compact design (same exact form factor as 2x16 display)
scratchpad proto hole area (plated thru .1-spaced holes)
realtime clock chip (ds1302) with supercap backup
high quality double layer ground-planed pc board
6pin header for FTDI serial/usb cable
breakout pads for all the digital and analog ard. pins
power and pin-13 leds
reset switch
pin assignment and headers for IR-remote sensor
pin also assigned for pwm-based lcd backlight
contrast pot for lcd onboard
we expect to get our first samples in about a week. I've also ordered all the parts for these (to build about 20 of them) and am planning on doing a small beta-test run with full and partial kits (including board-only kits).
like, for loading bootloaders? for regular programming, I just use the $20 ftdi cable (lady ada sources it, etc). I find that works well and is pretty easy and cheap enough for most users. I'd like to encourage users to not just buy 'programmed chips' but be able to update their code and customize it (part of the reason I went with arduino).
the board is pretty cram packed with stuff, but there's always the proto holes (aka, 'scratchpad') area which you're free to install a 6pin ISP header there and wire-wrap connect it (I like using kynar wire for stuff like this) to the ard pins.
yes, sample code is already here (needs some cleanup but the demo does init the lcd display, talk to the RTC chip and run a digital HH:MM:SS clock demo
