I understood your point on manufacturer need to protect their investment.= I will also do likewise if I am a manufacturer. Unfortunately, in my cou= ntry, poor after-sales-service is still rampant. This even applicable to = big companies !! =20 For eg., my Pocket PC speaker is not working. I called the company to pur= chase a replacement and they refused. They insisted I must send the unit = to them to replace even if I can do it myself. Here comes the knife. Chec= king and Evaluation of the PPC is $49.00. If repair needed, other charges= apply. Fair !? I don't think so. Well, I hope manufacturers can pick up = something from mistakes made by the movie industry. =20 Highly-pirced =3D More pirates or compatibles; Reasonably-priced =3D Less= er pirates or compatibles =20 That's Life, too. Jinx wrote: > I would also like to know how cloning is being done. To me, it > should be okay to backup your investment. There are plenty of references to copying PICs in the archives - it's been covered a million times (well, 4 that I can think of) Basically, if code protect is set, you're screwed, unless you want to devote hours of high- or low-tech effort just TRYING to break in > The problem is, manufacturer deliberately charge a replacement > cost of the MCU to about 30% to 40% of the cost of the equipment. Look at it this way - why does a part need replacing in the first place ? If it's a faulty unit then you should be entitled to a replacement as a swap for the original. If damaged by the user then a replacement fee is fair enough AFAIK micros are not covered by the same (contentious) laws that cover backing up a CD for example. For one thing, copy protection on a CD is nowhere near as secure as a micro's > Hence, you are stuck with them as in, you only have 2 choices. Pay > thru' your nose to get the replacement part or buy a brand new one Unfortunately, yes, you are stuck with those choices. If you were a manufacturer I think you'd adopt the exact same policy. I'm sure we've all had a repair which cannot be completed because of an irreplaceable part or a device that has to be thrown away for a similar reason C'est la vie, or as the French would say "That's life" _______________________________________________ http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist =09 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Discover all that=92s new in My Yahoo! _______________________________________________ http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist