This has to be one of the very best blog posts I’ve read in a very long time. It introduces and explains a lot about the “netcat” command.

Despite its unassuming name you can actually use this to quickly set up a chat between two computers or send files between the two. This is as well as a whole lot more.

I tried netcat between two computers using Ubuntu 8.04 and it worked flawlessly. It works also on Mac and Windows. However, don’t forget to read the comments as well for some experiences in other distros and OSes.