
Where to begin with Arduino - nycsfnack
http://g33ktalk.com/?p=25
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shantanubala
Arduino isn't just for hobbyists at this point -- it's already had a huge
impact on the research world. I do HCI research, and making prototypes of
interfaces and devices takes a few weeks instead of months.

It allows you to iterate on hardware much faster -- it's a lot like what Rails
did to web development.

It also greatly reduces the amount of documentation I'd need to do for a
project, because C code with Arduino is much more intuitive than many
alternatives (no need to manually set registers and mess with a lot of low-
level microcontroller quirks).

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petesoder
This is exactly what blew me away during my trip to China. The collision of
quickly prototyping hardware using Arduino with the manufacturing muscle of
China is fascinating. One interesting company to check out is
<http://makible.com>.

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gravitronic
I started using microprocessors before Arduino was popular and found there is
a large learning curve to jump from software -> microprocessors involving the
programmer, building the supporting circuitry (power supply, oscillator,
programmer), etc.

While that's still my preferred method for anything I design, the Arduino
(like any all-in-one dev board for the platform) is great for testing fast
solutions in the time it'd take me just to find all the parts for my generic
AVR programming kit.

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miahi
I started playing with Arduino just a few weeks ago. I have many other
kits/demo boards, mostly for PIC and ARM UCs, and while it's not that
powerful, Arduino is the best for fast and simple solutions. It's nice to have
the power of an ARM core or PIC32 @80MHz in a small device, but it gets less
interesting when you have to program for half an hour just to get a C++
environment for your application.

The best thing is that Arduino brings together two worlds of tinkerers: the
hardware/electronics guys now have a lot of software libraries available for
free (drivers for a lot of hardware, filesystems), and the
software/programming guys now have easy to use hardware modules, so they don't
have to think too much about what kind of resistor this LED needs or how can I
get a 3.3V supply for that GPS chip.

~~~
chronomex
I like to call Arduino "electronics duct tape".

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mikehuffman
Arduino's own "getting started" page is probably a good start[1] Lady Ada has
a starter kit[2] and beginner tutorials[3] Sparkfun has an "inventor's kit"
with teacher/student resources[4] [1]<http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage>
[2]<http://www.adafruit.com/products/68>
[3]<http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/>
[4]<http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10173>

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nodata
A starter kit is a good place to start.

Edit: ARDX is supposed to be good [http://www.oomlout.co.uk/starter-kit-for-
arduino-ardx-p-183....](http://www.oomlout.co.uk/starter-kit-for-arduino-
ardx-p-183.html)

~~~
microtherion
Yes, I got myself the SparkFun branded version
<http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10173> for Christmas, and it's a blast. Very
easy to get started, and yet, compared to the inventor kits of my childhood,
much more versatile because of all the third party hardware that is made for
Arduino or can be made to work for it, and because an open source community
has developed around it.

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petesoder
Good links, thanks all. I ended up buying the 'Getting Started with Arduino'
book ([https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/order-
history?opt=ab&searc...](https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/order-
history?opt=ab&search=arduino)) and there's also a parts package for the
exercises you can buy to keep things simple -
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HL44MI/ref=wms_ohs_prod...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HL44MI/ref=wms_ohs_product)

~~~
petesoder
My bad on the first link, should be
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449309879/ref=wms_ohs_prod...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449309879/ref=wms_ohs_product)

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wickchuck
I also noticed a book a while back on the pragprog blog about Arduino.
<http://pragprog.com/book/mrhome/programming-your-home> I think I'm going to
check this out once it's complete.

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georgieporgie
This video gets into exactly what I want to know: how can I turn my Arduino-
based prototype into a commercial product? The video is really light on
details, though.

Has anyone here done this?

I've got one prototype completed, and two others I'm working on.
Unfortunately, I'm a programmer type, with very little knowledge of
electronics, circuit design, and electronics production. Also, I just ordered
a couple TI MSP430 LaunchPads to see if they're capable of doing what I've
done with the Arduino, since the MSP430 looks like a much cheaper option.

