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What about the Arduino (open source hardware) or others based off it (Boarduino [I'm getting one of these], Freeduino, etc.)?

I think that for general purpose gadget-making, an Arduino board (http://www.arduino.cc/) is more versatile. They're commonly used by artists for the straightforward input-output commands but I'm sure that someone clever enough could make some killer projects. Also, it's a helluva lot cheaper and fully open source.

http://www.arduino.cc/ does something like what you describe and is very inexpensive

I haven't looked at Parallax for a while, but the Atmel chips seem like a better alternative. If you want the convenience of a Stamp, take a look at Arduino. Open source, based on an Atmel, and fairly cheap.

Check out the Arduino board.
http://www.arduino.cc/
It is completely open source and talks to a computer via usb. It is designed as a multimedia interface. There are lots of tutorials that tell how to connect almost anything to it. There are connections to all kinds of web enabled and multimedia programs.

If you want ethernet connectivity, check out the Make controller.
http://www.makingthings.com/products/KIT-MAKE-CTRL /
It isn't quite as easy to deal with as the Arduino but it does have ethernet and has all the other advantages of the Arduino.

I am Madrid-based and so is my friend, so his material is in Spanish.

He wrote an Arduino guide for teachers (Spanish) of high-school (I think it is for 13 and 14 year-olds), which you can also download in a big zipfile of doom.

His personal site is karamaku.info, any new develpment from him should appear there.

If you really wanna dive into AVR programming, you could also check out the Arduino.

It uses an AVR for the controller and doesn't require a PIC programmer, connects over USB to the computer, has support for Windows, Linux and OSX, and comes ready for working when you get it. The only part that is kinda limiting to people unfamiliar with programming is that it uses C++ as the language, but has a very simple instruction set, so the learning curve may be slightly steep for beginner programmers.

I own an arduino http://www.arduino.cc/ it is a development board based on the AVR. The AVR has a boot loader and interact with the computer over USB. The IDE is a c++-like language, but it hides all the obscure stuff, you define the pins, and use them. Very easy and simple to use.

As much as I love the open source Arduino board for my own personal use, and even though the basic STAMP is raher expensive (even with the education discount), Parallax has an extremely thourough set of documentation that is perfect for an educational environment. They have a fee book available for download called "What is a Microcontroller" that should fit all your needs. It contains a series of predesigned lessons that assume no technical experience for your students. All your lesson plans are done for you.

Yesss!!! The Art of Electronics is all you need to start with, in fact is "All You Need" (r). From there on just play yourself, experiment, read, burn capacitors, have fun!.

There are tons of more or less detailed projects in internet, ask Mr. Google

For a starter's microprocessor kit, I'll go fo Arduino it's cheap (22 euros plus shipping), all included (no need for a programer), and it's Open Source (well, that's slashdot, what else could you expect?;-).

If you're after audio look into DIY Audio & Video the cricket amp is a good starter project, and sounds nice (provided you do have an electric guitar). Or may be you prefer to assemble your own mp3 player or this other .

If you're after radio applications, ARRL is your place to go.

If you like robotics, the list is endless, try Kronos Robotics, DIY robotics (in UK), BEAM walkers , etc.

And for lots of ideas,as well of lot's of references, read Make , or just keep reading slashdot ;).

Another possibility is the atMega8 based Arduino platform. It's open source, and uses an ATMega8 with a bootloader already installed, so you can easily put programs on it over the USB interface. Plus the entire kit is cheap (~$30 USD), so you could conceivably wire the board into a one-off project. Or, if you choose, pull the actual IC out and put it in a circuit with the necessary support hardware - for a lot less than the $30 for the full kit. Looks like fun stuff.

Disclaimer, I've never seen one of these in person (although I will have by the end of this week). My last microcontroller work was with the PIC. I think I'm more impressed overall with the PIC's abilities vs. price in projects where you'd end up buying just the chip and putting it in the circuit. The PIC line just has a wide range of chips with a lot of capability, ranging from the dirt cheap to the expensive. However, for picking up a mcu and playing around with schematics/software, the Arduino platform looks intriguing. Looks like it would be good for rapid prototyping where you need to get the circuit figured out and the software isn't the most important part, too.

Arduino

Did I mention it's all Open Source?

For example, what is Intel (primarily a hardware manufacturer) doing on that list?

Because projects like Arduino show that Open Source can also work on the hardware side of business.

• USB Bit Whacker
• Arduino
• (you can buy the above two from SparkFun if you don't feel like DIY)
• LabJack
• various FTDI-based devices from many companies