Makers: All Kinds of People Making Amazing Things in Garages, Basements & Backyards
Reviewed by Mike Swope
Author: Bob Parks, http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/catalog/view/au/2463 O'Reilly Book Site: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/makers Released: December 2005 Pages: 179 $25 USD, $35 CND, £17.50 GBP, 22€ EUR Format: Hardcover ISBN: 0596101880 Target Audience: The Makers community as a whole and a select group of educated readers with a passion for learning about strange things other people are inventing and building. Strengths: High production value; bright, smooth paper; attractive layout; large full-color photographs. Some very interesting projects. Some projects that would plain simple fun to try. URLs provided for more project-specific information and follow-up. Book often contains more information and background than some of the web sites. Weaknesses: Longwinded at times. Some uninteresting and uninspiring projects. A few poor quality and/or low-resolution (digital) photos. Some profiles feel as though they might be articles recycled from the magazine of the same name. |
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About A Special Breed for A Special Breed
The forward to Makers explains the phenomenon of Making probably as well as any other. Making, or using tools, explains Bob Parks, is a uniquely human experience. Makers are renaissance people, with experience and interests across a variety of technologies. Such people, Parks suggests, are not satisfied being just consumers; they are instead both interested in improving existing products and experimenting with technology, an archetypal blend of toolmaking and science. Today's world, notes Parks, encourages Makers, many of whom return to electronics and simple machines with an urge to experiment, after a long period in professional technical careers, i.e. computer programming. This, writes Bob Parks, in reaction to the increased complexity and sophistication of today's personal computers. Computer programming skills come in particularly handy with electronic projects controlled by modern microchips, which just happen to require programming.
Makers, interestingly enough, also like to share. Many Makers have developed code for web sites, and so also have their own web site to which most make regular updates. Makers share code and parts openly on web forums and web sites. As there are computer user groups, there are also community groups for Makers, who meet to discuss and show off their projects. Makers have a competitive spirit, and these groups thrive on friendly, personal competition, challenging each other. On a larger scale, Makers also compete in formal competitions such as Dorkbot Nights and the Burning Man festival. In February 2005, O'Reilly successfully launched Make magazine, the first magazine devoted to do-it-yourself technology projects. It's easy to see and understand that any book about Makers is a book for Makers.
Some Interesting, Inspiring, Unusual and Fun Projects (Some from Waste Materials)
Of the projects profiled, some interesting and inspiring projects have been developed, using LEDs, all kinds of sensors, jet engines, servo-motors, wood, metal, plastic, fabric, plumbing, automobile engines, car bodies, industrial equipment, paper cups, balloons...virtually anything can be used by a Maker as long as it suits the needs of the project. Many use discarded electronics, electronic motors, switches, buttons, wiring, paper, digital cameras, lenses, inkjet cartridges, mirrors...again, virtually anything that's necessary. Of course, not all parts can be obtained by dumpster diving. Radio Shack and eBay figure prominently throughout the book for those hard-to-find-in-the-trash parts, and several web sites are mentioned as well. Despite the disparate sources, these Makers have made some incredible (and useful!) contraptions.
Sometimes, the inspiration for a project is a direct result of that which would have been otherwise wasted. Take for example, Cap Holter's board-busting machine. While Holter was in the Army during WWII (where he incidentally learned a lot about making due), a storm blew down the family's horse barn, hog house, and chicken coop. Since then, the boards have lain in a pile. In response to today's high heating oil prices, Holter decided that all that wood would be great kindling, except for the time it would take to actually cut the wood with a chainsaw. Holter's board-eating machine was born. It cost $27 and is made from a rusty hay baler. It chews through thousands of board feet in just a couple of hours, filling a one-ton truck and making a helluva lot of noise!
Necessity has also been inspiration, such as Sathya Jeganathan's improvised baby warmers. Jeganathan, a 42-year-old neonatologist in India, noticed a high infant mortality rate at the government hospital where she works. The hospital lacked infant warmers, and though she received a grant for a few infant warmers, those warmers are not only expensive at $4000 plus but also inconvenient to have repaired by qualified technicians. She wondered if the heat of light bulbs could be used instead, and drew up some rough drawings for a prototype which was built by city electricians. This prototype helped grow a 2.6 premature baby to a healthy weight. Since then, they have built several more infant warmers, fitted with light bulbs purchased at local stores. Infant warmers that have cut the infant mortality rate from 39 to just 22 per 1000 at her hospital.
But mostly modding is for fun. Ask Kerry McLean about his gasoline-powered monowheel. Or Peter Madsen and Claus Norregaard about their 6.6 ton hand-built submarine. Or Dan Bowen and Mike Coffey about their high-altitude weather balloon that takes photographs of the curvature of the earth. Or Bathsheba Grossman about her 3D digitally printed metal sculptures. Or Tom Chudleigh about his family's spherical wooden treehouses. Or Koichi Hirata about his robotic fish. Or Matty Sallin about his alarm clock that cooks bacon. Or Louis Giersch about his 1000-degree solar concentrator. Or Anab Jain and Stuart Wood about their light-up fiber-optic desk. Or Richard Flanagan about his jet-powered go-kart. Or David Anderson about his 2-wheeled balancing robot. Or Dennis Havlena about his working PVC bagpipes. Or Andy Gustafson about his semi-automatic pneumatic potato cannon.
Old-World Spirit with A Modern Twist, But All About Self-Satisfaction
Admittedly, this book is not for everyone. Readers must understand in part what drives people who make such things to appreciate some of the projects and what they mean to their Makers. These Makers originate from around the globe but share common traits and enjoy making modifications. They are indomitable. They simply do not quit until they are satisfied with what they have made, doggedly finding solutions to the problems presented to them. In this resonates something resembling old-world, hands-on craftsmanship. These Makers enjoy the experience of making for the sake of making. I can't help but wonder, is this how the things we generally take for granted -- television, computers, power tools, tires and other every day items -- came to be? Invented by Makers who pushed boundaries and experimented endlessly, fulfilled by the act itself? A considerable number of projects in this book have received awards, and some have attracted government, military and public attention. Perhaps one of them will lead to the Next Big Thing.
