Most Popular Books by Mark Frauenfelder

In Rule the Web, you''ll learn how to: * Browse recklessly, free from viruses, ads, and spyware * Turn your browser into a secure and powerful anywhere office * Raze your old home page and build a modern Web masterpiece * Get the news so fast it''ll leave skidmarks on your inbox * Fire your broker and let the Internet make you rich * Claim your fifteen megabytes of fame with a blog or podcast You use the Web to shop, do your banking, have fun, find facts, connect with family, share your thoughts with the world, and more. But aren''t you curious about what else the Web can do for you? Or if there are better, faster, or easier ways to do what you''re already doing? Let the world''s foremost technology writer, Mark Frauenfelder, help you unlock the Internet''s potential—and open up a richer, nimbler, and more useful trove of resources and services, including: EXPRESS YOURSELF, SAFELY. Create and share blogs, podcasts, and online video with friends, family, and millions of potential audience members, while protecting yourself from identity theft and fraud. DIVIDE AND CONQUER. Tackle even the most complex online tasks with ease, from whipping up a gorgeous Web site to doing all your work faster and more efficiently within your browser, from word processing to investing to planning a party. THE RIGHT WAY , EVERY TIME. Master state-of-the-art techniques for doing everything from selling your house to shopping for electronics, with hundreds of carefully researched tips and tricks. TIPS FROM THE INSIDERS. Mark has asked dozens of the best bloggers around to share their favorite tips on getting the most out of the Web.

Why are so many kids (and adults) like you bored by science? Simple: you’ve had no real contact with it. You might read about incredibly expensive scientific projects, but your hands-on experience is probably limited to the same tired experiments—like baking soda and vinegar "volcanoes." Not any longer. Make Magazine’s "Punk Science" issue (volume 31) shows you how you can become a real, cutting-edge amateur scientist. Find out how high school and college students can get an introduction to modern biology research through affordable biotech labs provided by Otyp, a small Michigan-based biotechnology company. And learn how a cooperative network of schools and research groups, called PEER, enables students to learn science by working on real projects with people in the field—including the DECA (Distributed Electronic Cosmic-Ray) Observatory that uses Android phones to generate a real-time cosmic-ray flux map of a large area. This issue also shows you how to create these fascinating projects on your own: RoboRoach—Surgically modify a cockroach with a wireless electronic circuit so that you can control it to turn left or right by micro-stimulating its antenna nerves. Lord Kelvin’s Thunderstorm—a little-known, classic science experiment that generates high-voltage "lightning" sparks by dripping water through metal rings. An automatic Ball/Toy Launcher for Dogs that will keep your pet entertained and exercised while you’re away. A True Mirror, which shows what you look like to other people. Pick up a copy of Make today and get involved with real science.

Bookstore shelves are lined with tomes dedicated to the finest things that life has to offer. This is all well and good, but the real entertainment is to be found not in the cream of the crop, but at the bottom of the barrel. The World''s Worst is a celebration/indictment of nearly 50 infamous and little-known exemplars of the awful. In thoroughly researched, scathingly funny essays, author Mark Frauenfelder avoids the obvious and digs deep to tell the fascinating tales of the worst people, places, and things on Earth for the reader''s amusement and edification. Half of the entries are also mischieviously illustrated by the author. Addictively readable, and sure to appeal to fans of the popular Worst-Case Scenario and Darwin Awards series, The World''s Worst is hilariously unafraid to wallow in the mire. Selected Horrible Highlights: Most Unappealing Fetish Most Disgusting Coffee Drink Most Horrific Self-Help Technique Least Adorable Pet Saddest Fate for an Island Nation Worst Molasses Related Disaster

The robots are coming! MAKE Volume 27 shows you how to build robots that walk, fly, swim, play music, dance, and even extinguish fires. Some of the buildable bots you’ll meet include: Yellow Drum Machine, which roves around looking for things to drum on, then drums, records, and accompanies itself playing catchy rhythms Roomba Recon, Roomba robotic vacuum with a wireless router and webcam on its back, programmed so you can drive it around your house and see what it sees from a browser window anywhere Hamster-Powered Strandbeest, which walks around on eight legs, powered by a hamster inside its hamster globe “head” The winning project from MAKE’s Most Entertaining Robot contest Tiny Robots made from common electronics components. The special Robots section will also include a roundup of hobby robotics highlights, and a Primer on using the EZ-Robot controller board to turn any animatronic toy into a fully controllable robot that recognizes faces and responds to voice commands.

