Hackaday Omnibus 2014 — Our First Ever Print Edition

Here’s your chance to grab a tangible piece of Hackaday. This morning we are starting pre-orders for the Hackaday Omnibus 2014. This is our first-ever print edition. It collects some of the best original content published on Hackaday in 2014.

We’re proud of what the Hackaday crew accomplished last year. From stories of old and new to articles that encouraged you to stretch your hacking universe, we are thrilled with the original content articles we saw published last year. To go along with this top-tier content, we added amazing art and illustrations from [Joe Kim]. The product is something that demands commemoration in print and thus the Omnibus was born.

This full-color, 80 page, perfect binding volume is just what your coffee table has been crying out for. Of course it will look spectacular covered in solder and clipped resistor leads on the bench. And if your company is serious about hardware you need to send that message with a copy of the Omnibus in the reception area (or comically in the commode).

We are pricing the Hackaday Omnibus 2014 at $15 but we will sweeten the deal if you get in on the preorder. Use this coupon code to get $5 off: OMNIBUS2014. The coupon will work for the first 500 copies pre-ordered with an estimated shipping date of 2/9/15.

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101 thoughts on “Hackaday Omnibus 2014 — Our First Ever Print Edition

  1. I love you guys, but with $17 for shipping to the UK you have 0% of me buying this, ever!! That’s more than the cost of the mag itself, let along the cost it would be with that tasty $5 off.. It’s considerably disgusting for your international fans :P Thanks for not thinking about us over the pond, ya damn yanks :P
    Snide commenting aside, thin k you could like ya know, at least consider stopping been so damn US centric? :P

      1. Absolutely, but not this time around.

        Short edit: Print to digital/ebook/Whatever the Apple thing is called/Kindle is a solved problem. You can send off literally anything to some company, wait a few days, and get a digital edition for not much money at all. Trust me, we’ve looked into this. We’re just not doing it for the Omnibus since the content originally appeared on the web.

        A proper print edition, however, does open up a few interesting possibilities. Remember those floppy, double-sided records that came in a few issues of MAD magazine? I know how to do that, and I have a really good idea of what to put on it.

        Still no luck on finding an artist that can do MAD fold-ins, though.

        1. “Still no luck on finding an artist that can do MAD fold-ins, though” What about a fold-in circuit diagram, does one thing when unfolded, something completely different when folded, no that would be a challenge for you editor guys!

          1. This follows along with the idea of the half-height PCI-X/PCIe cards… snap off/detach the top portion if it’s not needed. So, why not a circuit with a snap-out/detachable middle… I could see this working with, say, an Arduino in card format… top section is the power-supply, bottom section is the logic, optional middle section is/are the expansion board(s). Useful for where space restrictions allow for width/depth but not height. Heck, might make for some fascinating installations!

      1. Exactly, I would order it to the Netherlands or another shipping address in Europe but under these conditions I will not. How is it possible that shipping a quadrocopter from Hong Kong to here is free but shipping a paper magazine from a closer destination is insanely expensive?

        Dear HACKADAY, are you trying to convince me to stop liking and reading you? The good old HACKADAY was brilliant, the new business oriented starts to be a little bit annoying.

          1. You are right, they could just not sell the Omnibus at all. However, if they do they should not try to rip us off on shipping costs.

            Not sure about the others but I was coming here not only for the great content but assuming we share similar values. Hiding profit to shipping costs seems like a little bit distorted perspective to me. What about being more transparent?

          2. Spoken like someone who’s never tried to ship stuff internationally on a large scale. Also, if you’re going to make accusations of dishonesty, you ought to be able to back them up with evidence.

            Based on my experience, I have no doubt the shipping cost reflects their true costs. They could get these down by shipping it as printed media in an envelope, or using distribution warehouses like Shipwire – but they’re not deliberately ripping you off or profiting off shipping.

    1. I can’t speak to this specific instance, but I will say that shipping international FROM the United States is often expensive. I have friends around the globe that send me things that are shipped ridiculously cheap, but when I send them something, shipping is always 3 times what it should be…. Not sure why.

