Transfer files between PC, Mac and phone
Inateck’s HB4009 allows you to transfer files between devices. Marie Brewis shows how
There are several ways to transfer files between PC, Mac and phone, including cloud services such as Dropbox, USB flash drives and external hard drives, but if you’re looking for a simple hardware solution that you can plug in and forget about it, then we like this Inateck HB4009 USB 3.0 hub (pictured above).
In its simplest form the Inateck is a three-port USB 3.0 hub that you can plug into a PC or Mac and gain a couple of extra USB ports. But the HB4009 also has a ‘Magic port’, which allows you to transfer files between Windows, OS X and Android at USB 2.0 speed, share clipboards between PCs, and with KVM support even share a mouse between computers.
Inateck’s HB4009 three-port USB hub is available from Amazon for £22. It supports Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 or later, plus Android devices with OTG support. An OTG adaptor is supplied in the box, while a driver is built into the hub, so you won’t need to carry any extra software discs or download them from online.
Transfer files between Windows and OS X
First, plug the USB hub into a spare USB hub on a Windows PC. We’re using a Windows 7 laptop, but the Inateck hub also supports Windows 8. AutoPlay will pop up asking what you want to do with the device, so click on Run SKLoader.exe.
Also select ‘Always do this for software and games’, so that you won’t have to go through this step each time you use the Inateck. You now have a threeport USB hub attached to your Windows PC that you can use as you would any other USB ports on the laptop.
To now connect the Windows PC to a Mac, take the USB-toUSB cable included in the box and attach one end to a spare USB port on your Mac and the other to the Magic Port at the end of the Inateck.
On the Mac desktop an untitled drive will pop up and a CD icon called ‘MacKMLink’. Double-click the CD icon and choose MacKMLink. Now you’re ready to go.
With KVM support we found we could use either the mouse attached to our Mac or the trackpad on the laptop to control either PC. Simply drag your mouse cursor off the edge of the screen and on to the desktop of the other PC. (If you have any problem getting this to work, hit Alt-S to move the cursor to the other screen.)