For $50 or so, you can get an Arduino kit with breadboard and some components including transducers, to get actual hand on experience that you just can't get fr

For $50 or so, you can get an Arduino kit with breadboard and some components including transducers, to get actual hand on experience that you just can't get from books. The Arduino doesn't run Linux, you're much closer to the hardware, which is important to your goal. It's especially important to understand interrupts and how to use them.