Hello,

Good thing you cut & shrink, makes it easier for me to reply (lol)

> And excellent examples you've given. The only problem that I have with it
is
> that the PICbase isn't usable out of the box. One would have to attach
some
> type of I/O to it in order to use it, which by definition would mean
having
> to purchase something else anyway.

I don't understand the problem you are thinking about.
I think this is just a marketing issue. Promote & sell the Edu1 Board with a
PICbase onboard together 'in a box' as an educational package.Advanced edu
boards could be sold seperately for example. Similar for a development
'package' which could be anything you ppl can think of, plus a PICbase
plugged in. But don't forget to make the PICbases available seperately so
ppl can put it in their own stuff.

> > If its cheap enough you can put a whole bunch of stuff on 1 board.
> I'm hearing the litany of "keep it cheap". I have one of the cheapest
> programmers around as it's really nothing more than a glorified cable.
> But I really feel that it may be an instance of "penny wise, pound
foolish".
> That by keeping the focus on cheap, that it strips the target of the very
> features that makes it useful, valuable, and more importantly supportable.

Ofcourse you are right here, I should have said, "keep it affordable",
atleast the PICbases then, the stuff you put on the other boards should
ofcourse have enough features to learn the stuff in a decent manner.
But for a newbie who isn't even sure he's going all the way, it DOES matter.
To give an example how one could/would seek affordability:

What do you think a newbie/hobbiest is gonna buy if he would have the
following choices:
(just an example, wild guessing on numbers here)

Any combination of the following:
70$ for EDU1 including a PICbase.
20$ for an LCD
30$ for EDU2
40$ for EDU3
60$ for EDU4 (the stuff gets more advanced, so price goes up I think)
10$ for a PCB template on which fits a PICbase (not included)
15$ for a PICbase

OR

220$ for a complete training package ? (70+20+30+40+60)

OR

130$ for a semi-full training package for which you have to find, order &
solder(in a way that it works :) stuff on to make it complete.

I think I know what I would pick ;-D (& ofcourse you also know what *I*
would pick hehe)

> I'm going to go off and do a retail cost analysis of Geert's level1+LCD,
which
> I believe is about the right I/O device point for the PICbase.
> I need to split this message. So I'll pick up the rest in another post.

good idea :)

best regards all :)

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