The first thing I did was read the readme.txt file. It is mostly a history of updates.
I know this is free code and I am grateful for it and your help. But a "getting-started.txt" file in the downloaded zip file would really be useful. It seems that some of the questions I have are answered on the main website, hidden a few layers down and away from the download section. For example, I didn't know that the demo code is just for talking to the PIC with its 2-byte command structure, which explains why the demo code has the up/down controls for sending two bytes. Once I found that, it started to make sense. That doc should be in the download. It would save a lot of confusion.
By the way, I am using the winusb_vb v2.2 downloaded form the website, because we are running Windows 7.
Looks like I need to buy one of the books. Which one is applicable for working on a simple HID device? Down the line, I need to also talk to a Chroma power supply.