      1. Yeah. My partner and I ran into this when planning our kickstarter. We ended up charging our international customers a flat $60 for what was about a 1 lb. box because it was the lowest we could possibly go without screwing ourselves. There were a lot of complaints about this seeming high… but from what we found that’s just the way it is here in the US. Cheap to come in, spendy to go out. Unless there is some other magical service we completely failed to discover.

          1. USPS First Class Mail! If you go to the USPS website and enter in the specs you eventually get to a postage selection screen. The default options are for International Priority Mail Express and are the most expensive. But below this chart you can click and expand on First-Class International. A shipping envelope and DVD weighs a little over 4 oz. I always round up an ounce since I’m paranoid. So for 5 oz. you can ship from Colorado to anywhere in France for $6.04. It takes about a week to get there. I’m surprised that it’s so cheap but you can see for yourself. I’ve sent DVDs to France and the UK this way and it’s only about $1 more than shipping something domestically via Priority Mail. Shipping that same DVD from Colorado to New York is around $5 depending on zip code and how much postage I am buying at once.

            Not sure if this link will work or if it is tied to my session: http://ircalc.usps.com/MailServices.aspx?country=10113&m=2&p=0&o=5&MailingDate=1/20/2015&MailingTime=8:00%20AM&dv=25#

            I’m not sure how much the omnibus is going to weigh but I bet you could slide it into a normal shipping envelope and get it to anywhere in Europe for under $10 if you go with normal USPS First Class International.

          2. We looked into this NightPhoenix.

            The Omnibus weighs over 14oz so the math doesn’t add up quite as easily I’m afraid. We end up back at 15$ pretty fast once we include packaging and the obligatory Hackaday sticker!

          3. Thanks for the followup Ben! Sounds like a pretty good deal knowing the true size of it! (Also didn’t mean to report your comment, was looking for the reply button and hit it by mistake)

    2. I thought the price wasn’t too bad, until I realised that the current exchange rate for USA to Australian dollars is shocking.
      $50 for a t-shirt and a magazine… HaD, this had better be good.

    3. It’s a real shame about shipping to Europe (Germany). There should be a special shipping option for a magazine – products usually go in boxes which are expensive to ship across the pond, so the $17 shipping makes sense if you need to ship a box. However, a large envelope should cost a few dollars.

      Make is able to charge $34.95 for US subscribers, and $49.95 for international subscribers (in Germany). This is six issues, which works out to around 2.50 extra per issue – a fair price to pay.

      1. Actually, I am glad you are mentioning MAKE in this context – I am a MAKE subscriber from issue #1 and I was thinking the same.

        Plus: if anybody from the MAKE team are reading this: with Hackaday now taking care of the boring microcontrollers, could you please go back to those times when MAKE was cool, crazy and … interesting? Leave the electronics to those who know best (hackaday) and write about the backyard foundry, the DIY supercollider and stuff that goes ka-boom!

  2. So how does this work then? Are you re-printing just your commentary (which is going to be a bit thin on actual hack content), the content the blog entries link to (which presumably isn’t practical, given copyright issues for the linked content), have you approached each of the rights holders for linked articles, or are you just including your own original content? Or something else?

    1. The omnibus is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a collection of Hackaday OC from 2014.

      In the future, we’ll have a more diverse print edition. Just keep your shorts on and refrain from calling the entire endeavor a terrible idea just yet.

      1. Serious question, is everything being re-checked to make sure all the typos and such are cleared up? I don’t mean to come across as rude, I totally get that things slip through, but print should be done right the first time.

        On a side note, the copy of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy I’m reading has some terrible typos and wrong words, AND it’s not even a first edition…

        1. > Serious question, is everything being re-checked to make sure all the typos and such are cleared up? I don’t mean to come across as rude, I totally get that things slip through, but print should be done right the first time.

          Yeah, everything in the omnibus has been checked and rechecked. It was also online, so you get the army of unofficial Hackaday editors in the comments.

          As far as future versions go, I’m going to say right now that having perfect editing, with no typos, no issues of orthography, grammar, or anything else is a pipe dream. That’s not going to happen. That’s not to say we’re not going to give it our best effort, though.

