Hi - I agree with all the following. It is the combination of a free,=20 good IDE with low-cost, open-source hardware, and more interest in=20 DIY/art+tech in general in the last 5 years. When one teaches a=20 "physical computing" class, you definitely don't want to pay per-seat=20 for a C or basic compiler. Your students don't want to buy it either in=20 order to be able to work at home. Forget it. I think arduino succeeded in spite of Atmel, and certainly not because=20 of Atmel. There is a surface-mount version of arduino because Atmel did=20 not have a DIP version of the microcontroller for more than 6 months. I=20 will never use Atmel if I have a choice for this reason and other=20 specific problems I've had with their documentation and tools. They=20 sold fabs in the downturn while microchip held steady (or better) and TI=20 invested. The reason Atmel was used ... the port of GCC to the AVR architecture=20 way back when. If the PIC had a good, free C compiler in 2003 the story=20 might have been different. So that was the critical free tool that was=20 made more user-friendly over time by phys computing instructors etc.=20 etc. and once there are some student projects documented they become the=20 basis of next year's class projects etc. etc. and it snowballs to become=20 the way it is done. I'm looking forward to the next generation, however that may shake out,=20 there are some ARM and PIC32 contenders but nothing solid. There are so=20 many things that a little 8-bitter @ 20 MIPS or whatever can do that I=20 think it will be awhile. In a world of poor students and hobbyists=20 spending "just for fun" money adding $15 to the cost of the main board=20 may be a showstopper. I predict ... an ARM in the 150Mhz range (M4 with=20 floating point hardware) and not for 3 years or more. It will almost=20 have to be a DIP package (which may never happen) because everyone wants=20 at least the option to solder up their own arduinos and for newbies SMT=20 is No Way. If some great stuff can be shown with the M4 supercharged=20 arduino that is clearly impossible on the AVR version it may tip the=20 which-should-I-buy balance and it would take off. As ever ... success due to low cost, widespread=20 availability/accessibility, and much increased demand by a market that=20 didn't really exist 10 years ago. Microchip lost because of the lack of=20 a C compiler, the Basic stamp because of a closed system and cost.=20 There's no way they could compete. The next generation of my LED products will be "arduino compatible",=20 meaning some example code and wiring on how to make the customer's=20 arduino run something that runs my stuff. Interesting times... J Dwayne Reid wrote: > At 01:53 AM 11/17/2011, jana1972@centrum.cz wrote: >> Hi, >> Can anyone explain, why Arduino became so popular? >> I think there are many similar products these days >> >> Was Arduino the first such product at the market? > > Nope - Basic Stamp from Parallax was probably the first. But: its > Basic interpreter is completely closed-source and the modules were > (and still are) relatively expensive. Thus was born the PIC Basic > Compiler from Melabs, soon followed by the PIC Basic Pro > compiler. That, in turn, led the way to other low-cost compilers > from Swordfish, Mikro Electronika, Forrest Electronics, etc. > > >> Did it have a good support? > > Yes - the Parallax Basic Stamp had (and still has) exceptional > support. So do the other PIC-type compilers out there. > > >> Was it easy tu use? > > Yep - the Stamp is even easier to use than Arduino. > > >> Or was there a good support from ATMEL :-) . > > No - I've regularly heard that Atmel didn't support the Arduino > community much at all in the early days. I don't know if its gotten > any better now that Arduino is in the mainstream. > > >> I heard that there was good free C++ cross compiler and the >> Microchip's good compiler cost a fortune > > My guess as to why the Arduino has become so popular is the > combination of three things: > > 1) A good bootloader > > 2) A competent compiler that is available for use at zero cost. > > 3) Someone who had the vision to combine (1) and (2) above into a > hobbyist-friendly package such that ordinary people with little > electronics or computer skills could still bring their idea to > fruition using the Arduino platform. > > I truly don't think that the Arduino would have become so popular > without either (1) or (2) above. For me, the Arduino is now filling > the place that used to be occupied by the Parallax Basic Stamp. I > *THINK* that's partly because the cost has become so much less than > what a Basic Stamp costs. > > dwayne > --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .