My 5cents:
(N.Z. recalled one and two cent pieces some years ago due to inflation)

Microchip is now reaping the benefits of a decent free development S/W
package (MPLAB), ability to be able to program all 40 pin or less parts
on the Picstart +, serial ISP that is easy to write software for and pre
Atmel/Scenix leading edge 8 bit micros.

The easy to write ISP S/W means that thousands of hobby developers
raised their competance level on PIC micros and now find it hard to
change.

As a consequence, Microchip can now adjust their price upwards because
the market has many many PIC applications that would require software
rewriting , PCB revisions and minor hardware changes to take advantage
of the competition's new products.

Microchip may well have had this as a long term goal.   As to the
future, Microchip can put some of their R&D money back into new product,
but must have a clear winner to profit from this.  Compatibility with
the PICSTART+ would help for a new series, but single pin ISP like the
Dallas 1 wire system would be even better.

We've seen a lot of "possible" future product specifications, but
Microchip need to produce something really special at a good entry price
to be able to lead the performance/price market again.

In the mean time many of us are switching to Atmel, and in 2-4 years
time I expect that we will be complaining about Atmel's pricing, which
may suffer precisely the same increases as Atmel achieves a level of
dominance.

regards,
Graham Daniel.

> - microchip parts have some advantage(s) over the others which you don't
> mention?

--
Steam engines may be out of fashion, but when you consider that an
internal combustion engine would require recovery of waste heat by
transfer just before top dead centre then fashion becomes rather
redundant, USE STRATIFIED HEAT EXCHANGERS ! and external combustion.

You heard it first from: Graham Daniel, managing director of Electronic
Product Enhancements.
Phone NZ 04 387 4347, Fax NZ 04 3874348, Cellular NZ 021 954 196.