  3. OK, a feedback against the tide here. I think $17 is a bit much, but I put my order down because I frigging love hackaday. I’ve learnt a lot over the years from this space and I’ve had every hack I contributed published by them. I didn’t really buy a magazine, I just contributed a small amount to say “Thanks guys”.

    1. The ads, of course. The magazine is a side project, more for fun than for profit. And to make long-time fans happy by owning a part of the site.

      I would buy one, but if people on the Netherlands are complaining about the shipping, I don’t even want to know how much it would cost to ship to Brazil…

        1. I bought it.
          Same shipping worldwide, paid $27 to get it in Brazil…
          Remeber that magazines/books don’t get that absurd tax we use to pay (60% product + shipping [remember that we pay BRL2.7 to each dollar])

      1. Speaking as a maker who sells less in a year than HaD likely makes in advertising revenue in a month, this isn’t a big deal. Somewhere like Shipwire will charge you a whole $24.95 a month to hold and ship your stock. If you expect more than two or three sales a month, that’s pretty much worth it.

  4. I will be buying this once I know my address for the next few years :) shipping cost will be ridiculous, but that’s not the point – $30ish to support HAD and get a cool piece of history to compliment my t-shirts and stickers :) which reminds me, they’ve sent me two t-shirts for $0 when they didn’t need to, so everythings a win :D

    1. We are probably losing money printing them, so, if you’re only buying it to support us, and we’re only giving it to you because you want it… everyone’s losing. :p

      I feel like I pulled over and got out of my car to help an old lady cross a street she didn’t want to cross.

      Hopefully the cool piece of history thing makes up for it.

      1. That’s hilarious! Everyone complaining that u guys are all just trying to make some extra $$, and you’re genuinly trying to be nice :P Gotta love the internet :) Ah well, the cool history thing is still valid. And print is just better sometimes.
        How would gratefull readers support HAD then? Stuff from the store? Frantically clicking adds? Accidentally willing our oscilloscopes to supplyframe? I guess building cool stuff and sending it in :)

    1. Out of interest, which bit of that gap does Makezine not fill? I don’t bother with Makezine, because (like this) by the time a print copy arrives, the content is out of date, it’s already on the web, and the web version contains corrections, updates, links to other versions, etc.

      It’s almost like there’s a reason they’re dying….

      1. Makezine has declined in terms of “serious” content… they’ve dumbed down and started going to just summaries (“visit this link to see more pictures and get more info”). I’m sorry, but web content runs a big risk of getting lost or going away, no matter how good the intentions of the site owner are. When Make actually printed out the whole projects (and spent the necessary pages in order to do so), you knew that as long as you had your print copy you would be all set. But with the “new” layout that Make has gone to, you don’t have that guarantee any more (and printing out the webmatter is a waste, because then you have to hope you can keep it all together with each issue, etc… there’s no clean way to reassemble the info into a single stand-alone unit like the “old” layout offered). As a result Make has pretty much broken itself. In full disclosure, I renewed again this year… it will be my last (barring a major change) though, as I’ve now had a whole year of trying to let myself adjust to the new layout and it comes off as weak. I understand why they made the changes they made (targeting a younger demographic, aiming at the newcomers to the subject matter, etc…), but it alienated a whole demographic segment in the process.

        To that end, I’m interested in seeing the HAD Omnibus… as it seems at least like it could be a more complete resource (I’m hoping that some of the material from 3rd party linked sites is being reproduced for sake of completeness… we’ll see). At the very least, it’s being consistent with what HAD has always been. I’m thrilled that HAD has taken this step and I hope it’s a success!

  5. Just a reminder Hackaday Store shipping costs –

    USA: free for orders over $25, otherwise $5.

    Canada: free for orders over $50, otherwise $12.

    International: free for orders over $50, otherwise $17.

