Quote Originally Posted by Melanie
This is OT (and only done as devils advocate), but explain to me the concept that if I sell a product today, I should then work for the rest of my life for nothing so that everyone else can have the benefit of perpetual free updates?
No no I like discussing such matters, especially given the current contentious climate regarding software patents. It is important to discuss these matters openly so people can actually make up their own minds and resolve their own attitudes.

On the topic of the Epic, I did think about this quite a bit actually. I justified my attitude based on the fact that the epic is an overpriced programmer which isn't worth what it cost (admittedly there were far less quality alternatives when I bought it, a few years ago now). Given that this programmer (the hardware of which is basically a couple of transistors and voltage regulators, which is badly designed) came with good, functioning software, I thought it was a fair deal, assuming I could rely on the whole package. The Epic is by no means MeLabs' cash cow, and I don't really consider the addition of a few lines in text file to be something worth me paying for.

If I was selling software (which I could be doing in a few years time), incremental updates (such as changing config files etc) would be free, whereas major version updates (new features and functionality) I would make people pay for. That's not to say it's the right attitude to have, it's just that for most software, incremental updates and bug fixes are free. Bug fixes in particular should ALWAYS be free, and I think that that point is important.

FWIW the reason I need to program this 16F628A is to upgrade the firmware on my brand new DIY-KIT 128 Programmer (http://www.kitsrus.com/upuc.html). This programmer takes power off USB and has a builtin ZIF socket (as well as an ICSP socket). It derives the 12V from the 5V usb supply using some clever diode and capacitor switching circuits. This allows me to program from my laptop (which doesn't have serial or parallel ports) without having to rely on a bootloader (sometimes when contracting I don't design the circuits, so I can't add in a serial port). I don't work for these guys, and I don't have any affiliation with them, I just know that they make a great featured programmer for slightly less then the Epic which includes FREE software upgrades.