From the useful products category:

Many of us know that USB-serial adapters can be hit and miss when trying to communicate with our empegs. And the more techie of us also know that parallel-JTAG gizmos require bus-wired parallel ports, not USB-parallel ports. And debugging new Linux code/kernels requires a real, hard-wired serial console.

Well.. I've just ordered something that might bring back that kind of functionality to modern notebooks with an ExpressCard slot. One has to be wary of ExpressCard products though, because most of them are really just USB in disguise.

Not this one, though. It's a true PCIe ExpressCard that provides a real RS232 port and a real parallel port, in a single (somewhat bulky) unit. The search key to find these devices is the "oxford chipset".

There are also PCIe X1 cards on eBay, with similar functionality for under US$20, to help out with desktop systems.

Cheers

FAQ updated. Thanks!