Whether it's on a CD with a demo board or whether it's a published app-note ... it's generally crap. Many of the app-notes don't work, aren't proven, and occasionally demonstrate that when they find their way onto a demo board. I've seen a few demo boards, even ones from major manufacturers, that were "farmed out" to a manufacturing subcontractor to be integrated with a few of the major mfg's app-notes, and, between the doc's and the lack of design skills, the two houses never managed to make it work.

RE