Erik Hermann designed an ultra-simple PIC16C84 programmer which plugs into the serial port of a PC and doesn't need an external power supply. It's very neat but may not work on PCs that have less than ideal serial ports (like most laptops). There are several versions described on the net including: Rolan Yang's PICBlaster; Silicon Studio's COM84 (gone?); Ludwig Catta's Ludipipo (now with Windows software thanks to Tord Andersson and brief English documentation by Michael Covington); and Jens Madsen's improved version. Ralph Metzler wrote a C++ driver so that an ultra-simple programmer can be used with Linux. Luigi Rizzo's PIC related tools page has another variant. On a similar theme Jens Madsen has designed what he claims is the "World's most easy" PIC programmer which uses just one resistor and a 5V power supply! http://micro.netpedia.net/ has a multi-part programmer.
It's also possible to make an ultra-simple programmer for the printer port of the PC. Probably the first, blowpic, was designed by Mark Cox. Derren Crome's EPE programmer is much the same but programs the PIC in-circuit. The general idea is illustrated by the "quick and dirty" programmer. My 16X8X programming software is compatible with all three. The programmer section of my TOPIC board is just a bit more complicated but doesn't require you to fiddle with switches during the programming process. Michael Covington has stripped the TOPIC programmer to the bone to produce what he calls a "no parts PIC programmer". You could also consider Stephen Nolan's 8 component programmer. This programmer was used as the basis of Niagara College's Computer Systems Design course COMP630.
Simple parallel port designs like my "Classic" 16C84 programmer (see schematic: PDF or GIF) can be used as near universal PIC programmers. For example, Tato computers' ProPic programmer design comes with Windows software for programming a wide selection of PICs and EEPROMS. A similar design is described by Bojan Dobaj. The latter design can be bought as a kit (kit 96) from DIY Electronics or DonTronics Kit 96 page. G. Mueller has developed programmers for several popular microcontrollers. The PIC programmer, called PIC-Flash II, is capable of programming many different types although the free version is limited to the 16x8x.
