I found the "getting started with Launchpad" material from TI also very helpful: http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Getting_Started_with_the_MSP430_LaunchP

I found the "getting started with Launchpad" material from TI also very helpful: http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Getting_Started_with_the_MSP430_LaunchPad_Workshop http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Getting_Started_with... - it is a bit of PR for TI products, but yet much is valid for other platforms too.