Stepper motor control using arduino

hi,
im farily new to this concept but i would like to gather raw information regards to what components would i need in order to do this project. It is my understanding that arduino is very compatible and open source. i worked with arduino mega1280 in the past to design autonomous flight control.

i have seen this website but i am unable to figure out all the components for it. Also, the diagram on the breadboard isn't very clear. Anyone who's had a good experience doing this? success perhaps?
any suggestions?

http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/MotorKnob the scheme third from the bottom should help