Hello,

I've just signed up. I'm beginning to become fairly interested in electronics. I'm currently a CS student, but I would like to learn more about hardware in my free time. I want to learn how to design circuits and create some neat things to interface to my PC.

So, could anyone recommend books, magazines, websites, or some other types of reference materials for a newbie?


EDIT: Ack, I googled a direct link to the forums without checking out the main website. I apologize.

Are there any actual books anyone could recommend though?

 

Hi,

At the risk of making Yoda'ish sounds, everything looks like a number to a computer. The purpose of the interface is to change the real-world stuff into numbers.

There's a real down side to modern computers. They tend to be optimised for running with Microsoft OS's. Said OS is a big resource and hardware hog. The most fun of doing interfaces and their support software some years ago was in being able to do stuff in real time.

Anyway, look into a language that give you direct access to the hardware. As a suggestion for a project, think of doing an interface for some weather equipment. Placing local weather conditions on a web site will generate zillions of hits, and do everyone a service.