Books, Commentary, Ephemera, & More
Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, & technology book reviews. Also social, political, & economic commentary. Plus more.
Many people who want to jump into 3D printing have almost no idea what they actually want to make. Or, they may have projects in mind that far exceed their abilities to fabricate as beginners. If 3D printing is on your mind (or arriving soon in some shipping boxes and downloads), here are two new … Continue reading Getting started with 3D printing? Consider these two new Maker Media books – #bookreview
The Make: Series of How-to Books A British scientist made headlines a few years ago when she warned that young people no longer make or repair things. It has become all too easy for them now, she cautioned, to simply throw away old or broken devices and buy new ones. A key point was that … Continue reading Step away from the ‘smartphone’ and try using your hands and mind to make something – #bookreview
Rapid Android Development Build Rich, Sensor-Based Applications with Processing Daniel Sauter (Pragmatic Bookshelf – paperback) The main goal of Daniel Sauter’s nicely written new book is to help you learn “how to develop interactive, sensor-based Android apps” quickly. At first glance, you may question how “quickly” you can go through 13 chapters with a total … Continue reading Rapid Android Development – Using Processing to build apps fast – #programming #bookreview
Arduino Workshop A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects John Boxall (No Starch Press – paperback, Kindle) If you’ve been wanting to tinker with a tiny Arduino computer, this excellent book can show you how to do much more than simply get started. Indeed, John Boxall’s Arduino Workshop can keep you busy, challenged and intrigued for … Continue reading Arduino Workshop – An excellent hands-on guide with 65 DIY projects – #arduino #bookreview
Make an Arduino-Controlled Robot Michael Margolis (O’Reilly – paperback, Kindle) Technology now makes it relatively easy to build simple robots that can be controlled remotely or can control themselves autonomously using built-in sensors and software. This engaging how-to guide focuses on how to build and program a small robot that can roam around, sense its … Continue reading Make an Arduino-Controlled Robot – #diy #bookreview
Make: Volume 32 (O’Reilly, paperback) Make: is a science, technology, and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects magazine published quarterly in paperback book format. Volume 32 not only has intriguing articles about private rocketeers, flying motorcycles, and human-size replicas of videogame costumes and weapons. It also has about two dozen “complete plans” for a wide array of useful and … Continue reading Make: Volume 32 – Zany and practical projects and articles for DIY builders – #bookreview
Head First C By David Griffiths and Dawn Griffiths (O’Reilly, paperback, list price $49.99) Long ago, in a universe now very far away, I was an ABC programmer: assembler, BASIC, and C. I learned C from a book popularly known as “K&R,” after its authors, Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie. (Their classic work … Continue reading Oh, say can you C? Learning to program with Head First C – #bookreview #in #programming
The Arduino microcontroller and programming environment let you create, program, and control a variety of devices that interact with the physical world. Some of the things you can do with Arduino are very simple, such as adjusting the color of an RGB (red, green, blue) LED under program control. Other projects are more complex, such as creating … Continue reading Control this! Four new how-to books that use Arduino – #electronics #programming #bookreview #in