The Best of MAKE This Week

Big week for makers! Oldsters and youngsters!

Open source hardware 2008 – The definitive guide to open source hardware projects in 2008
What is open source hardware? Briefly, these are projects that   creators have decided to completely publish all the source, schematics, firmware, software, bill of materials, parts list, drawings and "board" files to recreate the hardware – they also allow any use, including commercial. Similar to open source hardware like Linux, but hardware centric. There are over 60+ projects to check and 
make!

Arduino gift guide
The Arduino open-source microcontroller platform can be programmed and equipped to perform a nearly endless list of functions. It’s likely the best all-around centerpiece to a modern electronics project. But one of the tasks Arduino is best used for is straight-up fun – the  open design means there’s an Arduino board suitable for almost any project, and a wealth of add-on "shields" extends its abilities with 
ease.

The $20 gift guide at MAKE – Electronics kits for $20 and under!
We know holiday gift budgets are shrinking – a lot of us will have more time than money next year, so more than ever – if you’re going to spend your hard earned cash consider spending it on something that 
gives back. A kit to learn about electronics, a book to savor and pass along to someone else, a tool you know you’ll use for years, something that you know you’ll use – something to learn with, something you can give to someone else later. Read on for the complete list!

The Chemistry gift guide – Celebrating chemistry and inspiring the next generation of chemists!
The best days of science are not behind us folks, they’re ahead of us! – It’s is up to all of us to do something about it, we want to live through a "golden age" of science, it can start now. We are what we 
celebrate – if we celebrate reality-tv show "stars" and Britney Spears, that’s what we’ll get – if we celebrate all the cool things scientists, engineers and chemists do, we’ll get our next generation 
of rock stars – and by that we mean geologists and astronomers 🙂

BUILD: Making the Blinkybug Kit
The Blinkybugs are here! These simple, little electro-mechanical insects respond to movement, wind and vibrations by blinking their LED eyes. Great fun for all ages, and addicting too.

MAKE has a special code for just for GeekDad readers, if you want 10% off kits use GKYDAD on check out of the Maker Shed store.

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