On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:26:53 +1100, mufurcz wrote: >Greetings, > >It seems that the dumbing down of laptops is a constant >preoccupation/sadistic joy for the >laptop manufacturers, and the RS-232/422/485 protocols are destined to >be extinct by them. > >My daily work requires to access a number headless *NIX systems in >different places, so I >need the missing RS-232 ports on my laptops! > >Can please, somebody advise me regarding a good quality and reliable >well tested RS-232/422 >serial PCMCIA card and/or USB 2.0 (to) serial adapters - or I am just >day-dreaming?! > >Theoretically such an (well designed) adapter would work with OpenBSD, >Debian, Solaris x86 >and Windblown - without installing binary drivers and/or modifying >kernel parameters, just simply >adding a few16550 UART chips to my laptops. > >Ioan >
I had the same need. At least to use OpenBSD to maintain headless firewalls, not the other OSes. I simply bought a USB serial adaptor. The cheapest that Bamboo Charlie had in stock. It just worked. It was so low priced that if it didn't I'd have just tossed it in the spare parts box and bought another. AFAIK most of them work. The cautious approach is to take your laptop to the store, plug one in and boot. dmesg tells all. Rod/ "Write a wise saying and your name will live on forever." - Anonymous
