Like printers, storage can be much more useful when it's networked. In the past, shar¬ing files meant dedicating an entire computer to the job. These days, NAS (network-attached storage) devices-of-ten no larger than an external hard drive-provide ":ilways¬available disk space to anyone on the network via the lingua franca of file sharing, the 5MB (Server Message Black) protocol.



To connect to an 5MB share within Windows-whether on a NAS device or on another computer sharing it through 5MB-open My Network Places and browse the shares available on the current workgroup. As it does with printers, Windows XP will display only the shares available on the workgroup you are a member of. To view files shared on the local network via 5MB in OS X, browse through them in the Finder; you can locate available servers listed under 'Shared' in the window's left pane, or simply choose Go Network in the menu. If you're using Ubuntu, choose Places Network

As with shared printers, not all stor¬age has to be attached directly to the network. Windows (both Vista and XP), OS X, and Linux all allow you to share files stored on your computer with other users on the network, as well as to browse file shares on other systems. To share files in Windows, first enable file and printer sharing (as detailed above). In XP, browse to the folder you want to share, right-click it, choose Sharing and Securiry, and then check Share this filder on the network. If you want other users to be able to edit, delete, and create new files in the folder, check Allow network users to change my files. Click OK to finish.

By default, Windows Vista requires users to provide a log-in name and a password before they can gain access to its file shares. If you'd like to share files with anyone on the network with our having to create a user account and a password for each person, set 'Password protected sharing' to Offin the Network and Sharing Center before you attept to share files"~r folders. To share a file or folder in Vista, right-click the item, choose Share, select Everyone (all users in this list) from the list of users and groups available to share with, click Add, and then click OK.

To share files in OS X, open System Preferences, click Shan'ng, put a check mark on File Sharing, and click Options; then select the shared home folders (if any) that you want to share via 5MB (public folders are shared by default), check Share files and filders using 5MB, enter the account password for any checked home folder when prompted, and click Done. To share a folder with everyone on the network in Ubuntu Linux, select the folder in File Browser, choose File.Propenies, select the Share tab, check Share thisfilderand Guest access, and click Create Share.

After following all of the above steps, you should have your company's net¬work up and running. Now your em¬ployees can focus on advancing your business to the next level.