Well, I'm trying to conquer several fundamental concepts. I'm a computer programmer who's interested in applying my skills to digital electronics. The trainer I have is kindof boring to me in that I can't make anything real practical with it. It's excellent for software development though.

I'd like to start with something that does very simple data processing like reading inputs from switches and outputting values to LED displays, as well as serial data communications.

Once I get that type of stuff working, I want to progress to controlling stepper motors -- something I have absolutely no experience with.

Once I feel comfortable with making circuits that do both of those things, I'm interested in interfacing them with specialized components like LCD displays, MP3 chips, FD controllers, USB and Ethernet.

-Alan