William,

since you have managed to post on a web based forum you do have all "Ethernet-knowledge" required to make a PIC communicate with a PC using an XPort.

The XPort in conjunction with the LANTRONIX ReDirector simply is a virtual serial connection between the PC and PIC.

you can use a Terminal Software like HyperTerm or any other piece of software that support serial communication.

I do have a number of XPorts running absolutely reliably in harsh industrial environments.

P.S.
I have tried different products, and found in terms of cost, ease of use and reliability the XPort is a good choice.