Make: Volume 95, Winter 2025

Make: Volume 95 — Winter 2025

The Winter 2025 issue of Make: magazine is a full workshop in print, moving from the birth of low-cost computing to projects you can build on a bench, a kitchen table, or a classroom floor. It is a maker magazine in the truest sense: curious, practical, and packed with ideas that invite you to solder, code, print, knit, and experiment.

A Maker’s Maker: Steve Wozniak and the Apple I

The issue opens with Steve Wozniak recalling the Apple I, the Homebrew Computer Club, and the design choices that helped put a keyboard and video display on the path to everyday computing. It is a reminder that making is not only about finished products; it is about sharing a build, trading ideas, and seeing what other people do with your work.

Boards, Chips, and Tiny Computers 🛠️

The Best Boards section surveys the expanding landscape of maker hardware. Raspberry Pi 500+ and Arduino Uno Q both push tiny computers into new territory. BeagleBoard and IceWhale show how small teams are making a big impact, while PICAXE microcontrollers prove that cheap and mighty can still get the job done. There is also a pocket video synthesizer for portable video art, CircuitPython running on the Oxocard Connect, a Meshtastic “walkie-textie” project for off-grid LoRa messaging, and a low-cost ADS-B receiver for tracking aircraft.

Projects for the Bench and Beyond

Hands-on projects span electronics, robotics, fabrication, and craft. Builders can try:

• Threadboard: knit a working plushie breadboard from yarn and conductive thread.
• 3D Printing Folding Geometry: create an elegant 3D-printed fabric bag that bends and folds like origami.
• MBot: build a robust wheeled robot platform and program it with MicroPython.
• Squishy Tech: embed electronics in paper circuit boards that communicate directly via ESP-Now.
• Adventures in Object Photography: control highlights, shadows, and backgrounds with low-budget lighting solutions.
• Semiconductor Light Sensors: learn the basics and build a transimpedance amplifier to boost light signals.
• Reaction Race: make a classic reaction game with micro:bit and cardboard.
• Pocket Pickleball: build a pocket-sized, two-player action game that plays with a pickle instead of a ball.

Robotics, Skill Building, and the Maker Community

For readers ready to go deeper, “MBot Hands On with ROS 2” introduces nodes, topics, and services for hobbyists and engineers. “Making Makers” looks at how gamified skill trees and level-ups can inspire discovery in budding makers. The Toolbox rounds up new tools and kits, and the issue closes with a look at a higher-order Rubik’s Cube.

Who Will Enjoy This Issue

Make: Volume 95, Winter 2025 speaks to electronics hobbyists, robotics fans, educators, students, and anyone who likes to understand how things work by taking them apart and building something new. Whether you are drawn to Arduino, Raspberry Pi, MicroPython, CircuitPython, 3D printing, or hands-on craft, the issue offers a mix of beginner-friendly entry points and projects with room to grow.

Why It Belongs on Your Digital Shelf

This digital edition preserves the full range of the Winter 2025 issue: thoughtful columns, detailed project guides, and a community-minded view of making. It is the kind of publication you can read start to finish, then return to when a specific build catches your eye. 📚