Silex Offers Universal USB Access
The Pricom SX-2000U2 lets you control any connected USB peripheral from anywhere on your Windows network.
The SX-2000U2 physically links USB devices to networked PCs.
Want to access a USB hard drive, printer, or scanner from anywhere on your Windows network? Silex's $150 Pricom SX-2000U2 lets you do so, giving you control of virtually any USB peripheral, with the exception of some speakers and Web cameras.
The secret: a small white box that establishes a physical bridge between your network router and the USB device, plus some clever software. The company's included SX Virtual Link utility tricks each computer into thinking that the USB device connected to the Pricom SX-2000U2 is attached directly to the PC.
I tested the SX-2000U2 with a range of USB peripherals--including Samsung's ML-1450 printer, IRiver's MP3 player, Epson's 2480 scanner, memory keys, and various USB-based hard drives--with nary a hitch.
There's a major drawback, however: manual access and sharing. Every time you want to access a device linked to the SX-2000U2, you must manually connect to it. When you're done using the device, you then have to manually disconnect it--if you don't, no one else will be able to use it. This limitation could be bad news if, for example, a coworker happens to leave the office without remembering to disconnect a device first.
The product's price ($150) is problematic, too. If it cost half as much, I might shrug off the sharing issue. As it is, buying more peripherals or purchasing truly sharable storage for your home network may be a better strategy.
The Silex SX-2000U2 is a clever product for casual users or for IT types who may need quick access to a remote USB device, but manual sharing could be an invitation to frustration in a normal networking environment.