Embedded Systems/Where To Buy
This page will list some places where the reader can buy some of the hardware discussed in this book. Some of the embedded systems can be purchased for relatively cheap (some PIC microcontrollers will cost 5$ or less), and therefore the reader can purchase them for cheap and play around with them. Some of the embedded computers are relatively expensive, but these ones are very useful for home projects, because larger expensive boards will be more versatile, and will have more gadgets and gizmos to play with.
- JK Microsystems This company has a number of good, solid embedded computers, many of which are i386 compatible. Many of these computers come with DOS preloaded, but an RTOS called "eRTOS" is available for free. Many of these computers come with ethernet extensions, so they can be used to perform simple web-based tasks (IRC bot, or simple web server, for instance).
- Technologic Inc. This company offers many moderate to high-end microprocessors with a number of available add-ons including PCMCIA cards (for things like wireless internet cards). Many of these systems are pre-loaded with a linux distro called "TS-Linux"
- ZWorld This webpage offers a number of embedded systems and development kits. The flagship model is called the "Rabbit Core", and is a very fast and flexible microprocessor. These core units can be incorporated into a number of different "single board computers", for maximum flexibility. RabbitCore processors are programming in a proprietary language called "Dynamic C", which is similar to standard C.
- Rentron This webpage is basically a large catalogue for a number of different components including microcontrollers, microprocessors, transmitters, receivers, encoders, decoders, etc..
- http://www.atmel.com This company sells a large number of different types of components, including ARM chips, an 8051-compatible chip, and a proprietary 8-bit microprocessor called the "Atmel AVR", and a 4-bit microprocessor called the "MARC4". Also sells a number of DSP modules, and controllers.
- Embedded Planet This company offers numerous fully customizable PowerPC, XScale, ARM and MIPS based embedded computers with multiple bootloader and operating system choices.
- YourDuino Shop - Low-cost Arduino-compatible boards, Sensors, Output Devices, Robotics, Electronics Components