A U.S.B. Cable for Splitting Screens and Sharing Files Between Two Computers - NYTimes.com

A U.S.B. Cable for Splitting Screens and Sharing Files Between Two Computers - NYTimes.com

A U.S.B. Cable for Splitting Screens and Sharing Files Between Two Computers

By JOHN BIGGS

Published: August 27, 2008

For people who routinely use two computers at once, a keyboard/video/mouse (K.V.M.) switch has long been a useful add-on: with it, you can use the same keyboard, monitor and mouse and simply switch between PCs. Of course, the computers remain separate devices — they are not linked or networked as a result.

That’s why Iogear’s new U.S.B. Laptop K.V.M. Switch ($130) is so interesting. One double-ended cable connects two Windows PCs or laptops together (a Mac version should be available soon). Then, you can use one PC to control the other and even drag files and folders between the machines.

This isn’t as esoteric as it may sound. If you bring your company’s laptop home and connect it to your PC with this cable, you can share and sync files between the two machines. You can add an external hard drive or other peripheral “between” the two computers that both machines can use.

You can also use your laptop as a second screen: Your e-mail inbox could live on the laptop’s smaller screen while, say, a large Excel spreadsheet is on your larger monitor. And since you’ll also be using your full-size keyboard and mouse for both machines, you won’t just be more productive — you’ll probably be more comfortable. JOHN BIGGS