MAKER’S CORNER By Dan Woods, Associate Publisher

Advice and news for MAKE readers.

Have a Reader Service problem that has you ready to bend a circuit?

We aim for perfection, but we admit we sometimes fall short. If you have a problem with a subscription, issues not showing up (ouch), or you can’t figure out how to renew (bless you), your first recourse is to contact our customer service department at cs@readerservices. makezine.com, or (866) 289-8847 (U.S. + Canada), or (818) 487-2037 (all other countries). If your problem still hasn’t been resolved, please write to me personally at dan@oreilly.com.

Find books, kits, tools, apparel, even tickets at store.makezine.com.

Where else are can you find books like Building the Perfect PC and Backyard Ballistics, downloadable PDF books like Small Form Factor PCs and DIY Coffee, a complete line of awesome Make-It brand kits like the MAKE Controller and the Open Source MP3 Player, alongside the latest MAKE slogan T-shirts? Only in The Maker Store, of course! Show me that you read this column and enter “dansaid” as your promotion code for a 10% discount on all merchandise bought online at The Maker Store

( store.makezine.com) through Aug. 30, 2007.

Here’s your chance to show your company’s support for the maker community.

Hey, we’re a small team. We’re chugging away on all cylinders to bring this community a couple of awesome magazines, a new line of books, two Maker Faires, free websites, free newsletters, and a ton of support for dozens of fellow groups and associations out there. We’re always deeply appreciative of those companies who are willing to step up and help underwrite the effort.

Does your company manufacture products or provide services for the maker community? Want to show your maker colors? Consider purchasing an ad in MAKE magazine or on makezine.com. You can reach a quarter-million makers with a Marketplace ad in MAKE magazine for as little as $500. You can reach hundreds of thousands more makers on makezine.com for as little as $700/week (or $280/week for a text ad).

Interested in showing your support? Contact Katie Dougherty or Dan Woods at advertise@makezine.com.

Maker Faire Takes Gold —

Plus Two Maker Faires in 2007!

Maker Faire took “Best Special Event” at the Folio: FAME Awards in March, beating out runners-up Billboard and Rachael Ray! We’re seriously blushing.

As this issue hits the newsstand, we’ll be having a blast at the 2nd annual Maker Faire held Saturday and Sunday, May 19– 20 at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds 20 minutes south of San Francisco. We had over 20,000 makers turn out last year. We may just get twice that many this year — we hope you’re joining us.

If you missed Maker Faire Bay Area, consider a fall pilgrimage to Austin, Texas, for the first-ever Southwest Maker Faire — Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20– 21 at the Travis County Fairgrounds. Information about both events can be found at makerfaire.com.

MAKE: Digital Edition Now Open to Web Searches

We’ve opened up

MAKE: Digital Edition to make it searchable and accessible via Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. If you’re a subscriber and have opted into the free MAKE: Digital Edition service (and you have your cookies enabled), when you run across a MAKE: Digital Edition link in your web search results, click on the link and you’ll have full access to your magazine subscription online. Non-subscribers will have complimentary access to the targeted page plus 3 pages forward and 3 pages backward. Try it out. Let us know what you think.

Dan Woods is associate publisher of MAKE and CRAFT magazines. When he’s not working on circulation and marketing or finding cool new stuff for The Maker Store, he likes to hack and build barbecues, smokers, and outdoor grills.

56 Make: Volume 10