My STK500 starter kit/development board finally arrived yesterday and
today I tried it out on a tiny.

It worked. I'm typing this now on a genuine, non-obsolete, Atmel
ATtiny2313, plugged into the same old keyboard I've been using for a
couple of years, right where the old AT90S2313 fits, running my same
old code. I set the fuse bits to expect a 4Mhz external crystal. The
old chip had neither fuse bits nor an internal clock. Next step is to
set the new chip to use its own clock and lower the part count by 1.

Hooray. The latest, greatest Atmel programmer software is pretty good
--- it explains what the options mean well enough you don't have to
crawl through the back pages of the data sheet all day. So I feel
like the $80 was well spent. But what I want is a way to avoid that.
I don't quite have one yet, at least not one that I've actually made
work.

There really aren't a whole lot of us interested in all this yet.
Maybe I'll offer to program chips with my new STK500. I guess you
would send me a ATtiny2313 (or for that matter an AT90S2313) and I'll
send it back programmed. You have to agree whatever happens is not my
fault. You have to email me 1st so I know it's coming. You have to
send it in a non-static envelope with foam or something to protect the
pins. You have to supply a self-addressed, stamped envelope. I'm not
sure how you do that if you don't live in the states.

I just hate to think maybe there's anybody out there pining away for a
one-hander but unable to program the dang new chip with its dang fuse
bits.