Hi,
since the market share of machines with a serial port is shrinking rapidly and USB debug cables are not affordable at all for hobbyists, we may need to support console on parallel port. I do realize that not all machines lacking a serial port will have a parallel port, but as long as it improves our console coverage, I'm inclined to suggest parallel console support as a viable option.
Parallel port console support has the advantage of being faster than serial port console, at the same time keeping the cost for a cable in the single digit dollar range.
What do you think?
Do we have any other devices on board which don't require interrupts to run? Floppy connector? POST cards? PC speaker (with 1-wire protocol)? Is it possible to use any of them with cheap home-built adaptors?
Regards, Carl-Daniel