At 02:23 AM 2/27/2003 +1100, you wrote:
>Spehro Pefhany wrote:
> >
> > >Scrubbing numbers (and potting things) is a pathetic, pointless gesture by
> > >manufacturers who don't
> > >understand security. It does not significantly add to the difficulty of
> > >reverse-engineering a
> > >product.
> >
> > I take it as a clear indication that they are small quantity makers and
> their
> > profit margin is too high.
>
>
>I'm reluctant to add more negativity to a piclist
>that seems full of it recently, but isn't this
>attitude a bit arrogant?
>Are you suggesting that "small quantity makers"
>with high profit margins are failing, or somehow
>inferior to the way *you* choose to do it??

I mean they are broadcasting their vulnerability. Not, IMHO, the right
thing to do. Just build a good product and sell it at a reasonable
price for the market size and you don't have to do that sort of thing.
When have you ever seen a well-known company do that?

The anti-copy measures only stop low-grade copiers that don't have
the ability to design the product from scratch. I've had products copied
by basement shops, it really didn't make much difference because I was
on version III by the time they copied version I, and their overall costs
were higher. Only way then to compete is to cut their price, which
means they don't have any future.

The nice thing about microcontrollers such as PICs is that you can embed
special algorithms into the chip, and the product is then often a fair bit
harder to casually copy. If you did the same thing with jellybean chips,
it would be much easier.

>Business empires have been built on small quantity
>products with high profit margins, look at
>Lamborghini etc.

Are you claiming that Lamborghini grinds the part numbers off their
chips to try to prevent people from copying the Diablo in their garage?

;-)

Best regards,

Spehro Pefhany --"it's the network..."            "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

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