Velleman Kit VM111 was picked as the development platform for several reasons:
- Low Cost ($56.95 Assembled + $10.00 Shipping)
- Support for 4 different sizes of PICS ( 8,14,18,28)
- Builtin 4Mhz xtal, 4 Buttons, 6 LEDS, Reset
- Free Software and Manual
- PIC included ( 16F627 )
Google link to retailers and the place where I ordered my VM111 from.