Description:
It's common for Mac users to find themselves surrounded by a Windows-based network in the workplace, and some of us may also want to trade files between a Mac and Windows PC at home. Connectix, which has a wealth of cross-platform compatibility experience with its excellent Virtual PC emulator software, offers DoubleTalk as a simple and effective solution. DoubleTalk's greatest strength is its sheer simplicity; amazingly, it takes only five clicks and some minimal user input to give your Mac access to a Windows network. In the corporate workgroup instances we tested, DoubleTalk quickly located the WINS server and let us instantly access PC files, folders, and PostScript printers. In our home-use test, an Ethernet crossover cable and DoubleTalk's excellent manual were all that was needed to find similar success. For most users, the basic configuration options are all that will be required, but DoubleTalk also offers an advanced mode, which lets you modify detail settings including Node Type and Scope, and an Administration feature that will password protect the DoubleTalk settings. DoubleTalk even supports Mac OS 9's multiple-users feature. Unfortunately, DoubleTalk only works its magic in one direction. Once the software is installed, your Mac can see shared PC folders and copy files to and fro, but the Windows machines will remain ignorant of your Mac's existence. Beyond that, we wish that DoubleTalk would incorporate some cross-platform niceties, like automatically mapping the proper extension to a known file type when the file is copied to a Windows machine. But given its ease of use, rock- solid performance, and reasonable price, there's no question that DoubleTalk is fully capable of talking the talk, and walking the walk. --Jack Gardiner
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