Hello. I'm experienced in desktop programming, but am interested in developing some side projects. Specifically I would like to build some simple robots, and possibly some kinetic sculptures. Starting out would be things like reading sensors and controlling motors, moving on to possibly reading inputs from controllers, etc.
In starting to look around at options, the Arduino and the Make Controller both seem to be viable options. I found this thread, which asks the same question: This site, under cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1211086432 (forum wont let me link to it).
But the answer was rather vague in its response that the Make Controller has more capabilities. Beyond the ethernet port, what are the differences between the two kits? I guess the problem is that I'm not knowledgeable enough in electronics to really tell what the differences are going to mean to me as I get going.
Are the differences something that can be addressed with an existing add-on board to the arduino? Is the price difference a wash at that point? Are their processing capabilities similar?
Specifically, if I want to read sensors and control motors, is it significantly more difficult using the arduino?
The make controller is a considerably more powerful CPU than the Arduino (256k flash vs 16k, 64k Ram vs 1k, 32bit vs 8bit, 55MHz vs 16Mhz.) In addition, the "Make Controller Kit" (the $109 version) includes a bunch of functionality (motor drivers, ethernet, op amps, etc) that would push the cost of an Ardunio up pretty close to that $109 mark (or above); so the Make Controller has quite a lot of "bang for the buck."
However, it doesn't look like it scales DOWN very well. Fine pitch SMT components and such mean you can't easily make your own PCB for a stripped-down version that does nothing but blink LEDs, for example; It looks like the "simplest" version of the make controller is the $60 "Make Controller Board" (compare to about $10 for a "Really Bare Bones Board" or about $5 for bare chips for Arduino.)
I haven't used the Make development environment. As an experienced desktop programmer, you may find the intentional simplicity of the Arduino environment unnecessary or even frustrating (though it is easily bypassed.) I daresay that the Make board is not nearly so focused on "beginners" as Arduino; perhaps irrelevant in your case.
I haven't read the makingthings forums; though my initial impression is that it has not achieved the penetration of Arduino, I don't know for sure. It would probably be a worthwhile exercise to read the last couple hundred posts in each set of forums to get a feel for the level of community support that exists; that can be really important when branching out into new areas...