--------------------------------------------------
From: "Michael Watterson" <mike@radioway.org>

> I don't believe (1) or (3). That adds too much cost :-)

It doesn't sound too unlikely to me - if by adding a bit of component cost 
they can make sure people have to use their power supply then I think most 
would go for it. The situation with laptop batteries is similar - I had to 
hack one a while back as it had a lifespan set by the on board chip which 
had expired, but the cells were still okay. Why make a battery that lives a 
long time and has easily replaceable cells when you can do otherwise and 
charge people half the cost of a new laptop for replacements? :-)

On a side note, whilst hacking the battery, I made use of this app note from 
microchip on SMBus etc - quite useful:

http://www.microchip.com/stellent/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=1824&appnote=en011076 


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