Some programs run with conections to the paralell port and some serial from what I can tell right (datamaster and diacom use different ones according to their site I think). I dont know about the free ones do they take different kinds of cables. Can you use either kind of cable for any program or are they program specific. Thanks for any help. I have just been reading and trying to learn as much as I can before I start trying to burn my own chips and want to learn to use the scanning software first. I just need help on knowing what cables I need for what. Thanks