A point/question was brought up in another thread.

Is a skinlink with a device rating of 3, a device or a modification? ergo can hardening be added to it? and is it subject to EMP effects under being a device?

WMS

As far as I'm concernd, Skinlink is an option/modification, like Hardening - and both are available for cyberware, too.

Side note:

Does EMP affect cyberware?
Does EMP affect the skin of which the skinlink uses?
(I suppose that should bre restated: since we as people are electro chemical in nature does EMP affect us.)

IRL and in Game.

Yes it does, if optical based cyberware then it only loses 3 points of its signal rating. If not optical then it can be affected majorly.

EMP effects would affect the skin ie flux fields would be there.

IRL EMP has little documented effects on living organisms.

IG TM's "could" be in for a major hurt.

WMS

Well there's another question: in SR, what *isn't* optical? All "electronics" use optical circuits, and have for decades; that's one reason the EMP nukes had to be some weird kind of magic to bring about Crash 2.0, since there's precious little in the way of sensitive, non-grounded electronics left to fry, other than RFID tags.

I would really like an answer to that question as well. Was EMP seen as "totally sweet" and included on that grounds even though it really doesn't do much under the mechanics?

a1) It does, as it will burn out any non-optical components, including electrical motors and stuff.
a2) Yes, though with fields that strong, youz're damn close to an H-Bomd expoding and have other things to worry about.
a3) Strong enough magnetic fields can kill. Unless you make a trip in Jupiter's lower orbit, though, you'll have a hard time finding a field strong enough to kill yourself.

re original question: Anything that has electronics as a part of it can be considered a device by SR4 rules. The same applies to "things that are, by default, wireless".

*Shudders* I would prefer to stay away from Crash 2.0 events, there are many threads on it, most decline into lots of noise to signal content.

Since the Crash 2.0, I can see Computer Hardware etc being optical, as for the rest, cost is the deciding factor, one's microwave oven non optical, they would be very cheap to begin with, making it optical, increases costs.

Wifi/wireless related things too would have a increased chance of being optical, if not totally optical.

Sources for EMP in todays world are not all nuclear, use some google fu.

I agree the flux fields would not be as strong as on Jupiter, and some MRI's have some interestingly strong Gaussian flux/fields.

WMS

there'S a table, i think, in system failure where one gets to see how cyberware is affected by EMP in the size of a magically altered nuke

Unfortunately that table is for the previous iteration of SR, with out any optical devices etc. Also it has been superseded by the Arsenal rules on EMP.

WMS

Optical chips have been with SR since SR1.

However, if you like Arsenal's EMP rules better, just use them?

Didn't see this thread before I made my post in the other one. Sue me.

You know how I feel about the matter. I believe Skinlink is a modification, and hence cannot have Hardening applied directly to it. Hardening can be applied to the Skinlinked device however.

Which in the end is all the same, as the Hardening from the Device will protect the Skinlink as well.