Peter Chant wrote:
David Deley wrote:

How would I go about interfacing my computer to the outside
world? I'm wondering if there's a way I can log the date/time
when my USPS mailbox gets opened. Which eventually translates
to I have a wire with a hi/low voltage for the mailbox is
open/closed -- how do I connect that wire to the computer?
What sort of input port is suitable for such a thing?

And of course I'll need some software. (I hope I don't have to
write another device driver. It's been many years since I did
that kind of programming. Someone else must have already
written something. Someone else is probably already logging
when their mailbox door is open/closed.)

Back in the DOS days the parallel port was quite useful for the
odd digital IO line. I presume someone makes USB digital IO
cards nowadays - presumably someone must make one that to the
PC appears like a serial port.

See the discussion of older computers in the "Memory chip question"
thread. Those things have everything you need.

--
[mail]: Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net)
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