Quote:
The FT232R is the latest device to be added to FTDI’s range of USB UART interface
Integrated Circuit Devices. The FT232R is a USB to serial UART interface with
optional clock generator output, and the new FTDIChip-ID™ security dongle
feature. In addition, asynchronous and synchronous bit bang interface modes are
available. USB to serial designs using the FT232R have been further simplified
by fully integrating the external EEPROM, clock circuit and USB resistors onto
the device.
The FT232R adds two new functions compared with its predecessors, effectively
making it a "3-in-1" chip for some application areas. The internally generated
clock (6MHz, 12MHz, 24MHz, and 48MHz) can be brought out of the device and used
to drive a microcontroller or external logic. A unique number (the FTDIChip-ID™)
is burnt into the device during manufacture and is readable over USB, thus
forming the basis of a security dongle which can be used to protect customer
application software from being copied.
the features added into the R version aren't really going to effect the end-user of an ALDL cable.