Those links are great, but they are simply too advanced and not practical enough for a beginner like me. I really am a beginner so I need something to get me started. I'll give an example. How would I get the computer to turn on an LED via the serial port connector? I would have to know how to send the right data to the port, and how to hook everything up(although thats the easy part).
ps Would assembly be a better language for things like this? Do you know any simple tutorials? There don't seem to be many tutorials and they are all too advanced.