With Doubletalk installed on your Macintosh you can transfer files to and from a networked PC running most versions of Windows (including Win 98, NT, ME, and 2000). You can also print to Windows-managed Postscript printers on the network, and access password-protected resources managed by a network server. The program works with standard Windows NT server networks and also in peer-to-peer networks. The beauty of Doubletalk is that it requires little or no Windows networking knowledge on your part and almost no assistance from your possibly Mac-ignorant IT guy.

Installing and configuring Doubletalk could hardly be easier. All you need to know is the name of your domain or workgroup, your username, and your password. Once Doubletalk is running, you access Windows network resources, including Postscript printers, through your Mac's Chooser, much as you would in an AppleTalk network. In our tests the program worked without a hitch.

Doubletalk provides one-way networking only—that is, you can access files and resources on the Windows network but Windows machines can't access your Mac. Doubletalk is also incompatible with the Network Browser, so you can't get around the Chooser's 512 server limit, potentially a problem on a very large network. Those reservations aside, if you're looking for a cost-effective and trouble-free way to connect your Mac to a Windows network, Doubletalk is hard to beat.