USB drives have intimate relationship (sex) with each other

THE PRINCIPLE IS great. It makes good sense for USB peripherals to communicate directly with each other with no need for a PC to be involved in the question - acting as an arbitrator.

So an extension to the original specs for USB 2.0 has been developed called 'On-The-Go' (OTG). The standard - which dates back to December 2001 - allows for compatible devices to decided whether they are the lead partner in any connexion - ie the host - or whether they are just the peripheral.

It seems that the major use for OTG so far has been to agree on the physical format of a smaller interface port than the standard USB interface.

Everything seemed to be Hookey-Cokey, with vendors such as BTC announcing products such as its SG106 6GB MP3 player out here at Computex 2005. As BTC says, OTG can be utilised to facilitate file transfers without the need for some kind of computer intervention.

However, a company called Xmultiple is claiming to have developed a new (and patent pending technology) called FlashPoint. The company says its SOTG (Sharing On-The-Go) enables users to transfer files between Flash memory without a computer or USB bridges.

SOTG technology offers an easy one-step file transfer procedure with the ability to upload data from any computer or host device or any other memory drive. Other features include automatic USB battery pack power management; and a low battery power indicator.

Call us hardened hacks or what but these two things sound virtually identical except that Xmulitple is claiming a patent.

The INQ suspects that fur will fly over this one in the near future. µ

L'INQ
BTC