Simon Harmel wrote in a message to All:
 SH> The connector appears to look like a telephone socket.
This is called an RJ-45 connector.
 SH> What I want to know is, do I just need a single cable to
 SH> plug between the network cards, and then leave Win95 to do
 SH> the networking?
Yes.  For exactly two nodes, you can order a crossover cable and just plug 
each end into one of the cards.  You can buy such things from Datacomm 
Warehouse, "http://www.warehouse.com/datacomm/", (800)397-8508:
   DCA3187  UTP 10` CROSS OVER CABLE CAT5                     $7.95
   DCA1412  CATEGORY 5 CROSSOVER ASSEMBLY 100FT              $34.95
   DCA1410  CATEGORY 5 CROSSOVER ASSEMBLY 25FT.              $14.95
   DCA1411  CATEGORY 5 CROSSOVER ASSEMBLY 50FT.              $21.95
   DCA1409  CATEGORY 5 CROSSOVER ASSEMBLY 12FT.              $12.95
   DCA1408  CATEGORY 5 CROSSOVER ASSEMBLY 6FT                $11.95
(I realize you are in the UK and cannot use an 800 number, but I am providing 
this information because it may be of value to other readers here, and also 
to let you know if you are being grossly overcharged by a UK vendor.  At 
worst, I suppose you could order from Datacomm Warehouse and have things 
shipped internationally, but this seems absurd for a simple cable.)
If you already have the two cards, then the crossover cable is all the 
remaining hardware you need to connect exactly two nodes.
 SH> I've been told that something needs to go in between the
 SH> cables, will I need this, whatever it is? Or will a single
 SH> cable do?
For more than two nodes, you need a "concentrator" box, sometimes (slightly 
incorrectly) called a "hub."  When you use a concentrator, you use straight 
cables instead of crossover cables.  Expect to spend at least US$50 for a 
concentrator box, should you need one.
 
-- Mike
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