Home Networking: The Missing Manual

Connecting from Mac OS 9 to Windows

Are you running Mac OS 9 (or even earlier)? Do you want to reach across the network and see what's doing on the Windows PCs on your home network? Then say hello to DAVE, a program that goes beyond even what your Mac OS X pals get when it comes to file sharing with the other side.

DAVE (available at www.thursby.com) gives your Mac OS 9 computer the ability to fully communicate with Windows in both directions—your Mac gets access to Windows machines, and vice versa.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: DAVE vs. Mac OS X

I've got Mac OS X 10.3 on my Mac. Is there any reason I should get DAVE?

Even though the latest versions of the Mac OS include excellent file-sharing skills and are capable of easily connecting to Windows computers, they do have some drawbacks. For example, if you ever run Mac OS X 10.3 on a new corporate Windows network, the person responsible for that network might have to lower the security of the entire network just to allow your Mac to talk to the servers. In today's security-conscious world, that's not always going to happen.

Furthermore, on large networks, Mac OS X 10.3 will likely choke when it tries to show you a list of everything that's been shared on the Windows network. The reason? Mac OS X 10.3 has a technical shortcoming that doesn't really lend itself to being able to see the contents of everything on very large networks.

Fortunately, you can use DAVE to overcome both these problems.

Do you really need DAVE for your home network? ...