it is:

* firmware library that makes programming a uC a breeze. pinMode, digitalRead, digitalWrite, etc all abstract away the nastiness of manually setting bits in a register.

* software that gives you a drop dead simple build environment and a super easy way to get your actual code onto the board itself. lump the bootloader into this.

* electronics to actually run your code. also packaged nicely so that its easy to use.

i didnt really intend for this board to make it all the way onto MAKE and hackaday, so it doesnt explain exactly what i’m doing, but i’m making the entire package. i have a board designed, 90% of the firmware library ported, the host software compiling 644 code, and now all that remains is to get the bootloader working and you have a fully compatible atmega644 board that you can use with arduino.

Right, but as I understand it, it the compiler just needs to be updated to be able to properly compile for the new chip.

I was really worried about having enough pins, but now that I think I am starting to understand serial registers and I2C, I’m much less worried. The extra memory seems to be a much bigger deal.

Of course, it is often nice to be able to give up on clever and whup out the big hammer.