In my application, I had to give the user the ability to change IP addresses, protocols (UDP vs telnet) and a variety of other parameters from a menu without using any third-party software.

Requiring users to load PORT TOOL and other software just didn't fit with my idea of a professional product, one that I could (and do) sell to customers including the military.

As it is, everything is menu-driven through the serial-port interface, and is easy to use.

It should be noted that I use one serial port, and multiplex the TxD and RxD between a MAX232 and the XPORT. It works flawlessly.