Getting Files From Point A to Point B

By Don Watkins

I had a lengthy dialog with another user trying to use HyperTerminal, the applet included with Windows 95 and 98 to send a binary file from one computer to another. While this is possible, it can be clumsy. It also requires a lot of manual intervention and holding your tongue just right to get it to work. After this experience, I wondered if there was another option.

The folks who developed HyperTerminal have developed a new tool with an odd name: Drop Chute+ (see http://www.hilgraeve.com/dropchute.html for more information and a downloadable evaluation version). They call this technology a "personal file delivery system." Drop Chute+ removes a lot of the complexity surrounding sending files from one computer to another. With this program, you can send files using either a dial-up connection or via an Internet connection. You can even use a dial-up connection to begin the conversation and the program can automatically switch to an Internet connection, if available. "Chatting" with another user over the same connection is another option.

Drop Chute+ comes in two versions. Drop Chute is the free version that can be given to anyone and can communicate only with Drop Chute+, the commercial version. Drop Chute+ can communicate with either version.

Is this a cure-all for anyone who has struggled with manually connecting with another computer? No, but it is a good step in the right direction. Many folks may never need what this program has to offer. Those who do, however, will find a useful tool that makes the task much simpler.

Stay tuned: If you have a network and want to make the Internet available to all the users on the local area network (LAN) without having a separate modem connection for each machine, you won't want to miss next month's newsletter.

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