The ALDLcables.com cable works on it's own. The Moates and the ALDLCables.com cables are just two different designs that do the same thing. I haven't used the ALDLCables.com cable, but I do use a Moates cable, and I like that I can replace any cable end easily without needing to buy a whole new cable if anything were to happen to a cable (USB or ALDL interface), even though I haven't yet had the need to do that. lol

The 12 or 16 pin is exactly that, how many pins are in the ALDL connection. OBD1 is 12 pin and OBD2 is 16 pin.