Within these tantalizing pages lie the keys to the mysteries of science. For here, in strange and delectable detail, are dozens of hitherto secret experiments for concocting slimes and putties, inventing miniature robots and transport devices, growing crystal gardens, and many other useful creations-all crafted from widely available household products. Where did these wondrous projects originate? Apparently in a shadowy toy research laboratory that once operated out of a tiny island in the South Pacific. The Zoober Laboratory has since vanished, but we recovered its crown jewel-a secret notebook: a source of astounding information, fabulously illustrated. Lets just be thankful the pages are wipe-clean.

MAKE Magazine’s annual Maker Faires have become the engine that drives the diverse and ever-expanding maker movement. At the heart of these events are the projects that their clever creators bring to show off and to inspire others to create. This special edition of MAKE celebrates the best of these projects, as seen at the Faires and in the pages of the magazine, as well as profiles of the makers who create them and the Faires that bring them together. Build a secret knock gumball machine Find out how to 3D-print your head Make a high-power water rocket Set up your electronics workbench

From his unique vantage point as editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine, the hub of the newly invigorated do-it-yourself movement, Mark Frauenfelder takes readers on an inspiring and surprising tour of the vibrant world of DIY. The Internet has brought together large communities of people who share ideas, tips, and blueprints for making everything from unmanned aerial vehicles to pedal- powered iPhone chargers to an automatic cat feeder jury-rigged from a VCR. DIY is a direct reflection of our basic human desire to invent and improve, long suppressed by the availability of cheap, mass-produced products that have drowned us in bland convenience and cultivated our most wasteful habits. Frauenfelder spent a year trying a variety of offbeat projects such as keeping chickens and bees, tricking out his espresso machine, whittling wooden spoons, making guitars out of cigar boxes, and doing citizen science with his daughters in the garage. His whole family found that DIY helped them take control of their lives, offering a path that was simple, direct, and clear. Working with their hands and minds helped them feel more engaged with the world around them. Frauenfelder also reveals how DIY is changing our culture for the better. He profiles fascinating "alpha makers" leading various DIY movements and grills them for their best tips and insights. Beginning his journey with hands as smooth as those of a typical geek, Frauenfelder offers a unique perspective on how earning a few calluses can be far more rewarding and satisfying than another trip to the mall.

A whole issue devoted to toys for makers! Toys are big players in the maker world. From educational (STEM/STEAM) to robotics and science, toys provide stimulation, simulation, and prototyping. Make: Volume 41 highlights the latest games and gadgets that have come from the maker community, and provides hands-on inspiration for making your own tech-infused toys. In the Tinkering Toys issue: Build a Mobile Sandbox Excavator Going Pro: How to Make Your Toy a Reality Arduino and littleBits Team Up Teach Kids to Program with Robots Retro-Renaissance: A roundup of perennial toy favorites (Erector Set, Tinkertoys, and more) Nerf Sentry Gun Sound-Powered Drawbot

The first DIY book to use cutting-edge (and affordable) technology in appealing projects for fathers and daughters to do together.

The first magazine devoted entirely to do-it-yourself technology projects presents its 29th quarterly edition for people who like to tweak, disassemble, recreate, and invent cool new uses for technology. MAKE Volume 29 takes bio-hacking to a new level. Get introduced to DIY tracking devices before they hit the consumer electronics marketplace. Learn how to build an EKG machine to study your heartbeat, and put together a DIY bio lab to study athletic motion using consumer grade hardware.

After two years, MAKE has become one of most celebrated new magazines to hit the newsstands, and certainly one of the hottest reads. If you''re just catching on to the MAKE phenomenon and wonder what you''ve missed, this book contains the best DIY projects from the magazine''s first ten volumes -- a surefire collection of fun and challenging activities going back to MAKE''s launch in early 2005. Find out why MAKE has attracted a passionate following of tech and DIY enthusiasts worldwide with one million web site visitors and a quarter of a million magazine readers. And why our podcasts consistently rank in the top-25 for computers and technology. With the Best of MAKE, you''ll share the curiosity, zeal, and energy of Makers -- the citizen scientists, circuit benders, homemakers, students, automotive enthusiasts, roboticists, software developers, musicians, hackers, hobbyists, and crafters -- through this unique and inspiring assortment of DIY projects chosen by the magazine''s editors. Learn to: Hack your gadgets and toys Program micontrollers to sense and react to things Take flight with rockets, planes, and other projectiles Make music from the most surprising of things Find new ways to take photos and make video Outfit yourself with the coolest tools Put together by popular demand, the Best of MAKE is the perfect gift for any maker, including current subscribers who missed early volumes of the magazine. Do you or someone you know have a passion for the magic of tinkering, hacking, and creation? Do you enjoy finding imaginative and unexpected uses for the technology and materials in your life? Then get on board with the Best of MAKE!

