[time-nuts] usb serial converter

[Hal Murray]

> One of the annoying things is Dell provides a hardware serial port if you
> buy a docking station, but no way to just get a serial port by itself using
> the docking port. Well at least that I know of.  

I have a Dell laptop (Latitude 430) that came with a MediaBase.  It's another 
layer that clips on and plugs into the docking-station connector.  It makes 
the laptop a bit thicker but still looks like a laptop.

Mostly, it has a CD-ROM reader, but it also includes a DVI connector, 
parallel port, and serial port.  (and maybe a few more USB connectors)  I 
haven't taken it apart to see if there are any chips inside.  The connector 
has lots of pins so maybe all the silicon is in the laptop.  But maybe it's 
something like a PCI connector with a chip in the MediaBase.



-- 
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's.  I hate spam.