What you need for this book
This book contains several independent projects that use various software packages and hardware components. All the software is open source, and installation instructions are given throughout the chapter. A list of all the necessary hardware is maintained as a SparkFun Electronics wish list at https://www.sparkfun.com/wish_lists/93119. Each chapter will list the required components for that project, so it's best to first read the chapter and then collect the necessary hardware.