this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2023
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They look similar but a VGA port has 15 pins and a serial port has only 9. Serial ports like this one were really common before USB was used. You would plug peripherals into it kind of the same way you use a USB port. Mice were probably the most common use, but you could plug a lot of different things into them.
Of course it is like USB since the S in USB stand for serial; Universal Serial Bus.
I don’t remember if RS232 was plug and play or hot swap though. I think you might have had to boot with those plugged in. PS/2 I think you could? And of course USB you can. Good times.
Yes and no. They could be unplugged and replugged without a reboot. But also you'd have to manually configure the communication parameters of the port. So I hesitate to say "hot swap".
Back when you had to manually configure your gamepad...
Uniquely for each game...
By looking up specific numbers in your gamepad manual.
Kids have no idea how easy they have it these days.