It's completely standard for some companies to make their development kits ridiculously expensive (compared to actual cost) or put up other insane obstacles for

It's completely standard for some companies to make their development kits ridiculously expensive (compared to actual cost) or put up other insane obstacles for people that want to build something that might create a ton of demand for their product. A long time ago I was interested in applying Echelon LonWorks devices for a completely different market than they serve. But their development kit cost tens of thousands of dollars[1] for a $100 worth of parts and their development software. So screw that. To take another example, Broadcom is simply impossible to talk to directly if you're after something as simple as the documentation and a library to access the API on one of their chips. You have to speak to idiot manufacturer's reps, who'll pass on your inquiry to Broadcom if they deem you a worthy customer. The only language a manufacturer's rep understands is the dollar value of the order you plan to make within 3 months for which they'll get a cut. They don't give a damn about wild new ideas or applications you might have if it doesn't translate into immediate large-volume orders for them. The stated reason for all this BS is that the companies want really serious customers because of the demands and questions imposed by the developers. If that's the really the case, they should have 2 pricing tiers: cheap but no support, and expensive with access to support. But I don't think it's the case; I think it's just the usual big company delusion that they should speak only to important customers and all deals must be big deals. [1] Their kits seem to be "only" $2-3K now. http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/echelon-corporation/10020R-40-27/1499-1003-ND/4747827 http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/echelon-corporation...