Windows95(tm) features excellent support for
Connecting two local computers to share files and 
printers, but It can take some elbow grease to
get both sides talking  to each other. 

I have used Direct Cable to access the LAN from a
client's Notebook to download beta products that 
were not yet distributed on Floppy or CD-Rom.

I also used Direct Cable, or Interlink
to configure the laptop computers for 
the engineers use in field survey work.
Most of these laptops were older 486 models
and did not feature CD-Rom support, or
network connections.  

 
Direct Cable connections can be
Parrallel, Serial cable, Or now even Infrared.

here is  the wiring of a Parrallel Direct cable

Direct Cable is the successor of
the Interlink driver provided with MS-DOS version 6.
Interlink was limited. It did not support redirected
devices like CD-Roms and network shared drives. I
was able to configure Interlink to serve as a gateway
to the main printer server for non-networked enabled
computers like our stand-alone BBS. Interlink
completey hogged up the Computer it was hosted from,
it was not Geared for Windows Multi-tasking.  

FX software:
the interlink drivers were originally part of a 
package Called FX, published by Rupp Corp.
Besides the FX link host and client,
the FX.exe program enabled peer-to-peer with
a split screen interface for copying files back
and forth, or a local and remote command line mode.

LAPLINK from Travelling Software is probally
more broadly recognized. It uses the same parrallel cable
as FX, and Direct Cable for Windows 95. While Direct
Cable is not meant to compete entirely with Laplink,
it does a pretty good job.

Getting Started with Direct Cable:
a direct cable shortcut will be under the Accessories
Section of the Start Menu. If it isn't then you
will have to install it. Go to add/remove programs
in the Control Panel, and select the Tab for 
adding and removing windows components. Follow
the instructions for installing Direct Cable software.
Some Network functionality will occur,
and will be extremely transparent to the network 
for example, the Client computer will have
 a name and can be found by others not directly
 attached(if sharing is enabled). Thus you could
 find a document at
\\CabledComputer\sharedfolder\mydocument.doc

Both Parties must be running the Direct Cable software. 
If one system is a Dos 6/Windows 3.1 system then you'll
have to resort to Interlink. See the dos Help files
for instructions on using Interlink. 

The parralel port settings of both systems will have
to be at the lowest common denominator. This may
be a standard LPT, or ECP, or EPP. Refer to your
system's manual for instructions on setting this.

When Connecting, One system will be the host,
and One the client. File and Print sharing 
should be enable on the host. The Direct Cable 
software will run minimized on the Taskbar. Some
sluggishness may be noted in accessing.