Doesn't always work for all systems. You might still need a crossover for connecting to older systems. I.e. My PS2 for FTP access of the hard drive (I don't have that Fancy EasyHDD thing).
Shouldn't your (assumedly modern) PC/networking gear be able to handle that for you? It's my understanding that only one side of the link has to have auto crossover, so as long as one end supports it, it should be fine.