Re: [avr-chat] cheap DIY programming cables: anything on USB ?

[Graham Davies]

Vincent Trouilliez wrote:
> ... French generally speaking, don't make
> verbs out of words like this ...

Yes, I know.  It is my understanding that French, like many languages, is 
"prescriptive" in that there is an organization (L'Académie française) that 
considers itself responsible for prescribing what is and what isn't in the 
French language.  English, by contrast, is a "descriptive" language.  There 
is no such organization.  To find out what is and what isn't English, you 
have to go out and discover what "good" users of the language are saying and 
writing.  This, incredibly, is exactly how the Oxford English Dictionary was 
created, why it took so long to produce and why it is stuffed full of 
quotations (sources).  It is also probably why English has the most words, 
by far, of any language on the planet (400,000?).

And:
> Ah, I see I am not the only one in Europe having
> problems sourcing this Dragon ! Honestly I don't
> understand why Electronic retailers, charge us for
> importing it ...

Maybe it has something to do with EU regulations.  The AVR line is very 
popular in Australia and New Zealand and I have a lot of customers there but 
none have written about problems acquiring parts and equipment.  The 
difficulty in Europe is especially perplexing considering where the AVR 
architecture originated and where it is supported.

Graham.