What is it you want to do? For transferring GiB's of data there's no real alternative to the cable - wlan will be slower. But if you need to transfer a few photos or something like that, use bluetooth. For the stuff in between, use SSH/SCP over WLAN as mentioned here. The latter will require some IT-expertise tho.

Or, get another laptop. A laptop not being able to supply the required 500mA on its USB ports is kinda sad...