I don't have an Arduino board for anything at the moment. I'm using a Pololu Maestro to control a light show that is timed to music. Will the Arduino be able to perform a script that is timed? If so to what accuracy can it do this? I'm looking mostly at the Arduino Uno.
I do recommend the Uno for starting out, as it's smaller, cheaper, and if you fry the MC you can pop it out and pop a new one in easily for a few bucks.