I have been fooling with this off and on for a while now, but with a family camping trip coming up next week, the pressure has been turned up a notch.
I got it working tonight: the test photo below shows it takes serviceable, if unflattering, pictures.
It’s actually a lot easier than it was back in the olden days (2004 or so). Now, you simply unlock the camera with software tools (read here for details), figure out a way to connect it to your computer (I am soldering USB type B receptables to mine: free samples from Molex), install the drivers of your choice (RadioShack), and you’re done. On the Mac, iPhoto will even recognize and manage the camera as if it were a much shinier one.
I’m relieved.