DIY Coffee collects five hot MAKE magazine projects to supercharge your java: Home-Built Coffee Roaster Bottomless Espresso Portafilter Toaster Tea Popper Perfect Espresso Temperature Hack Web-Fired Coffee with X10 Automation Got a jones for caffeine and technology? Mod your espresso machine to dial in the perfect shot, with precise temperature control and a filter hack that kicks out maximum tasty crema. Roast your own with a hand-built custom coffee roaster. Hack a toaster timer to perfect-brew your tea every time. And fire up your coffee pot from the internet using X10 automation. Using home-grown techniques and off-the-shelf parts, caffeine junkies will find everything they need to overclock the fix from their favorite shade-grown beverage.

The first magazine devoted entirely to do-it-yourself technology projects presents its 30th quarterly edition for people who like to tweak, disassemble, recreate, and invent cool new uses for technology. Until recently, home automation was an unfulfilled promise -- systems were gimmicky, finicky, user-hostile, or potentially unsecure. But today, thanks to a new crop of devices and technologies, home automation is useful, fun, and maker-friendly. Using smartphones, wireless networks, the internet, simple microcontrollers, and even gesture recognition, DIY-style Smart Homes can now do everything promised and more, for much less -- and MAKE shows you how in Volume 30.

The first magazine devoted entirely to do-it-yourself technology projectspresents its 25th quarterly edition for people who like to tweak, disassemble, recreate,and invent cool new uses for technology. MAKE Volume 25 is all about the Arduino Revolution! Give your gadgets a brain! Previously out of reach for the do-it-yourselfer, the tiny computers called microcontrollers are now so cheap and easy to use that anyone can make their stuff smart. With a microcontroller, your gadget can sense the environment, talk to the internet or other hardware, and make things happen in the real world by controlling motors, lights, or any electronic device. The Arduino is an easy-to-use microcontroller board -- it''s like an R&D lab on your kitchen table for prototyping any gadget. We show you how to make one, and how to use Arduinos and other microcontrollers to make an automatic yogurt maker, a vintage Skype telephone, a gumball machine that recognizes your secret knock, and more. Plus, make a Helicopter Rocket, gourmet Sous Vide food cooker, Reverse Geocache treasure box, and many more fun DIY projects.

Learn to configure a Raspberry Pi into multiple different devices capable of playing retro games. Beyond theory, this book focuses heavily on projects—such as making a console to attach to a TV or computer display and making a tabletop arcade machine. It also teaches you how to install and use the Kodi media center on your retro game player. tart with the big-picture of the Raspberry Pi retro-gaming landscape and the wide range of exciting project opportunities that exist. You''ll then discover the various retro-gaming emulation platforms, such as RetroPie and Recalbox, and how to work with ROM files. This book even goes a step further and teaches you how to create game ROMs from your old cartridges! You’ll also study the types of game playing equipment people have made using Raspberry Pis and how to set up a Raspberry Pi with those devices. Retro-gaming enthusiasts are using the Pi to make a dizzying variety of game playing hardware. Thereare players that fit in an Altoids mint tin, players that look like classic systems, and players that let you choose from over 20,000 game titles. And there are emulators for every platform imaginable, and many models available online to download and make on a 3D printer or laser cutter. Raspberry Pi Retro Gaming includes everything you need to know about playing retro games on a Raspberry Pi and making cool machines that play thousands of retrogames. What You''ll Learn Use Tinkercad to design your own cases Get your case 3D printed if you don’t have a 3D printer Design parts for laser cutting or jigsaw cutting Solder and use electronics components, batteries, and power supplies Select and set up different kinds of displays Who This Book Is For Anyone interested in playing retrocomputer games and making their own retro-game players.

It’s 3D Printing: The Next Generation! The technology’s improving, prices are dropping,new models are hitting the market, and 3D printers are appearing on desktops, workbenches, lab shelves, and kitchen tables all over the world. Not only are we seeing better, faster, and cheaper 3D printers, we’re also seeing new printing materials, easier-to-use design software, powerful scanning technology, and the rise of an entire ecosystem of 3D peripherals and services that support 3D printing technology. Make’s second annual 3D Printing Guide is once again your go-to resource for discovering the latest information in this fast-changing field of printers, software, projects, and accessories. Inside, you''ll find up-to-date reviews on the latest in 3D printing technology, feature and model comparisons, tutorials and stories about 3d printing, and some of the coolest 3d printed objects out there.

The Computer traces the evolution of this vital machine from its earliest roots through its exciting application in code-breaking during the Second World War, and from its initial use in the workplace and home to its current status as a totally indispensable part of twenty-first century life. Along the way the author examines some colourful moments in the computer''s development, from the key battle between Apple and IBM in the 1980s, to the use of computers in film and television such as the 1950s film The Forbidden Planet. The speed at which computer technology is progressing is staggering, and the final chapter looks forward to a time when computers will be on our wrists, in our cars - and possibly in our bodies.