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pc-link USB to USB File Transfer
Device
Review Type: Hands On  Reviewer: Chris Kaminski
Date: Mar 27, 2001
Sometimes a
network is an overkill
Have you ever wanted to move a few large files
between a couple of computers but did not want to put a network in
place? At times, connecting your laptop into a clients network is
just not possible for physical or security reasons. This is
where the USB pc-link cable comes in.
pc-link works with Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000,
XP and Macintosh computers. It can even transfer files between Mac's
and PC's. pc-link is not a 'networking' device. It is a file
transfer device. Because it is does not install as a network device,
its setup and configuration and operation will in no way conflict
with your existing network!
Just plug the pc-link
cable into the two computers' USB ports, load the pc-link software
and copy away. It really could not be much simpler. There's no
security to set up, no 'network configuration' and no 'network
shares'. When the pc-link explorer like software is loaded on each
computer, they automatically find each other and allow
copying.
Technical
pc-link is a USB 1.1 device limited to USB 1.0
speeds. You can probably expect about 4Mbps throughput - about the
same as a wireless network. When running under Windows XP, the
program must be placed in 'compatibility mode' but works fine
otherwise.
Driver
Updates
Final Thoughts
The pc-link is Explorer like but does not
actually integrate into Explorer. This is both a positive and
a negative. Without integration a separate program must be
loaded to do file transfers. At the same time, I have seen too
many poor explorer integrations that crashed my OS. No worry
of that here.
pc-link is USB 1.1 compliant. USB 2.0 is
available and gaining popularity. It would have been nice to
USB 2.0 support and speeds.
or
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