Funny NYPD wrote:
> That's out of the question, you will pay more after this combination.
> What's the purchase for? More profit and revenue.
> Who is going to pay? End users, you and me.
> I am not excited for this marriage at all, less competition means worse 
> product and higher price in the future.

Funny,

Not necessarily. Remember that Microchip's main business is selling silicon. 
To them, the development tools is just something that helps them sell more 
silicon. They already provide MPLAB and several compilers essentially free 
of charge, and I have a feeling they're barely breaking even (or worse) on 
some of their development tools and development boards.

They may choose to provide the compiler for free, thus creating *more* 
competition in the market. Of course, they may also choose to charge more 
for the compiler, but that situation seems unlikely.

Vitaliy 

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