8: My Spark Core

This wasn't too painful. The $40 Core came in a cute box complete with cable and half-size breadboard (neither of which I needed).

Spark's web info is nicely finished and things work almost as smoothly. However, the idea that the Core is "Arduino compatible" is a stretch. First off, the processor is different; it's 4 times faster and has 4 times the memory, but fewer ports. The C Language programming syntax is the same but not the libraries. Also, a C "int" variable is 32 bits, not 16. Non-trivial Arduino sketches will not just plug-and-play. There's no Arduino-like app for my Mac. One programs from their www.spark.io/build web-based interface. Once you get the Core set up with your wifi & Internet (both required) the USB cable is mostly just for power. When you are ready to test a program you click the "flash" button and the source gets uploaded, compiled and downloaded. This takes longer than from the Arduino.app but for the smallish programs one usually writes for a "programmable controller" it's not a big deal.