AVR-Chat

Graham,

> > You might come a cropper with Atmel ...
> > I think they're wanting to protect their IP
> > Do you have Atmel's permission ...
> 
> No, I don't have Atmel's permission, but I can't quite see what IP 
> I'm stealing.

I never intimated that you were stealing.  If, however, you ship the
device already programmed then there may be a problem.

> My hardware design is adapted from information on the 
> Web and in Atmel's publications. My bootloader is adapted from an 
> Atmel application note and conforms to a published protocol. I looked 
> for but did not find any language prohibiting running software 
> delivered as part of AVR Studio on non-Atmel hardware.  In fact, the 
> license for AVR Studio allows re-distribution.  Also, why would Atmel 
> care where people get JTAG-ICE's from? They make tools because they 
> couldn't sell chips if they didn't exist but I doubt that it's part 
> of their profit model.

I only recount what I have heard from people within Atmel: the Mk II
isn't compatible with the Mk I because of 3P cloning.  Whether Atmel
make money out of tools or not, I have no idea, I haven't looked too
closely.  ARM certainly do, it's a *big* money spinner for them, just
read their accounts.

--
Paul Curtis, Rowley Associates Ltd http://www.rowley.co.uk
CrossWorks for MSP430, ARM, and (soon) Atmel AVR processors