Arduino Announces New Changes "Dinner is Ready"

Adafruit.com have MicroBuilder LPC1343 boards and the Chumby hacker board. And there's always a Beagleboard

Here you go:

http://leaflabs.com/devices/maple/

This has an ARM Cortex A8, it runs Linux, and it is small enough for embedded robotics applications.

http://www.gumstix.net/Setup-and-Programming/view/Overo-Setu...

But only if they have local fulfillment. I can't see how it would be cheaper to ship boards from Italy vs. say Sparkfun for US customers.

Their name is well-established, it is true. However, I gather the hope is that an actual brand image (e.g. "Pepsi") rather than a household word (such as 'a coke' referring to many different sodas, or "Kleenex" referring to all things facial tissue) will help combat the clones and rip-offs. Perhaps if only because customers will expect to see the company logo stamped on 'quality' hardware.

I was very confused after I first looked into Arduino. Branding provides much needed orientation, especially for those who are new to Arduino.

> I'd rather use languages and techniques I'm used to

This makes you sound incredibly unmotivated and lazy. FYI.

Running a scripting language VM is massive overhead on little devices like these. Consider that the Arduino, last I checked, has 16k of code space, and most microcontrollers are in the same range. The Python VM itself is already measured in megabytes. You're going to have to take several steps up the ladder in terms of hardware.

For further information: http://wiki.python.org/moin/EmbeddedPython

There is Netduino: http://netduino.com/

I think it's worth having a bash in a lower-level language too, though. You'll notice the Netduino is a 48MHz ARM7 with 60K of RAM and 128K of Flash. By contrast, the Arduino Duemilanove is a 16MHz processor with 16K of Flash and 1K of RAM -- a far lower-specced chip, and very cheap (couple of dollars). Writing code in C (or Wiring, or whatever) for such tight constraints is part of the fun in my opinion.

Edit: The BASIC Stamp is also really popular: http://www.parallax.com/tabid/295/Default.aspx

Haven't used it, so I have no idea if it's been implemented in hardware beyond the concept, but there's always python-on-a-chip: http://code.google.com/p/python-on-a-chip/

That being said, programing on an Arduino is very simple and non-intimidating to the point of it being a running ironic joke on many hacking boards whenever a project doesn't involve an Arduino. (eg "Oh, nice logic analyzer you made from scratch with $3 worth of parts, too bad it doesn't involve an Arduino though...")

Arduinos are pretty simple to program, and with data logging or ethernet shields, you can "control" the device over the network or perform data analysis off-device with a higher level language.