Jerry B. Altzman wrote:
USB->serial connectors are cheap, plentiful, and work like a charm in Windows and Linux.
Cheap - true, plentiful - true as well, work like a charm - well,not if you need real RS232C. When I worked at IR we had an adaptor for programming elecrtronic locks and it required a true serial port. The vast majority of USB to serial converters we tried were fakers or just plain junk. Most of them could run a seril mouse, but that was about it. The only one we found that works fine is the Belkin F5U103, which I think Belkin no longer makes, but it is still sold. That thing looks like crap, but it works well and is fast. The only other good, fully compatible serial port for a laptop I know of is the SocketCOM Ruggedized Serial I/O card. Supposedly, the Port Authority USB to Serial adaptor from CablesToGo works as well, but I know who tested that one back at IR and I recommend to opt for that one only when it can be returned or is cheap enough that it doesn't matter.
Honestly, most of the USB to serial convertes have a USB cable and a D-Sub 9 pin connector commonly found for serial ports, but that is it for most of the "converters".
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