AVR-Chat

Hi all,

I'm new to AVRs and I don't yet have a clear picture of the
programming requirements/options for these devices. First a bit about
me. I'm a consulting engineer and do hardware, software, just about
anything I can get paid for ;-). I'm just finishing up a contract
designing an ARM 7 core into an ASIC, I've used PICs in the past
(never really liked them) and would like to use the Atmel devices in
future projects (where appropriate). Hopefully some kind members can
help set me straight here. Here's a few starter questions.

1) From reading the chip documentation, it appears that the "fuse" and
"lock" bits can be erased/reprogrammed. Am I correct?

2) Some devices in the family require a parallel programming algorithm
in order to configure the fuse bits. For others, the fuse bits
can/must be programmed via a serial algorithm. Yes? What cheap
programmers to people recommend? Which ones can handle the fuse bits?
I've seen interesting offerings from Sparc Fun Electronics
(www.sparkfun.com). Any comments?

3) It looks like only some of the newer devices support JTAG? What is
the easiest/cheapest way to do in-circuit debugging? Are people using
gdb (or printfs and LEDs)?

4) The AT90S2313 appears to have been replaced by the ATtiny2313. Is
the new device available and sound, or is the old device the one to use?

Thanks for listening

Paul
California