Arduino

[1v5E3TCk]

Hi guys,
What do you think about Arduino? What can I do with it? I want to make portable systems like a simple cell-phone or something like that virtual babies( do you know them? ). It is really cheap and looks easy to use but what I need to know about electronic before use it?

[Null]

I want to make portable systems like a simple cell-phone

This shouldn't be hard; you need an arduino and a gsm shield. Then you can control arduino with your computer via serial port.

t is really cheap and looks easy to use but what I need to know about electronic before use it?

You should know about ohm's law, inductance and how basic electronics parts work, such as diodes, transistors, capacitors. Otherwise you might accidentally fry your arduino board or some LEDs.

edit:

I have bought an Arduino uno board some time ago. So far, I have made a simple robot which can be controlled with a tv remote. Later I figured out that I can control my computer with a tv remote

[1v5E3TCk]

thanks for your reply, controling a computer with a tv remote :D it would be nice.

[devonrevenge]

I made a circuit that knows how close I am, I need to program it to say "wow too close man" right now it just out puts a number

[alfathan]

is possible Arduino programmed with C++, or its only programmed with native C?

[S G H]

A fast search shows there's an AVR-G++ related to C++ programming on Arduino.
EDIT:
Here: http://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/avr-gcc
Perhaps this is related?: http://sourceforge.net/projects/winavr/

[N36fSL3A]

What's the difference between this and the Raspberry Pi? I'm deciding which is more useful for what I want to do, as this is considerably cheaper than the RP.

[tath]

@alfathan

is possible Arduino programmed with C++, or its only programmed with native C?

arduino uses simple MCU as any other. You can write program with any languages you find compiler for which is c,c++,vb,java and probably a lot more (search google and atmel site).

All what arduino does i provide ready libraries and standard for peripheral modules. You dont need to know electronics, or target architecture. Just connect module and add lib to the project. Abstraction level is so high that any programmer who never did work with MCUs can create gadgets and stuff.

@Lumpkin
Raspberry Pi is arm11 mcu board with linux distribution. If you want to control you device through linux drivers then it is your way to go. And obviously PI is way more powerful than simple 8/16bit mcu like avr, so it is better for speed demanding applications.

[chrisname]

@Lumpkin
It depends what you want to do with it. The Arduino runs in real-time and has lots of inputs and outputs which means it's suitable for controlling circuitry and suchlike. The Pi is like a very small PC, although it runs on a different architecture. It doesn't have as many I/O pins and, though it can run in real-time, it's not designed for it, so it isn't really suitable for controlling circuitry. However, it is more powerful, so if you want to do more complex computation and you only plan to use peripherals with standard connectors (USB for input, HDMI or S-Video for video and 3.5mm line-in for audio) then you should get the Pi.

However, my recommendation is not to get either. There's a secret third option: the BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black, which is kind of like having both except easier, cheaper and smaller than having both. It has the microcontroller capabilities of the Arduino with the power of the Raspberry Pi. It might even be more powerful. I think its CPU is faster, at least. And I think it has more I/O pins than the Arduino Uno while being more powerful and only slightly more expensive. Plus, since it boots a full Linux distribution, you can write software in whatever language you choose, as long as it has an ARM implementation.

http://beagleboard.org/products/beaglebone%20black