Best Answer Zoot, 28 June 2014 - 05:03 PM
Yes, you can do something like that. The Visual studio programming environment also lets you write Windows programs, so you could write a program with a button in it using C# (the same language that the Netduino uses). You would need to use the serial port on the PC (if you have one), or else an Ethernet connection to talk to the Netduino. To use Ethernet, you will need an Ethernet shield for the Netduino 1 so that it can talk to the Internet, or just between the PC and the Netduino. The Netduino 1 doesn't natively support Ethernet without some extra hardware.
The serial port is a little easier, because there is no special hardware involved (actually, to use a native serial port on a PC, you would need a serial shield, or some sort of translator to change the voltage levels from the serial port to something that the Netduino can handle. So there would be hardware involved to use the serial port), other than a serial port on the PC. The easiest way to use a serial port is to use an FTDI USB to serial cable to talk to the Netduino. The only tricky part is having a Windows program use the serial port. There are serial classes for C# in Windows that you can use, and you can find plenty of examples on the web on how to use these classes to communicate with your projects.
Things to search for on the 'net:
"Using a serial port in C#"
"C# serial port"
"C# Ethernet"
"FTDI USB to serial cable"
This is a good start:
http://msdn.microsof...serialport.aspx
http://stackoverflow...port-in-c-sharp
A little research and some programming, and you'll have LEDs blinking to Windows button presses in no time. Check out some of the information and post back. Once you understand a little more, you'll have a clearer idea of where you need to go, and we can help you get there. 
