Microcontrollers come in all sorts and sizes, and it’s very tempting to use them every-where, even for very simple tasks. Tiny, inex-pensive microcontrollers especially suited to very simple tasks, such as the Microchip PIC10F2xx family, are also available. Thanks to their compact size and their ability to source or sink 25 mA on their I/O pins, these miniature microcontrollers are a good choice for driving LEDs directly in miniature lighting effect devices. They can also operate from a 2-V supply voltage, which allows them to be powered directly by batteries (such a button cells). However, their small dimensions have a few drawbacks, especially for developing prototypes. The first drawback is that the IC leads are so small that soldering is not easy, and the lead pitch makes them difficult to use with a breadboard or perforated proto-typing board. Another problem is that they can only be programmed in-system, which means that you always need an extra header for p...