> I wish modern hacker laptops had an easy non-proprietary way to get a serial port. Dell docking stations like the PR02X provide serial/parallel ports directl

> I wish modern hacker laptops had an easy non-proprietary way to get a serial port. Dell docking stations like the PR02X provide serial/parallel ports directly from the laptop, and Dell Latitude laptops with the E-Port docking connector were made until ~2016. Both the PR02X and Latitude laptops with an E-Port are readily available on eBay for reasonable prices. I've successfully used an E6220 with the PR02X to bitbang out the parallel port for a project.