Andres Tarzia wrote:
> 

> - You can't just compare PARTS, FEATURES and PRICES.
> because:
> . Does the competition have the excellent and extensive documentation that
> Microchip has?
> . Does the competition (either the manufacturers themselves or the
> third-party industries or hobbyists) have readily available do-it-yourself
> less-than-$5 programmers with free software for their parts?
I saw a programmer this week for the AVR with zero components. 
It goes straight from your printer port into the chip. (Did I 
mention you only need 5V to program an AVR?)
There is also freeware programming software.

> . Does they give the development tools (Assemblers, Compilers...) away or do
> they charge for them?
I think they have pretty much the same attitude that most 
of the vedors have. If it could be worth their whiles, they'd 
make a plan.

> . Does the competition offer you In-Circuit-Programming?
Yes. In circuit serial programming.

> . Do they have very-low-pin-count parts? (A lot of projects just doesn't
> need 40pin monster chips)
The AVRs were designed to have similar pin counts than the PICs. 
>From the TinyAVR (8 pin, 2k flash, int osc etc), to the AT90LS8535 
(targetting the 16F877 market).

> . Does the competition offer you that many different package choices?
Identical to Microchip.

> . Does they offer such a low consumption at the same performance level?
I don't know for sure. Maybe someone else does?

> . Does the competition distribution channels sell you low-volume? Can you
> buy just 1 or 2 parts AT THE SAME PRICE?
We buy them from the same people that sell PICs. No-one will give 
you onesies at the price of 10000 pieces.

> . Does them even STOCK the parts? That is, can you walk into a store and get
> out of it with the chips in your bag? (Yes, we "have" it Sir, we'll send it
> to you in 4~6 weeks...)
The stocking program seems to be the same (it is them same people who 
sell PICs).

> . Are they available world-wide? (You know, not all of us live in the
> States)
Hey! Neither do I! We can get hold of them here at the southern tip 
of Africa with no problem.

> Now I have to say that I am not biased on Microchip. I just happen to like
> them a lot. Now if you tell me that I can get, not only the chip, but the
> whole development tools, availability, etc., for a lower price, then it is
> time for a change...
I haven't yet discovered all the tools. There is a freeware development 
IDE similar to MPLAB, but I haven't tried it yet. I *have* seen the E-Lab 
environment however, and I love it! It is abolutely incredible. It is 
a whole IDE with application wizards, compilers etc. 

To get started on a project, you tell the wizard what will be in it, and 
it creates C-code for you to build on. It draws in the correct libraries, 
initialises the variables, the whole lot. To use an analogue input, LCD, 
serial comms etc, will take you less than hour to get going. You can even 
choose whether you want threaded tasks or not. It costs around US$400.

> Thank you all for an excellent and healthy discussion here!
I share that sentiment.  

-- 
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