Hi,

Development on a PC without a serial port it's almost impossible.
You will need a serial port while debugging or when your program inside
the PIC uses the serial port to communicate with a PC or another device.

The USB to serial adapter is one solution.

Personally I prefer a PC Card (PCMCIA) with real UARTs.

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High End PC Cards:

(16550 compatible UARTS and compatibility with 16650, 16750 & 16950).

DUAL SERIAL I/O Cards with removable and non removable DB-9 cables.
http://www.socketcom.com/product/serial.asp?Type=Dual
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...spx?EDC=104101

PDF manual:
http://www.socketcom.com/pdf/io/dioug.pdf

SINGLE SERIAL I/O Cards with removable and non removable DB-9 cables.
http://www.socketcom.com/product/serial.asp?Type=Single
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...spx?EDC=237579

OS: Windows 95OB/98SE/Me/2000/XP.

(removable DB-9 cables = you can leave the card inside the slot).

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Low cost PC Card

(UART Chipset Oxford CF950, 16C950 compatible).

Low cost dual serial I/O Pc Card
http://www.startech.com/ststore/Item...0&tab=a&mt=p40
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/def...spx?EDC=520863

PDF manual:
http://www.startech.com/ProductManuals/CB2S650.pdf

The CB2S650 supports hot-swapping so you’ll be able to connect, use, and swap your serial printers,
digital cameras, PDAs, modems, or any other serial devices without even powering your laptop down.

OS: Windows 9x/ME/NT 4/2000/XP/Server 2003 and up, Linux 2.4x and up

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Best regards,

Luciano