VF Tuner questions

I've been thinking about purchasing VF Tuner and have a few questions.

- I have a manual transmission. What benefits are there? Is it worth it? Many discussions seem to be about the benefits for the automatic transmission, but I do know that it slightly increases smooths out power across the band and makes some changes to throttle pedal response. I'm just not sure if that is enough to make it worth the effort.

- What does it mean to unlock the ECU? What is involved at a technical level? What am I paying for?

- I read the instructions and I'm surprised it takes multiple emails to get the software up and running. That seems unprofessional and low tech to me. Is there a good reason for this? What is a "system ID"? A "master key"? The general quality of the website and software installation procedure makes me nervous.

- Will it work on Parallells Desktop on a modern MacBook Pro?

- What exactly is the "flash cable". It's referred to by different names but I haven't found a picture or technical description of it. For example, does it have a USB 2.0 connector that goes into the laptop? Is it the same thing as the Tactrix OpenPort device? What type of connector goes into the truck? Where is the connector in the truck?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vf-tuning-for-manual-transmission-3rd-gens.687939/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vf-tuner-installation-guide-faq.695951/

 

I had not seen this thread yet. Thanks!