You have a customer who needs to connect a legacy serial RS2

You have a customer who needs to connect a legacy serial (RS-232 compliant) device to his new laptop, but his laptop does not have a serial port such as the one seen in the accompanying photograph. What are his least expensive options? (Choose two.)

A. His best option is to have the laptop’s motherboard replaced with one that offers a serial port.

B. His best option is to abandon the legacy device and to buy one that uses a more modern I/O such as USB or FireWire.

C. He can buy a USB-to-serial adapter so that he can attach the serial device to the serial connection of the adapter and then plug the other end into a USB port on the laptop.

D. He can buy a serial I/O PC Card (PCMCIA) so that he can attach the serial device to the serial connection of the card and then insert the other end into a PCMCIA slot on his laptop.

Solution

C and D. He can buy an adapter device such as a USB-to-serial adapter or a serial I/O PC Card (PCMCIA) that will enable him to connect the legacy device to a serial port on one end of the adapter and attach the other end of the adapter to a suitable port on a modern laptop.