That a medium/big developer will always invest in a parallel programmer for the initial flash. He obviously downloads his own ISP software to the boot loader section at the same time, so he will have ISP capability in the field (this is what we do). Small time developers probably won't invest in the parallel jobby, so won't buy Winbond.

Judging by their lack of interest in support, etc, I think their business model is based on volume large scale manufacturer supply. So they don't flash a boot loader by choice. (Avoids all that messy dealing with amateurs...)

It's a shame - I like the Winbond device and am impressed by it. The extra four I/O on the 44-pin devices is invaluable to me.

Incidentally - a drawback to their philosophy is that all incoming devices have to be unpacked, programmed and re-packed before going off to our PCB populators. The ALL-11 programmer, if you're not very careful, slightly distorts pins, so that when they are re-flowed, you sometimes get a bad joint. There's also the problem of if a device missed the programming stage before going off to be fitted, and of course, potential ESD handling damage. I know this is just housekeeping, but it would be nicer to be able to send the incoming stock straight to the PCB facility, without the programming step. (It does mean you catch bad devices before fitting though - not that we ever get many.)

Dave