Do you need a microcontroller for a project (maybe, ahem, our Mood Cube project?) but case space is at a premium? Well, fret no more. The Really Bare Bones Board (RBBB) Freeduino PCB is the perfect fit.

If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to experiment with Parallax’s Propeller microcontroller, then opportunity is knocking at your door. A current sale price has reduced the Parallax PropSTICK Kit to $50.

In Parallax parlance, a Propeller processor is called a cog. Each Propeller contains eight 32-bit cogs. Revolving around a central “hub,” these eight cogs can operate simultaneously or independently at speeds up to 20 MIPS per cog. This central hub concept contributes to the processor’s name: Propeller.

If your DIY tinkering tends to lean toward the programming side, there's a good chance you're familiar with AVR microcontrollers. There's also a good chance that you may have been confused when, right out of nowhere, Atmel (the company who designed the AVR family) changed the AVR in-system programming (ISP) interface from 10 pins to 6 pins. Even worse, Atmel’s terrific USB ISP programmer, the AVRISP mkII uses only the modern 6-pin interface. No legacy support for your older AVR-related hardware here, folks. So what’s a poor budding AVR programmer to do?