[dorkbotpdx-blabber] Going Over to the Dark Side

[dave madden]

I just discovered that you can build GCC for many Atmel processors (and
I succeeded in doing so), so I'm thinking it might be time to dip a toe
in that murky pool.  What's the cheapest way to get an AVR processor
that can be bare-metal programmed via serial or USB (or JTAG, if no
simpler options exist)?  (I'm asking as someone who's been spoiled by
Luminary and NXP ARM boards with a USB-Serial converter built in: I plug
in one cable and can download / flash code, then reset and talk to the
program over the same connection.)

And an extra bonus question: is there a Digikey order going out this
Monday for delivery on the 13th?

Thanks,
d.