Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software.

While you need not be a Real Engineer to build a project around an Arduino, being a Real Programmer can sometime pose serious problems. Ed will explain why that's so, starting with Arduino's historical background and the crucial differences between a microcontroller and a PC.

The Arduino universe includes a wide variety of add-on boards that provide functions ranging from pushbuttons to LCD panels to Ethernet interfaces. You may not need much solder to produce a useful (or at least amusing) project of your very own.

Ed will bring along some Show-n-Tell projects that appeared in his Circuit Cellar column, so you can see Arduino boards in their native habitat.

This meeting will be streamed live on ustream on the MHVLUG channel for those members of our community that can't attend the meetings directly.

Lightning Talks

• TED 5000 - Sean Dague
• Squidwrench - Sean Swehla