The mikroLab for AVR XL covers both low and high pin-count AVR MCUs. It contains two development boards (EasyAVR v7 and BigAVR6), a mikroC for AVR compiler license, some additional accessories, and a free VisualGLCD license.
The AVR was invented by two Norwegian students, Alf-Egil Bogen and Vegard Wollan. Their intention was to create an architecture that could efficiently execute programs written in C. Atmel acquired the IP and hired the students, introducing first AVR MCUs in 1997 with great success. By 2003, they had already shipped 500 million units. Today the architechture is well known and widespread, and it's popularity is in no small measure boosted by the existence of Arduino.