    1. Uh… assuming shipping from the US via USPS

      First-Class International Options Expected Delivery Date Price Online Price
      First-Class Mail® International Large Envelope**More info about First-Class Mail® International Large Envelope**
      Value of contents can not exceed $400.00
      Max. length 15″, height 12″ or thickness 3/4″

      $8.85
      Not available

      as long as it’s not bigger than 15″x12″x3/4″ … should be $8.95 + envelope … not $17, unless it’s a gold-leaf envelope

  6. Maybe international folks would want to organize for a “bulk/group order”, or even some enterprising person in EU would order many copies shipped cost efficiently and distribute over there?

  7. Great stuff people! I love reading print by the fireplace <3. And that ship for free to Europe for carts above 50$ offer – it gave me that little push I needed to buy a Pocket Sized Robot Arm for moi! Merci and thank you many

      1. Dude… integrating some (redundant, of course) esoterica into each edition would be great! I’ve got my CueCat (and a standby). Never did neuter it, but that’s easy enough to do if required. Doooo eeeeeeeettttt!!!!

  8. Since this appears to be a “Marketing Hack”, care to share the reasoning to do this? With print periodicals/magazines folding daily, with printed books moving (slowly) to ebook versions, why would a WEB SITE decide to go backwards and issue a print edition? Just curious, and hope it does well for you guys.

  9. Have you guys looked into standard publishing for distribution in stores? Seems like this would take care of the shipping thing. We have a store in Aus called Magnation for which a HaD mag sounds like a good fit.

  10. hackaday is seriously fucking up if they do not give 100% of the money to the developers of the content they are ripping off. looks to be about time to stop coming here if this bullshit continues

    1. “the content they are ripping off”!? What content would that be? The 2014 Omnibus contains only content originally written for Hackaday by Hackaday writers and guest writers. Also, they expect to lose money by publishing it, so if they were to take your advice, they’d have to steal money from the writers.

    2. they’ve already said that they’re *losing money* on this. Last I checked, paying someone negative money is reaaalllly tough, at least in the 4 dimensional existence into which we’re confined.

  11. When you have projects with a bill of materials and instructions on how to do something then maybe I will consider buying it. Until then, show and tell teaches me little.

    I also don’t have room for magazines so I bought a Kindle which houses some of my books.

  12. Re: digital downloading , looks like the non-US readers get hosed again, K.B.Spangler ( webcomic author(ess)) is complaining she’s shutdown any orders from the E.U. because the taxes, ( refer : http://kbspangler.com/2014/12/30/twas-the-night-before-vat-moss/ ) and ( refer : http://kbspangler.com/2014/11/29/vat-moss-and-taxes/ ).
    As for myself , the askingprice + ( taxes and Canadian customs ) all make it a bit spendy, so I’ll have to pass on it.

    1. The copy I have is obviously Print on Demand. No other way to do it with a run in the dozens.

      I’m not sure what the ‘real’ omnibus print will be, but when we move to the zine, we’re going to be looking at offset. Once you get a run of a few thousand, that’s how you *have* to do it.

  13. This is a luxury Item, doubtful I’ll spend $20 get this delivered to me in Kansas. In the event it’s not going to be a money maker for HAD I’d rather apply t the cost towards a prescription to Nuts and Volts or a QEX subscription. My membership in the ARRL is coming due, that’s where the money I wont be spending here will go. Yea I understand it will cost those living in other countries much more, but sorry save me the crying over the cost of a luxury item. With repect to Havkady’s effort on this project, put that money toward something useful locally.

  14. Hackaday: I can’t wait for my copy to arrive.

    I don’t know much about mail order shipping costs, but I do know commerical printing. If the volume is high enough, you will end up as an offset print job, otherwise you will be digital print and you still have to throw the bindery in there. For an offset job, this would be a small one. The profit for the printer is made in the charges for setups. Easiest place for a printer to make a profit. The time actually spent in good quality production on a printing press is only a small piece of the cost structure.

    Multiple print sites, means multiple setup costs, and higher costs for Hackaday. The production of a one-off Hackaday project vs. a large scale repeating magazine will have different cost/profit profiles. Two different discussions.

  15. Hey guys
    I ordered Crazyflie for 145 dollars with free international shipping
    with couple of days ,I did not receive any information about my order.So Should i wait for longer or
    What should i do ?
    mention any past experience with ordering from hackaday
    thank you

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