Chapter 1 of Getting Started with Arduino (GSWA) is a very, very brief introduction. Basically, it contains the following:

• The URLs for Processing (processing.org) and Arduino (arduino.cc).
• A slightly tautological definition of interaction design: "Interaction Design is the design of any interactive experience."
• An explanation of the term "physical computing": "[Physical computing] involves the design of interactive objects that can communicate with humans using sensors and actuators controlled by a behavior implemented as software running inside a microcontroller (a small computer on a single chip)."

And so, on to chapter 2!

Completed:

• Getting Started with Arduino, 2e, Ch. 1: Introduction (0 exercises)
• Sketches (i.e., code) can be downloaded from http://db.tt/f6x9Q4NA

Related articles

• An Introduction to the Arduino (makezine.com)
• How To Get Started with Arduino (tested.com)
• The Arduino Basic Connects Chart Is a Handy Reference Guide for All Your Arduino Projects (lifehacker.com)
• Arduino Uno vs BeagleBone vs Raspberry Pi (adafruit.com)