I second getting the TI Launchpad. Great and super-cheap piece of kit With Energia (http://energia.nu/ http://energia.nu/) you can even use your Arduino sketche

I second getting the TI Launchpad. Great and super-cheap piece of kit With Energia (http://energia.nu/ http://energia.nu/) you can even use your Arduino sketches and run them on MSP430 Launchpad!