There are switches (from QVS) that allow one to share USB peripherals between two computers without networking or constantly plugging/unplugging the peripherals ... but the catch is that it's between two Windows computers.

Attempts to network my Windows and Linux computers have ended in frustrating failures.

I would like to share a single USB pen/thumbdrive between a Windows and a Linux computer through the use of some kind of USB switcher unit.

Does anyone know of a solution to my problem?

If no solution exists for sharing a USB pen/thumbdrive, then perhaps sharing an external harddrive would be feasible?

Thanks.