The Arduino Uno Clone is an easy to use, open source controller.
The Arduino Uno Clone is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started.
Download the Arduino IDE from Arduino website and select Arduino UNO from Tools > Board menu and get started.

Tech Specs:
Microcontroller - ATmega328P
Operating Voltage - 5V
Input Voltage (recommended) - 7-12V
Digital I/O Pins - 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)
Analog Input Pins - 6
DC Current per I/O Pin - 40 mA
DC Current for 3.3V Pin - 50 mA
Flash Memory - 32 KB (ATmega328) of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader
SRAM - 2 KB (ATmega328)
EEPROM - 1 KB (ATmega328)
Clock Speed - 16 MHz
USB Interface Chip: ATMEGA16U2