Hack 81 Use USB for Peer-to-Peer Networking

USB's versatility comes in handy for PC-to-PC data transfer as well as file and Internet sharing.

If you'd like to move data between systems more quickly than the parallel port allows, you can always step up to interconnecting PCs by USB. Belkin, Traveling Software, and other vendors sell USB transfer cables and accompanying software—effectively a crossover or null modem cable between two USB ports. In some cases, the cable becomes a private TCP/IP network connection and can be used for Internet connection sharing.

Using a USB-to-USB bridging cable is especially handy for systems without network adapters that need to communicate with each other in a peer-to-peer network.

A USB PC-PC interconnection cable costs about $30-40 and comes with appropriate drivers. (The cables contain USB devices that crossover the send and receive lines between PCs.) It is often packaged with software or wizards that help you establish connectivity between PCs.

Keep your cables and software together as much as possible. USB "networking" cables and the software that comes with them are usually very specific to each other—that is, a cable from Company A will usually not work with the driver and software from Company B.