Product Reviews

Connecting computers together across the world defines this age of the Internet. But connectivity at home can be just as useful. Maybe you bought a PC a few years ago, and have just purchased another - or maybe you have a notebook as well as a desktop. What if you want to copy large files between them? LapLink.com thinks it has the answer: PCsync.

While you could just purchase a serial or parallel cable and use Windows' built-in Direct Cable Connection, this has its disadvantages. For a start, you'll need a little understanding of networking to get it working. Then, it will be slow: 512Kbit/s is the theoretical maximum for a parallel connection, and a measly 115Kbit/s for serial. In reality, you're likely to get far less. As well as offering easier connection, PCsync promises USB cable attachment, for transfer rates up to 5Mbit/s.

Once you've installed the software on the two PCs you want to copy between, you'll need to ensure you've got an appropriate version of Java on both systems - the installation manual guides you through this. You'll also have to install the appropriate networking driver for your chosen method of connection - USB or serial or both. PCsync comes with cables for both, just in case you don't have USB or need to access a PC with Windows NT4 on it. With the driver installed, and after a reboot, you're ready to start sharing files via your chosen cable.

PCsync operates around a familiar Explorer-like interface, divided into two halves. The bottom half lists the files on the local computer,

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and the top half displays a drop-down tree of the various different connection methods that are possible. First and foremost are the cable connections. Depending on which drivers have been installed, there'll be entries for serial and/or USB. Expanding one of these will trigger the PC to negotiate with the computer at the other end of the respective cable. So long as PCsync is running on the other computer, the connection should be made automatically and a listing of all the remote drives will appear. You can then get on with the job of copying over files, simply using drag and drop. USB transfer was much faster than serial connection, but wasn't as fast as you might expect from a lead with a theoretical maximum speed of 12Mbit/s. The fastest I achieved was 3.1Mbit/s uploads and 368Kbit/s downloads - not quite the 5Mbit/s that LapLink.com claims.

Drag-and-drop file copying isn't the only thing you can do with PCsync. There's also a special wizard for transferring your files to a new PC, which automatically copies folders like My Documents, although this won't install your old software for you! You can also make use of your Internet connection, either to access a folder shared on someone else's Net-connected PC, or an 'Internet drive'. The latter means free storage space on a remote server on the Internet, but PCsync only offers compatibility with two providers: Driveway and My Docs Online. The final feature is SmartXchanges, a utility for synchronising the contents of two folders, one local and one remote. This helps you ensure you have the same files on the two systems, handy if you work on two PCs and want to ensure you have latest documents on both. Unfortunately, after a SmartXchange the remote listing doesn't refresh automatically, which makes you worry the synchronisation hasn't worked properly. A manual refresh usually cures this.

For simple copying of files between PCs, PCsync is transparently easy to use and reasonably quick. It's a lot easier to use than a Windows Direct Cable Connection. My only criticisms are that it wasn't as fast with USB as claimed, and comes with a hefty price tag.