> There really are few limitations on what PICs you can program based on the
> programming hardware.  This is generally controlled more by the software.

It could be... But the fact remains that despite the software
supporting the devices, the hardware did not. And believe me, I tried
many things to get them to work.

> considerations.  So in my view, buying a PICkit or ICD2 or whatever, is
> something of a crap shoot, and maybe more risky than buying/building some
> generic programmer.  But the starting out point is often better, and if the
> device you select is relatively new, then the odds are you will have support
> for at least a few years.

The PicKit 2 comes with open source software. I agree that the
database of devices is a little bit dense to figure out, but if I
needed to, I'm sure I can add support for other devices to it as well.
As you said yourself: most of it is in the software, and with the
PicKit 2, the software is easy to change.

Greetings,
Maarten Hofman.

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