> Points 5 and 6 are relatively minor, but I think points 1-4 are
> overwhelmingly conclusive.

They are, but only if you want to do 'serious' programming work
(translate: use more than a few PIC chips). If not: why not buy them
with a bootloader, or have someone put one in for you? And a bootloader
will not set protection bits because it can't (at least on 16f chips).

Wouter van Ooijen
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Van Ooijen Technische Informatica: www.voti.nl
consultancy, development, PICmicro products

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