Sorry if this is a dupe, but I don't think my posts are hitting the list.

I ordered my LaunchPad kit the day after release (was pretty much slashdot'ed the day of).  The ordering web site listed is as back ordered until late September (IIRC?).  To my surprise, Fedex showed up today with a priority overnight package with a very clean little dev board.

I was expecting a long wait so haven't looked into the LaunchPad much yet.  Visual inspection shows a neat, well labeled PCB.  Vias for all the uCs pins are available and 2x 10 pin headers (male and female) are included but not soldered, presumably so you can choose to mount them on the top or bottom of the PCB.  Headers are far enough apart that it is too wide for a standard 830 point solderless breadboard, but if you have a setup with two or more next to each other, it would be possible to mount the PCB directly on it.  2x buttons, 3x LEDs.  Removable uC can be easily isolated from the programmer/USB side via jumpers.

Sch, BOM, and gerber files are on the wiki: http://www.ti.com/launchpadwiki

I've experimented with the "MSP430 on a USB stick" solution a while back but didn't develop much of an interest.

The MSP430 Value Line is $.34 - $.52 per 1k, FWIW.

Once I've finished downloading the IDE and playing around a bit, I can report back if anyone is interested.  First impression is that it is good to see a company embrace the "Arduino movement" for lack of a better term.

* Edit:  Downloaded the IAR Workbench IDE.  I must say that I like MPLAB better, but that's probably due to some familiarity vs. any other good reason.  Tried downloading CCS five times to no avail.  Demo program from the wiki was written to CSS and won't compile in IAR without a few changes.  

IAR crashes unless Project -> Options -> General Options reflects the proper device.  No notice that the wrong device is selected; just locks up.  Once set properly, debugging is nice.  Uses Step Over/In/Out, Next, Run to Cursor, Go.  Microchip could learn something from the Disassembly window which is very nice.

Running WinXP in Parallels on OS X 10.6 without problems.  (Same set up I use for PIC dev w/ ICD2).  

Happy to answer any specific questions.

Regards,
Nate


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