Lynn Richardson wrote:
>
> I agree, Chaipi. I have invested in both the 16B and 16C and do NOT want
> to be forced to use the Plus (which would be better named the 'Minus')
> for their new parts.
>
> I purchased the Plus last summer so as to have one programmer for all the
> Microchip MCUs.  What they didn't state in the specifications was that it
> REQUIRES Windows and that it has major problems with Windows 95.
<snip..>
> My project resulted in the purchase of 10000 PIC16C71s and I think
> that rates me an answer.
<remainder deleted..>

Dear Lynn:

I'm not sure what the problem getting an answer is, but I do know that I
don't seem to have this problem with Microchip or any other
manufacturer. You do have to learn how to be patient, clear in your
intentions, and persistent. Most of the successful (that is,
experienced) engineers and designers I know have gotten the trick of
being good on the phone.

I use the Plus programmer under Win95 on several different machines and
have had no problems whatsoever. All of the other users I personally
know have had the same experience. There is nothing wrong with Win95
from the standpoint of comparison to Dos or Win3.11; they all suffer
from infant development syndrome (in comparison to real operating
systems such as DEC's or IBM's stuff). Bill Gates is working his way
toward the state of the art of 15 years ago for the underlying
architecture and implementation. Nevertheless, there are compelling
reasons to use Win95 on your machines if possible.

As far as using 10000 pieces, I assume that you are either having these
programmed by the vendor or you plan to buy a production quality
programmer in the future. None of the development tools are recommended
for production use.

We use PIC processors 10 at a time and Microchip's attitude has been
that Time Tech rates a prompt answer to engineering questions. I'm sure
they'll extend the same respect to you.

-- Tom Rogers  VP-R&D  Time Tech Inc.