In the end , newbies to pics are going to join the list ,
and STILL ask questions (to which the answers have already
been answered and still available) - "how do I program
the PIC16C84 ?" - which translates to " I wanna get
this hex code for decoding *satellite channels on the
internet , and now I want to get it onto the PIC " ;-)

Now the first thing we will be telling them is to get
the PIC18F1220 ( this is the future we are talking about)
and to remember not to turn of the comparators  (uC ,this
is the future uC). Then we tell them about the $50-100
developement board touted by all PIClisters . But ,they
say , "Iwannagetthepicprogrammed . $50 bucks ? I haven't
googled ("what is this 'search' ? I might google its meaning
later or maybe not") the archives , and hey man , I am sure
I will find that some of them earn $1/day. And this pic
you are saying to get costs just that! But I need to pay
$50 to get a development"- (spelt korrekt ,no?)-"board. I'd
rather pay for for my satelitte."

I fear that we may turn away casual electronics enthusiasts
from PICs if we move that bar of cheap easy reprogrammability
away from them. After all it was the eeprom of the 16c84 that
made it the first choice for begginners , and it was the most
attractive robust microcontroller of its time . Now that it
is relatively unattractive to it's competitors , it must now
start playing easy as it is cheap . ( Micro was a realtime
operator .... ;-)

Just be prepared for $1/day first timers that have satellite
at home won't be prepared to buy a development system , no
matter how good , and that we need to support them to keep
this branch of out hobby (pics) cheap and accessible to them
for our ownselves.

BTW How many of us spend more than a dollar a day on the
hobby part ? Not many , I think .


Another thing I want to mention is that if a $100/$200 picstart+
gets you flashing a led , well so what ? When you spend a week
soldering , and debugging a system of psu/programmer/code that
costs $5 in hardware - and maybe $200 in man hours , Olin -
to get a led to flash - now that feels like an achievement. That
keeps you interested into spending more to get out more . We all
experience instant gratification in some form or other these days
and I am telling you man - that first hurdle - tis sweeter to climb
it from the bottom on your own.

I disclaim all spelling errors! I am still at the first page of
the dictionary I meant to read end to end since New Year 1990 .
This abject/abhorrent/ abominable abeyance has been abbetted by
me skipping to read the last page and I have had to abort as I
had lost all zest/zeal. This instant gratification thing ...

Vis Naicker
P.S. I don't have sat-elite/Playstation at home nor the HEX code.
And yes ,zygote is the last word in the dictionary. I don't know
the parents - I am still at the page 1.

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