Introducing Networks and File Sharing
Macintosh file sharing enables you to use files, folders, and disks from other Macs on a network — including the Internet — as easily as though they were on your own local hard drive. If you have more than one computer, file sharing is a blessing.
Before diving in and actually sharing, allow me to introduce a few necessary terms:
Network: For the purposes of this chapter, a network is two or more Macs connected by Ethernet cables, wireless networking (Apple refers to this as AirPort or Wi-Fi), or FireWire cables (which are by far the least common type of network connection).
Ethernet: A network protocol and cabling scheme that lets you connect two or more computers so they can share files, disks, printers, or whatever.
Ethernet ports: Where you plug an Ethernet cable into your Mac. Be careful to match the cable to its specific jack. On your Mac and printer, the Ethernet ports look a lot like phone jacks, and the connectors on each end of an Ethernet cable look a lot like phone cable connectors. But they aren’t the same. Ethernet cables are typically ...
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