From: Aaron Hammett > So if there's anyone out there that isn't going to tell me I need to buy a > $500 C++ assembler and has some advice (even if it's like "you're outta your > mind, you stupid kid" (I'm 23) ) I'm open to suggestion. The best available tools are free. Go to the Microchip site and get MPLAB (assuming you are running a Windows box). While you are there, get the data sheets for the processor you are interested in. There is a short tutorial that comes with the package to get you started. After that, just play around, see what th different instructions do. When you get an idea of the basics, try some simple project. This will force you to see how the various instructions hang together to accomplish what you want. By then, you will have learned more than most colleges ever offer for microcontrollers.