Simple, Cross Platform P2P File Sharing via 802.11b?

Posted by Cliff on Monday August 26, 2002 @03:55PM from the wireless-communications-without-the-TCP/IP-hassle dept.

apago asks: "I travel alot on business and always need to exchange files with other people. We are always trying to figure out the best way to link two or more PC or Mac systems together. I carry regular and crossover cables and a small hub. Even then everyone has to configure a temp. IP address or have someone running a DHCP server. Most of these people have wireless 802.11b capability. Is there a way to share files between OSs using 802.11b without having to configure a temporary network setup? The autodiscovery and configuration of Bluetooth and ZeroConf sound like a good start. I like the easy of use of P2P apps." Does 802.11b need a TCP/IP stack to work? Could a low-profile stack, designed around ease-of-use, be used instead (all you would need to connect to the network would be the SSID, for example)?

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Forget 802.11b for causual networks; use USB CF by leighklotz · 2002-08-26 17:10 · Score: 3, Insightful

Get a $20 USB compact flash interface and use CF cards formatted as DOS FAT.
They work on Win 98 and up, Macs, and Linux, and some other exotics as well.
(Some old versions of Linux don't support some cheaper USB CF interfaces, but newer ones do.) For extra measure, get a PCMCIA CF card adapter; they cost about $10 new or $1 at a garage sale.