ML> you do know that the first question you'll like get from
 ML> those just reading who don't even know what a coco is is
 ML> going to be "what's a 'bit banger' port?" ;)

 BK>  We are old.

i keep being told that...

 ML> many these days don't even know what a serial or parallel
 ML> port is... they are spoilt by USB...

 BK>  God are we old.

 :P

 BK>  Of course, you can get adapters for USB to Serial or parallel. 

the problem, in many cases, is getting one that goes in the direction one
needs... i can easily find one that connects a serial device to a USB port
(they come/came with many mice) but i can hardly find one that allows me to
connect a USB device to a serial port (ie: USB mouse or external USB
modem)...

 BK>  Many current laptops don't even have serial or parallel. Really 
 BK> don't much need them for a netbook.

agreed there... i had to really dig and be creative the last time i had to
rescue some data off of a XP laptop... i was finally able to get it to boot
off of a FreeDOS (IIRC) floppy with NTFS drivers... then i had to really
play around to get a cable together so that i could connect it between that
laptop and one of my machines to zip (not pkzip) and/or laplink the data
across... getting laplink to work was a real chore and as i recall, i ended
up using a very old serial transfer program called zip... i believe it was
out before laplink but i may be wrong on that... it allowed me to transfer
the data at 115200 with validation to ensure that it was all correct on the
receiving end... as i recall, i did use my laplink cable as one of the
pieces of the total cable i had to come up with... it wasn't pretty and it
took some time but it worked and that's what counted most ;)

)\/(ark