It really depends on your skill level, knowledge of programming languages and what you want to do with it.
For an absolute beginner, I'd recommend Basic Stamp. If you want something even easier, although not cheap, you may even consider Lego NXT (do not get fooled by it's designation as a toy - it is quite powerful).
PIC may be the cheapest, but I hesitate to recommend it to a beginner. The Harward architecture is quite unusual and is not necessarily easy to understand. Also, there are quite a few things you need to know about PICs before you can use them successfully. If you decide to go this route, get a higher-end PIC and invest in a development kit with ICE as well as a good beginner's book on how to program them.
For an absolute beginner, I'd recommend Basic Stamp. If you want something even easier, although not cheap, you may even consider Lego NXT (do not get fooled by it's designation as a toy - it is quite powerful).
PIC may be the cheapest, but I hesitate to recommend it to a beginner. The Harward architecture is quite unusual and is not necessarily easy to understand. Also, there are quite a few things you need to know about PICs before you can use them successfully. If you decide to go this route, get a higher-end PIC and invest in a development kit with ICE as well as a good beginner's book on how to program them.
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If you are looking as a hobbyist then:
Arduino
Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.
And the great thing when you need help getting started you can look online and there are a million tutorial and projects you can do.
Arduino
Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.
And the great thing when you need help getting started you can look online and there are a million tutorial and projects you can do.
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Geni Pic board. There simple to use and the software comes with them. You can make really simple sounds or make LEDs go off in sequence. We use em all the time in school.