attiny

I mean, just because I can successfully cross compile C code for an attiny doesn't prove that gcc has been successfully ported to run on an attiny.

It's possible to use an ATTiny series chip to sense the reed switches and transmit to the nRF24 board.

No ATtiny or PIC18 ports on the horizon, sorry;-), but PIC24 port exists.

I'd be interested to learn a very simple processor Look at Atmel ATTiny and Microchip PIC10/PIC12 series.

When I built my Lightcube[1], I designed a binary protocol[2] that is easily parsed on the Arduino or even the smaller ATtiny microprocessors.

I remember reading about someone having built an USB business card with some low-cost ATTiny chip that opens Windows Paint and draws some picture there.

I'm not sure if attiny+ftdi really makes sense anymore these days.

I really liked working with Atmega (and AtTiny) hardware.

Of course there is the complexity argument that goes both ways; with attiny+ftdi you need to fiddle with soft-uart and need to design with two chips (with supporting circuitry) instead of one.

> bigger size If you're comparing something like a bare ATTiny to a Raspberry Pi, sure, but the size difference between a standard Arduino and the Pi isn't great.

(only a slight exaggeration) I can't imagine mounting even a simple ATTiny, let alone a quad-flat anything or a bunch of 0603s without a solder mask.

They appear to be using a software USB-serial implementation on an ATtiny; last time I checked that didn't work on some OSes because CDC serial on a USB low-speed device violated the USB spec.

Add yourself an ATtiny MCU [3] for under $1." Black Swift is a newer, tinier single-board computer - for 'a bit more embedded' computing than the Raspberry Pi.

* "I could (and probably should) use an ATtiny for such an application but I only had some ATMega328 in my parts bin." * Prototype plastic things with 3D printing.