I *know* how to write the applications. I just don't know where to buy the parts/development tools. Sivakumar suggested that I post the types of devices I'm interested in developing to help narrow things down a bit.

I'm hoping that someone could confidently tell me: You need to buy [programmer/software] to program part [partname/number], which is available from [supplier] for [approximate price or range]. You may want to also consider [additional parts]. etc.