I second the arduino + book suggestion. I had a tough time learning how to program, I had trouble motivating myself because all the things I wanted to do were c

I second the arduino + book suggestion. I had a tough time learning how to program, I had trouble motivating myself because all the things I wanted to do were complex, and "Hello World" programs aren't motivating, just letters on a screen... After I got my first Lego Mindstorm robot (13 yrs-old), I got more interested, but it was a pretty limited robot. It wasn't until I started playing Second Life (15-16 yrs old) and learned their scripting language (and even made some money) that I got highly motivated, because I could see things happening and it was quite easy. I would say an Arduino + book would have motivated me even further than SL. I know Wiring (Arduino's programming language, which is pretty similar to C) isn't as pretty as python, but when you are coding for the first time, you don't mind syntax, all you care is being able to finish the challenges you (or someone) set for yourself. EDIT: I don't know any beginner arduino book, but Make magazine and some Make books available in O'Reilly seem to be good resources.