sort of projects and not enough hard hitting "worthy" projects like these:
http://www.softservice.com.pl/corolla/avc/
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~willie/lvr.html
http://www.thebackshed.com/cnc/OtherMachines1.asp
http://www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html
But that's just my preference, and I'm already a "Maker" I suppose. They just aren't quite my demographic.
Sheldon
@Cornwallis - that's your choice, what i've found is that talking to other makers and folks online is usually more helpful than not participating. i'd love if everyone editor at every magazine participated more online. we get great feedback, lots of makers contact us this way and i think it's important for folks to know we're out there. slashdot has been my home page for 10+ years, i've submitted projects that celebrate making things, cool engineering, science - without slashdot i doubt i would have ended up working with MAKE, it's all connected.
perhaps i'm used to what we do a MAKE now, the makers submit their own projects and we post them up in the their own words, i think slashdot is doing that more as more people make things and share their projects here directly.
i always disclose who i am, if you don't want to buy MAKE that's ok, but please give us a try and feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or want a preview version of the digital edition.
Exactly. Most of it feels like a bunch of guys still high from the last burningman, trying to make a knit hat and gourd into a eco friendly USB Automaton.
They have some great gems, and I subscribe, but there is a pile of plain old, "what are you smoking" articles and ideas in it.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
On opening my oscilloscope, you will find a pair of warnings. The large one at the top says "DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE." The one underneath reads "It is desirable that only silver bearing solder be used on the ceramic terminals and for tinning the iron. Ordinary tin-lead solder may be used but repeated use will break the solder-to-ceramic bond. See your instruction manual." Above that is a small roll of silver-bearing solder.
I wish it was still the case that the owner of a tool was expected to know how to repair and maintain it. Of course, the scope in question is older than I am. For the curious, it's a Tektronix 561A. It uses vacuum tubes. You can find a picture of the insides here.
I also am turned off by the hipster attitude and kitsch. How many more TV-begone posts do they need? I mean, is being a jackass that shuts off the TV at a sports bar really that important?
Or how many more lame PoV projects do we need to see? How many more random LEDs attached to random electronics? How many more times do I need to hear how cool "Steampunk" is? How many more pacman scarves do we need to see?
There's a lot of potential at Make, but it stems directly from the boingboing tradition of urban American hipsterism thats very off-putting. Its just so provincial. Its really unwelcoming of anyone who isnt under 25 and lives in a big city and self-identifies with the indie rock movement. Heck, half the blog posts are needle and thread craft projects or just art projects, not tech projects.
Id love to see Make grow up. Perhaps add a section for DIY automobile repairs/hacks/projects and home repairs/hacks/projects. I guess most Makers only ride tricked out bikes and rent.
I don't think the good old days were as good as you remember. Everything works better now. Remember Magnum PI's Ferrari? My neighbor's new Camry makes more horsepower than that thing.
There's nothing magical about surface mount components. They are just as repairable as the old through-the-hole components. It just takes a steadier hand and finer tip on the soldering iron.
The difference is cost and fashion. I don't throw away much stuff because it is broken. I get rid of it because I don't want it anymore or there is something compelling about the next generation. For example, my old iPod mini has served me well and there is no indication that it is going to fail, but I'm considering getting an iPod Touch.
If something does break, how do you justify a repair when a replacement costs less? That Zenith television was a significant purchase. Now a 26" panel is an impulse buy for many.
But don't get me wrong, I would still rather have a 308 than a Camry. You can keep your Zenith though.
Wow, Wish I still had mine. Moving overseas necessitated selling it. Your thoughts on knowing how to repair your tools should go for cars, appliances, homes, etc. I was shopping for a couple of hand tools lately, and was surprised at the number of people who work in tool stores that were confused. I was looking for an 'awl', a leatherworking knife, and and ice pick. Don't ask why, ask why they didn't know what I meant. Things are changing. I'm thinking my wire-twist pliers should be framed? I bought mine for $65 some years ago, and now you can get them for $25. Does anyone know where they might be used in today's world?
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It's *hard* to try and carve out a niche where they are. On the one side you have Nuts&Volts, on the other Popular Mechanics.
What they're aiming at is a group of people who *want* to experiment with interesting science/technology, but own a screwdriver and a closet full of obsolete servers.
I look at it as a transitional magazine, trying to wean the Popular Mechanics crowd and turn them into the Home Shop Machinist crowd: people who actually can make things.
But there is a big wide swath of creation that isn't addressed by many other magazines, particularly not mainstream magazines, and that's the hardware/software overlap area where MAKE is working: robotics, automation, and to some extent, art/technology (like Leah Buechley's sweaters knitted with conductive wiring and LED's soldered in so they can become wearable displays, or hardcore art cars).
The question is: does it make sense, in light of the Internet, to have a magazine that covers this? The material's available on the Internet.
I think the answer to that is similar to the answer of why do record companies still exist: because it's a way of connecting consumers to producers. You can't Google for things you don't know about, and most people, with TV mentality, just sit in front of the Internet and read about the same things they always have. MAKE brings up brand new things, shows (in some cases) how to build them, and introduces people to stuff they never would have tried. I would never have actually considered making pulsejets, actual thrust-producing, red-hot ones, if I hadn't seen the MAKE jam-jar pulsejet. Likewise I would never have considered actually machining Stirling engines if I hadn't seen the (Dean Kaman-designed?) pop-can Stirling they published. I'd read about both, thought they were cool, but actually seeing a step-by-step on how to build them, was motivational.
It's easy to dismiss MAKE as kitsch. But the thing is: what's kitsch to YOU is something new and exciting to someone else who hasn't ever built anything more unconventional than a custom PC.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
...the unfortunate consequence is that the move to greater energy efficiency will likely be greatly hampered by the precise trend you've identified.
I disagree.
In the long run old tech will eventually degrade beyond repair and will have to be replaced by whatever is available. Since the old equipment was kept running longer, more advances will have been made by the time the new equipment is purchased. I propose that it is more likely that by leapfrogging from the very old to the very new the energy savings and environmental impact from not manufacturing, transporting, and discarding all the interim equipment will outweigh the inefficiencies of maintaining the old equipment for that duration.
-- The reader anything less than completely failing to not misunderstand this sig is cursed.
here's a torrent of the show for those interested, it wasn't in the article/post but there is one:
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/01/bittorrent_of_make_television_episo.html
Remember Magnum PI's Ferrari? My neighbor's new Camry makes more horsepower than that thing.
More horsepower, but far less awesome.
Mod my comments down. It'll be fun.
Id love to see Make grow up.
Hear Hear!
I love MAKE, but they are a bit over concerned with making making "cool". Making your arduino chirp every time a new XKCD is posted isn't going to get anyone laid. Let's stop pretending.
Mod my comments down. It'll be fun.
gothmollly, perhaps some might go through life not understanding how everything works and you're free to call them hacks, but all the evidence i have is that people who do the projects in MAKE go on to learn more, understand how things work but they needed to start somewhere.
parents, teachers and kids tell us all the time that MAKE is how they got started in science and engineering, we've been around for 5 years and we're seeing the results now. i can't 100% prove that we're teaching everyone, everything - but there is evidence we are doing some good.
we certainly are not a "buy this" site, magazine or tv show. i don't think we even cover thinkgeek. that said, thinkgeek has some cool kits lately, nothing wrong with that at all.