"Technomancers with the Biowire echo can use threading to convert skillsofts (in storage accessible to the technomancer)..." How do they store this?

"makes a Threading (skillsoft rating) Test. If the program contains other program ratings, raise the threshold by the number of program options or rating points. If he succeeds, he has converted the program into a complex form. He can now either sustain the program as a normal threaded complex form of the same rating or memorize the skillsoft as a complex form by paying an amount of Karma equal to the rating (+1 for any program option or program option rating)." Wouldn't this potentially give a lot of skills for a small amount of karma (with a -2 penalty for each sustained complex form).

Check the unwired errata. Unfortunately, that's not possible.

The errata changes nothing. The errata says:
p. 149 Emulation
Add the following sentence to the end of this section:
“Memorized Complex Forms emulating skillso s are
limited to the rating of the original skillso and cannot be
improved either by  reading or Karma-expenditure.”
For some reason, copy/pasting the errata changes "threading" in the last line to " reading" and there are some funky characters in the word "skillsoft".

So, rating 6 First Aid skillwire or a rating 6 Unarmed Attack skillwire becomes a rating 6 First Aid complex form or a rating 6 Unarmed Attack complex form. This complex form cannot then be improved past rating 6 by threading or expending further karma. It stays at the original rating of the original skillwire.

Good try, but. Activesofts are limited to rating 4, and skillsofts to rating 5. So it'd be a rating 4 unarmed, and a rating 6 first aid. Additionally, Biowires functions at a skillwire equal to your submersion grade, and that includes the max rating of your wires. At a low submsersion, the rating gets gimped down even further, and you still have to deal with the Threading sustaining penalty.

However, what Emulation IS good for is borrowing other peoples know/lingua/active/skillsofts. You'll note TM's can convert an existing program - with no mention of copy protection or anything. So if you have user priviledges to run programs on someone's commlink, you would have the rights to run Emulation on it, get yourself a CF to use, and leave while sustaining it while you need it. I am unsure if you'd have to unload a program with copyprotection first, since it may only have one running copy at a time, and it is an option, but you could use it to temporarily expand your skill repitoire, yes.

Ah, great points, thanks.

Well, once you convert it to a complex form you aren't threading it anymore but there is a -2 penalty for each sustained complex form (p241, if a sprite sustains it then you don't suffer the normal -2 penalty), so it works out to the same thing.

You only have to deal with the Threading penalty if you aren't using that particular Complex Form at the time, even if it is an activesoft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typographic_ligature

It is a good way to pad a TM's skills with wired versions of things they don't have normally (and aren't worried about not being able to use Edge on).

One way to get the skills you're looking for without needing to spend the time and money to acquire your own copy of a skillchip (legally or otherwise) is to hack into a factory or other corporate/industrial site that uses a skillwired workforce. Access their library of 'softs kept for their folks and there you have it. Something like the factory that one of the Jackpointers mentions in Unwired, iirc. Where they went in on an run and the local spider loaded new 'softs into the workforce to make them effective security troops... and a shite-ton of them.

Or, if you're really hot on the hacking, hit that lower tier corporation that acts as an outsourcing company for other corps. I think they also have a large selection of skillsofts for remote upload to clients. So either hack in and steal your own copy, or hack yourself (electronically or socially) into being a client and you can even get tech support for your new neuron paths.

*cough cough* Freeware. Any program R4 or lower. Skillsofts are programs.

Psh. Pirate-ware.

*Cough Cough* Optional Rule... Not every one uses it...

Keep the Faith

O-RAW is still RAW.

No arguments there, just not all people use the optional rules is all...

Keep the Faith