Quote:
Originally posted by Raven_Writer
Use .NET, doesn't FIRST get it for a fraction of the sales price? [I highly doubt Microsoft gives it away for free, but they might].
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What the heck?
The .NET tools we get from Microsoft (through FIRST) have nothing to do with programming the robot, at all. Also, I'm willing to bet that Microsoft donates all of their software to FIRST, free of charge. Just like the tobacco and alcohol industries, Microsoft's best strategy is to "hook 'em when they're young," and for the most part, we're pretty young.
He's referring to the fact that Parallax is forcing us all to stay in the dark ages by using a closed (mileage / definitions may vary) tokenizer, which uses one of the most limited embeded system programming language in the world. If we had access to the Basic Stamp's assembly language level, there'd be a lot less of a problem, fundamentally, with using a Basic Stamp as the programming interface to the control system.
<rant type="irritable">
As a personal opinion, Parallax seems to be taking a typically Microsoft-esque approach to the marketing of their microcontroller series of products. They inflate the price of a low-quality product, and sell it to people who can't be bothered to learn about the intricasies of the system they're using.
Sure, it's really convenient for a hobbiest to be able to pick up a BS2 for less than $100, and be able to program it using a computer's serial port with a very rudimentary programming language. I will admit that there's a lot to say for "ease of use" features, but I can't see how they can possibly justify charging $50 for a hacked up bunch of components (the BS1 and BS2 use a PIC16C57, which you can get for around $3, and the BS2sx uses a Scenix SX28AC, which you can order from Digikey for less than $5). When you pay them $50 (for one of their "lower-end" microcontrollers, as the BS2p24 and p40 go for $80 and $100, respectively), you're paying for two things, basically: 1) $10, maybe $15 worth of actual electronic components, and B) anywhere from $35 to $90 for the privelige to use PBASIC (barf). They might have put enough programming labor into making the best tokenizer in the known universe, but that doesn't really impress me.
At least Microsoft doesn't go out of their way to try to convince you that they built your entire computer from scratch...
</rant>
Sorry about that. I'm irritated.
If what I've heard is correct, we won't have to deal with Parallax anymore, after this year....