Back when I played with VDI, I thought I had found a goldmine for pic setup. I was sad to discover they didn't support 16f818 or 16f676. I then figured out it just didn't support smaller chips. It seemed it was developed to help with larger more powerful stuff.

That said, its nice to know there is still support stuff shipping with mplab. I would be concerned how long that will continue. Like when the install won't fit on a CD anymore, what will they chop to squeeze in on.

As for general support of MPLAB, I can't imagine they would stop that. After all, thats what allows new customers to try their product out, and allows the seasoned vets to continue. Not to mention, all the third party folks who depend on it.

Now if the *.dev files are only required for VDI, then maybe they will cease at some point. But my vote is, for now, we take full advantage of what they offer.