MAKE - 2015: The Best Projects and Stories of the Year

2015: The Best Projects and Stories of the Year

It's been a whirlwind year here at Make: and we are delighted that you've been with us. Before we venture forth into the new year, we want to take a second look at some of our favorite stories that came through the newsletter this year. Best wishes for a 2016 full of Making!

20 Secret Doors and Clever Hiding Places

Sneaky spots and clever hides are a perennial Maker favorite and this list of 20 fun and interesting ways to create secret doors, hidden compartments, and covert stashes doesn't disappoint.

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Make This Mini "Star Wars" BB-8 Ball Droid with a Hacked Sphero

Star Wars: The Force Awakens gave us plenty of "how could we make that?" moments this year, but none quite captured our imaginations like figuring out how BB-8's head stayed on his free-rolling body. This was one of the first methods we saw and one of the easiest to replicate at home.

Raspberry Pi or Arduino? One Simple Rule to Choose the Right Board

If there's one more thing to learn before the end of 2015, it's the difference between Arduino and Raspberry Pi. Here's a quick and dirty, non-technical breakdown for determining whether a microcontroller (Arduino) or a single board computer (Raspberry Pi) is the best fit for your next project.

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Join the World's Largest Arduino Maker Challenge

Massimo Banzi invites you to theWorld's Largest Arduino Maker Challenge in collaboration with Microsoft and Hackster.io. Here's your chance to win one of 1,000 new Arduino MKR1000 boards, for the first time ever, and other amazing prizes like Maker Faire trips, Adafruit gift certificates, and a video production about your work.

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5 Cool Things You May Not Know About Your Tape Measure

There are some neat tricks embedded in the design of your everyday tape measure. How many are new to you?

8 Types of Trash Every Maker Should Be Stoked to Score

With the new year fast approaching, remember that free building materials are all around. This usually means scanning the curbsides as you drive, browsing through Craigslist, and taking an occasional trip into the land of dumpster diving. Here are eight finds that often reveal a goldmine of parts.

Browse Anonymously with a DIY Raspberry Pi VPN/TOR Router

Internet tracking is getting better (or worse, depending on your stance), and 2015 was no exception. But you can keep your data under your control by configuring a Raspberry Pi with Linux and some extra software to connect to a VPN server and encrypt your internet traffic.

In the Maker Shed:

L3D Cube

The bright, animated lights of the L3D Cube are mesmerizingly colorful. It's an awesome show piece, perfect for parties, and great for creating ambiance to suit any mood.
Available in the 4096 RGB LED size (16x16x16) as well as the original 512 RGB LED size (8x8x8). No soldering required. The 8x8x8 version only takes 30 minutes to build.

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