I have one but can't get it to work. It connects to the USB ports of two computers to transfer files. It has a CD to download a driver to each computer. I followed directions to download drivers and have the driver icon on each desktop but can't get either computer past the "Connecting" phase with cable connected. Both would show "Remote Connected" if they were ready. No mfr contact info was included. Are the flashdrives simple and easy to use to transfer files?

Flash drives are simple if you are running a newer version of Windows like XP. Anything USB will be a pain in the butt if you have something ancient like Windows 98.
Ethernet is simple on pretty much any operating system, and many times faster than either USB or flash drive transfers. If you have internet, you should already have the ethernet connected. I'd use it.

The old computer is Win 98SE, new one is XP. Old one no longer connected to the internet (DSL). Are you talking about connecting the two computers direct to one another with an ethernet cable? Then what? Do you think the USB flash drive will work OK on the old one to extract files?

A USB thumb drive can be made to work with Windows 98, but expect it to be as much hassle as the USB transfer cable. Basically, Windows 98 can't do USB. It has a crude USB driver built into it, but it seldom works with any USB devices, and even when it does work, it won't work for long before dying again.
If both computers have ethernet capability, simply plug them both into the same ethernet switch or router. Then share the drive you want to copy files from. Make sure both computers have the same Workgroup, and it definitely has to have the same exact name. The shared drive for one computer should show up on the network of the other, and you simply copy files as if things were all on one computer.
If you don't have an ethernet switch, hub, or router with two empty ports, you can connect the computers directly with a special ethernet cable called a crossover cable. These cables aren't commonly found, so you might want to ask a geek friend to make one up for you.

Click (http://www.makeitsimple.com/how-to/simple.htm)
You will need a crossover cable NOT a straight through cable.