>>   But runfei website is having some problem.
>
>  Try to call them. Maybe they forget to pay the bill. But maybe they
>  go bust.

I hope they can be still around.  They have been updating the software
for free for the last few years.

>  >From the Wellem website, I think it is not great after all. And
>  the support for PIC is even worse and it seems to rely on
>  WinPIC800 (closed source, non-free firmware now).

Not really focusing on PIC squarely.  Guess most here probably have
different kind of PIC programmers by now.

>  How many programmable device are you using? It seems to me
>  it is too costly to support a good universal programmer for an
>  indivisual or a small company. And now for new MCUs, the
>  vendors will tend to provide a good and relatively cheap
>  programmer.

For the stated purpose I cannot tell what device I shall meet.  Just
recently, Runfei has been versatile, let me reprogramed the 93C56
inside the Canon print head and recovered some of them.  As you know,
price of 1 Ink head = 1 printer.

Now I have a need to do some 28F008 flash from Intel.

Previously I checked, Willem was totally not usable.  While my
programmers and manufacturers are slowly dying out, my impression is
Willem programmer is growing stronger.  Neither am I religious about
the purity of the open-source concept, but having a little openness
here seem to be helpful in keeping this type of tool alive longer.

Cheers, Ling SM
-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist