connecting computers via usb cables?

Factual Questions
1

I have an extended family of both macs and PCs. Is it possible to connect two macs together, two PCs or one of each via their USB ports? Would anything happen? Are there drivers for this sort of thing (if not why not?). I understand that it is possible to connect two macs together vis a twisted ethernet cable, and have got it working once. Just curious, though it would be nice to do it to my PCs

2

You could use a twisted ethernet cable to connect your PCs as well.

Also, there is an option to connect 2 PCs through the Serial or Parallel ports, although they are way slower than using a LAN cable.

Third party solutions for USB to USB exist, such as:

http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/usbmain.htm

http://www.lpt.com/Questions/USBConnectFAQ/usbconnectfaq.htm

3
      • You can connect through two USB ports, but as said, it takes a special thingy to do it, just sticking a regular double-ended cable in there won’t work.
        …
  • And some LAN cards will not function with a crossover cable. Generally, if the LAN card does not explicitly state that it works with crossovers, then there is no guarantee implied that it will. -And obviously, both cards have to be able to work with a crossover, or you get nuthin’. Exactly what the difference is I don’t know, but I have seen it happen on more than one occasion, and with more than one brand/model of card–so try using a powered hub and two regular cables if the crossover fails to work.
    ~
4

thanks guys, that netlinkQ looks just the thing, at leats for my PCs