I was skeptical with these USB transfer cables. I have seen them at local stores, and never really thought to use them. However, since I got Vista, I have been having issues transferring large files over the network between Vista and Windows XP machines. So, I decided to try out the Targus High-Speed File Transfer Cable. I am SO glad I did! This was the greatest solution ever!
Originally, I was confused when reading the instructions, as it kept referring to running the EasyShare program from a CD. I had not gotten a CD, nor did the list of items in the package make mention of a CD. I figured it out when I connected the device to my computer, however. The Transfer Cable shows up as a CD-ROM on both machines, and you run the EasyShare program from this CD drive. Frankly, this was incredible! No software to install! It runs right off the USB CD, and did not have any issues! I have had great success between Windows XP Professional SP3, and Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit. Really, can one ask for anything more?
The transfer speeds were not incredibly fast. I tried to do a general measurement, and it is not quite transferring at a constant 480 mbps, but then again, nothing really makes full use of USB 2.0 transfer speeds. I did, however, transfer a great deal of files that are in the range of 800 GB to 1 GB, and was VERY satisfied with the speed!
The only other things I can think of that would be slight downsides would be the cable is quite thin. I have not seen such a thin USB cable until now. I suppose I would have enjoyed a thicker cable, but the thin one works fine. Also, the larger connector us the size of one of the larger USB thumb drives. Did not have an issue with my PC, however, it might be tight if you have multiple USB ports next to eachother on a laptop or other item with lots of USB devices on them.
The transfer program was very nice. Full file browsing (just like using Explorer in Windows) on top, for the Remote machine, and the same for your machine on the bottom half of the screen. Every time I clicked a file, it make a "ding" - but that is not bad. Just a little confusing in the start, thinking an error occurred.
As for running the program, I had to run it under the Administrator account in Windows XP. I was able to right-click "Run As ... " as a alternate user with no problem. As for Vista, I was able to run it through the default user with no hassles at all.
Overall, if you are a tech person, and might need to transfer files between Windows, and Mac computers, I would recommend keeping one of these handy tools available. It really is worth every penny, if not more! Plus, it comes in a VERY nice carrying case!
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Saved the Day in a Modern-Day Laptop Horror Story
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2008
This cable is, simply put, an awesome tool. Like every good legal beagle, I'm absolutely tied to my laptop. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at performing backups. Predictably, less than a week ago, my primary laptop crashed. I ended up hooking my laptop up to an external hard drive and doing five excruciating hours of data recovery on three years worth of work product and other miscellaneous data (75 GB worth). Fearing that the data was corrupt, or that it wouldn't transfer correctly, I also transferred a few selected files onto a flash drive. Moving 2 GB of data from the laptop to the flash drive took eons, even on a USB 2.0 connection. Then I had to plug the flash drive into a spare laptop and transfer it onto the spare. That also took what seemed like forever to copy over. While I managed to get some of my documents back, I left the other data for dead, so to speak. So when I received my new laptop, I wanted to avoid using the "middleman" of the flash drive/external hard drive between my two computers. Instead, I used the Targus cable to transfer information directly from my gimpy laptop to the new laptop. I was worried, since one laptop ran XP and the other ran Vista, but the data transferred quickly and accurately (except the corrupted data). A 2 GB transfer which took eons with a flash drive - was a snap with the Targus cable.The cable is plug-and-play, and the interface that pops up on the screen of both computers is basically two windows explorer panes tiled horizontally. After you select the desired folders on the "host" computer, you drag and drop them into the recipient computer to transfer them. That's it. I can see this being really helpful on group projects, where you are trying to transfer something like a gigantic PowerPoint. You can just leave your computers linked by the cable - eliminating the need to use e-mail or a flash drive as an intermediary.Pros:*Cuts out the middleman - the flash drive or the external drive and provides a direct computer-to-computer connection.*Very fast data transfer on two USB 2.0 connections.*Plug-and-play, no extra software to install*Comes with a nice carrying pouch and a velcro-wrap to keep the cable tidyCon:One end of the cable is about the size of a regular flash drive (width is about 3.5 cm), so it might be a little unwieldy if you don't have a horizontal USB port.Verdict:I would definitely buy another and would have bought one before now if it had existed! What a great invention. I love this thing and it makes transferring a bunch of files super easy, especially in our four-laptop household. It's way easier to carry one little cable around instead of a 500 GB external hard drive (like we have been doing). It's worth every penny and invaluable for laptop-toting college students.
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2008
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