Great info and thoughts, thanks!
I looked at the Lantronix stuff - I wish they made a board that would give me the Ethernet/UDP/OSC functionality via USB.
Right now I am leaning towards Freeduino/Arduino and meanwhile will wait for the technology to catch up. I agree with your point that there is (currently) a larger community for Arduino. Perhaps someone more qualified will solve this so I don't have to.
PS: I just picked up the new Tom Igoe book at Maker Faire Austin and it looks really great! A lot of stuff I've had to figure out on my own these last few months is all right there in b&w.