Laplink Eases PC Moves With PCsync

Migration software adds Music Mover, Web access functions to synchronization toolbox.

Peggy Watt, PCWorld.com

Laplink is making the move to a new PC even easier on Tuesday, with the latest version of PCsync, featuring an enhanced suite of migration tools and new remote access functions.

And, just for fun, PCsync 2.0 includes a Music Mover utility to help you manage, play, and transfer your MP3 files.

The package, complete with transfer cables, costs $99.95; a 16-foot expansion cable is available for $59.95. PCsync 2.0 is available now.

Browser Access Added

New to PCsync 2.0 is Surf Up, a function that lets you view your PC's PCsync shared folder through any browser. The shared folder is accessed via Laplink's extranet.

This new feature allows you to give colleagues and friends Web-based access to files you want to share--only the ones in the PCsync folder, says Mark Eppley, Laplink founder and chief executive officer.

"The Internet is part of everyone's world now," Eppley says.

PCsync's PCMover menu offers a check box of what you can transfer across PCs, including system settings and application preferences. It doesn't migrate the full application, but migrates application settings for dozens of programs. Also, it does not automatically transfer network and IP settings, because those are often specific to the hardware, Eppley notes.

The application migration function is also available separately as PCMover Plus, priced at $19.95.

You can also synchronize or migrate files and applications between systems on a network, without using Laplink's cables. However, PCsync does not support file synchronization or transfer across directories or drives on the same machine, the company confirms.

Not Laplink Lite

PCsync is a younger sibling of Laplink, the flagship product of the company formerly known as Traveling Software. Both programs can synchronize files across systems, although Laplink can do so on a preset schedule.

Primary differences are Laplink's support for remote control, chat, and printer redirection and sharing. Music Mover is available only in PCsync, as is the PCMover migration tool.

Although PCsync can use the Laplink serial cables, this version features a smaller set of Universal Serial Bus cables that Eppley says is faster. It can transmit data at speeds of at least 5MB per second, and sports status lights so you can see that data is moving, Eppley says.

Laplink's product line is aimed at the mobile professional, particularly people who have more than one PC and need to synchronize their work on several systems. But as a business traveler himself, Eppley boosts the MusicMover utility as a handy application for a notebook user. The program helps you organize your music files and create playlists, including generating a random list, and works with whatever software music player you use, he says. Then you can sync up to update your discography.