I can see 2 upsides to it. 1. Since the board works stand-alone, you could pull it out of the system and debug it without special tools. 2. Using an off the shelf part solves a supply chain problem.

The lower storage space and RAM doesn’t mean the ’85 is a slouch, though; it can run Arduino code without a hitch, providing six pins for whatever small project you have in mind.

Most of the technology world is familiar with open source software and the reasons why, in some eyes, it's more appealing than proprietary software. When software's source code is available for ...