Which IDE, latest doesn't appear to be able to program my ProMini

Development Tools IDE 1.x
1

I'm new to Linux and Arduino, so may be setting stuff up incorrectly.

I have the ubiquitous 'starter' Uno, and a few 3.3v 8M Pro Mini for embedding permanently in projects, using a USB/Serial dongle for connection, and am running Linux Mint, with a choice of 1.0.5 and 1.7.4 IDEs. I am only programming via the serial bootloader at the moment, I'd like to avoid ISP if possible, these two boards should be able to meet my needs with bootloading.

Mint appeared to already have 1.0.5 installed, and I ran with that successfully for a while, until being prompted to download the latest and greatest. I downloaded the .xz from arduino.org and extracted it to a directory structure. One file at the top level of the structure was a shell script arduino, which on running seemed to launch the IDE. I had expected it to install something. It appears to stand completely seperately to the 1.0.5 version.

? Is this the right way to install/run it?

The main difference between the IDEs seems to be that 1.0.5 has a choice of 8MHz and 16MHz Pro Minis on the tools>boards menu, but 1.7.4 only has a single entry for Pro Mini. I can bootload from 1.0.5 having selected the 8MHz version, but cannot bootload from 1.7.4.

? Does 1.7.4 have another way to select the right speed for the Pro Mini?
? Can it be added to the menu?
? What advantages does 1.7.4 have over 1.0.5, my use is pretty basic at the moment?

I don't want to use 1.0.5 if 1.7.4 has fixed a load of issues that will trip me up later.

2

1.7.4? There is no such IDE. Latest arduino IDE is 1.6.5, released yesterday and available here http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

3

1.7.4 is probably arduino.org, they have released higher version numbers.

4

OK, downloaded 1.6.5, and found the tools>processor menu which selects voltage/speed for the Pro Mini. Then went back to 1.7.4 and it's got it as well. So that answers my question 'does 1.7.4 have another way to select the right speed?'

I notice the 1.6.5 version comes with install and run scripts, whereas 1.7.4 only has a run script.

Now the which IDE question is asked again.

? 1.7.4 from .org, or 1.6.5 from .cc, what are the differences, what should one use, what would be best for a near total noob to start/learn on ?

5

NeilUK this is forum.arduino.cc. Obvious answer is: use 1.6.5 from arduino.cc. If you're interested in why the two, you should read this article [1] and read the comments in this issue [2]

[1] http://makezine.com/2015/03/19/massimo-banzi-fighting-for-arduino/
[2] https://github.com/arduino-org/Arduino/issues/2

6

OK, thanks, I'd missed that bit of background, a pity when good times go bad. I'll stick to .cc