Quote:
You'd be amazed at how much stuff continues to support TIA-232. In my office alone, I have (not counting my POC unit) seven devices that are TIA-232, one of them being a magnetic strip reader (MSR) that is used for testing software that works with credit/debit cards. Another is my Okidata ML395 printer, which I use for printing accounting reports on greenbar paper (old habits die hard...). One of our two servers has an Equinox SST16 serial interface on it. One of the SST's ports is connected to the auxiliary port on POC so I can transfer code to the latter for testing.
Yes, which is why they are still relevant. The principle use, for me anyway, being serial terminals on network-connected servers. But other things like router config, and even the humble television having a serial port for diagnostic and config purposes mean not having a '232 port on the back of all computers is quite frustrating. And of course, for anyone doing microcontroller development, or SBC-style DIY computing, serial ports are still extremely useful.
Quote:
What do you have against parallel ports?
Well, first of all I was never in a position to need parallel ports for hooking up stuff like EEPROM programmers, or DIY projects. Perhaps I "missed out". I can imagine for hooking up sensors and motors etc the old parallel port would have been just the job though.... That leaves, for me, standard consumer products like printers, scanners, digital cameras. And there both those (and other) devices are better met with, I'm afraid to say, USB. Smaller cables, faster transfers, etc. However much we might hate it from an electronics POV, USB was a big advance for the consumer.
And there are alternatives to parallel ports for hooking up custom electronics to current PCs, so all is not lost for the "current" tinkerer. Velleman make USB IO board, etc.
So I don't care for, and haven't ever missed, the old parallel port. But that's just me.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
