I use the PICAXE Download Cable Breadboard Adapter to easily program and/or communicate with PICAXE microcontrollers on my lab breadboard to/from my laptop. The PICAXE USB Download Cable (RB-Pic-16 also available from Robotshop), the free PICAXE Editor 6, and the free driver from the PICAXE download site all make experimenting with the PICAXE microcontrollers straightforward and easy. Serial communication to/from a PC is easily accomplished by using this breadboard adapter plus the download cable, a PICAXE with two available pins, the serin/serout commands in your PICAXE BASIC code, and PuTTY in Serial Connection mode configured with the correct COM port on the PC. I was able to send/receive data from PuTTY to the PICAXE and display the response from the PICAXE. You can also use the debug and serial terminal windows in the PICAXE Editor 6 software. This kit requires soldering! Also, care must be taken when connecting the download cable to the breadboard adapter so that the breadboard adapter pins are not destroyed: recommend connecting the download cable to the breadboard adapter first and then attaching the breadboard adapter to the breadboard!