[AndrewC]

You stated nothing about the operation of anything. All you stated was your opinion. The 17 transistor circuit does exactly what and how? All we have is a statement in a magazine that the circuit performs better than a 9 transistor circuit, both diagrammed in the article. The 9 transistor circuit is actually a modification of the patented circuit which consists of 5 transistors and 4 diodes and no resistors. It has a measured performance on display with the patent. There is no such evidence for the 17 transistor kludge. The specifications are for the circuit to be compact and work to the gigahertz range. There is no evidence that the 17 transistor circuit can achieve those specs.

[Nataku X]

There is no such evidence for the 17 transistor kludge.

In other words... it's a you-versus-them issue.

If you truly are curious... come back when Scientific American's website is up and get their referred works from that article and run these papers through an university library. If you don't have access to an university, you can FreepMail me with the citations you want to look up and I'll retrieve them by interlibrary loan.

When in doubt, go to the original.