Oaks, I am sorry to hear about the original Arduino team that have fallen apart, but from my perspective, I really don't care about the politics behind it.
For all of you: Thank you for the creation of such an excellent development platform.
Although I am very technical, I had no experience from electronic hardware design and Arduino enabled me to make electronic things work that previously I had to ask help from my guru electronic friends.
BTW: They are thrilled that I have introduced them to Arduino. They say it cut their developing time dramatically.
In short: Arduino have made it much easier even for seasoned old-school guys.
I am a mechanical Engineer and we are very dependant on electronic controls. But it cost us dearly. Now I can make my own.
Electronics is awesome! (especially if you understand mechanics)