Have a "cross-platform" fleet of Macintosh and Windows machines?  Have no fear--Macs and PCs can get along just fine, if you have a few software tools up your sleeve.  This article will show you how to share Internet access, printers, and files betweens your Macs and your PCs.  We'll also discuss document conversion software, which may be handy if you regularly receive files from folks using a different platform.

First you need a network

Before you can tackle cross-platform networking, you need to have the physical network -- Ethernet wiring -- in place.  Ethernet is the wiring standard that is most commonly used to connect computers of all types in small offices, and provides the physical layer of the networking connection that needs to be in place in order to allow the machines to perform the tasks we describe below.

Internet access sharing

Once you've got a LAN in place, the first thing you'll probably want to do is set things up so both your Macs and your PCs can share a single Internet connection--maybe even a high-speed Internet connection such as DSL or cable modem.  

The good news is that your Macs and your PCs both use the exact same networking language -- "TCP/IP" -- to connect to the Internet.   That means that most of the common techniques for sharing an Internet connection will work equally well on both Macs and PCs.  This includes Internet connection sharing hardware devices such as 56k modem routers, DSL/cable modem routers, and even software-based Internet connection sharing tools such as Windows 98's built-in Internet Connection Sharing, and third-party products such as Vicom Internet Gateway.

Printer sharing

Using a laser printer with a built-in Ethernet card (technically, a built-in "print server") is the ideal way to share a printer between your Macs and PCs.  Once connected to your Ethernet network, these printers can be seen by both Macs and PCs without any additional software or configuration.   

All HP printers with "N" in the model name (e.g., LaserJet 5N, LaserJet 4050TN) have built-in network cards.  Check your printers' specifications, or look for an Ethernet port on the back if you're not sure.  Inkjet printers typically do not have Ethernet cards, nor do most low-cost ($<500) laser printers.

If you have a solid laser printer, but it doesn't have an Ethernet card built in, you may be able to add one, or purchase a external "print server" such as the HP JetDirect 150EX.  The exact device you'll require may depend on what printer you have, but the cost should be between $150 and $250.

If connecting your printer directly to your Ethernet network isn't an option, you can still share it cross-platform, but you'll probably need to install some additional software on your machines.  Assuming that you will also want to do cross-platform file sharing (see below), your choice of software may well depend on which type of machine you have fewer of; it's cheaper to install software on your only PC than on all of your Macs (or vice versa).  

Let's consider two scenarios, one where the printer is connected to a PC and you want to share it with a Mac, and another where the printer is connected to a Mac and you need to share with a PC.

Printer connected to PC
The first question is to determine whether your printer supports PostScript.  (A language for describing printed pages that is used on most high-end printers and virtually all printers designed for Macs.)   

If your printer supports PostScript, you can install DAVE software on your Mac, or PCMacLAN software on your PC.  Both packages allow cross-platform file and printer sharing; which one is most appropriate will depend on whether Macs or PCs are more abundant in your office. 

If your printer doesn't support PostScript (this is common on many low-end laser printers), then you probably should use PCMacLAN.  PCMacLAN includes a utility called GS Director which can automatically download a tool called Ghostscript onto your Macs.  

Printer connected to Mac
If your printer is currently connected to a Mac, and you need to share it with a PC, you can either install DAVE on the Mac, or PCMacLAN on the PC.   Again, the choice will primarily depend on which type of machine you have more of. 

 

File sharing

Sharing files between your Macs and your PCs is one of the main reasons for networking them in the first place.  It can also be one of the more complicated cross-platform issues.  PCs and Macs speak fundamentally different networking languages when it comes to file sharing.  Macs speak AppleTalk; PCs speak NetBEUI or TCP/IP.   No matter how you slice it, you'll need to run special software to pull off this trick.

PCMacLAN (~$150, Miramar Systems) is software than runs on a PC, and allows it to "see" and "be seen" by a network of Macs.  

DAVE (~$150, Thursby Software) is its mirror image: software that runs on a Mac and allows it to see and be seen by a network of PCs.

MacSOHO (~$100, Thursby Software) is "DAVE's younger cousin"--it doesn't allow printer sharing and runs only on newer Macs, but it's about 2/3 the price of DAVE.

All of these products can do a great job in the right circumstances.  If you're not sure which one is best for you, drop us an email or give us a call, and we'll be happy to advise you.    

If you have more than one or two "odd man out" machines, or a network that's larger than about 10 machines total, you may want to consider the option of using a network file server running Windows 2000 or Linux.  Both of these network operating systems have built-in support for Mac and PC clients to access shared files, printers and Internet connections.

Document conversion utilities

Do you often find that you can't open file attachments that were created in applications that you don't have?  This is especially likely to happen if you have an older machine with older or uncommon software, and you're receiving attachments from people with newer software.  For example, if you have Mac and are using an old version of ClarisWorks as your word processing program, and I send you a word processing file I created on my brand new PC with Word 2000, you probably won't be able to open the file.  (Unless, of course, I remembered to save the document in a simpler format using Word's "Save as..." feature.  Most up-to-date word processing and spreadsheet programs can save files in a number of older formats.)

This is where file conversion software comes in handy.  These programs can smoothly convert many common types of files into many other common types of files, between and among Macs and PCs.  The best file conversion software is made by Dataviz.  They have two products, Conversions Plus for PCs, and MacLink Plus Deluxe for Macs.  Both allow you to smoothly open and translate files created on either PC or Mac, and Conversions Plus also allows your PC to open Mac-formatted floppy and Zip disks and CDs (Macs don't need any special software to read PC media).  

Both cost under $100 and are worthwhile investments if you're frequently on the receiving end of unopenable attachments. 

For more information

PCMacLAN software

http://www.miramarsys.com
 

DAVE and MacSOHO software

http://www.thursby.com
 

DataViz (Conversions Plus and MacLink Plus Deluxe)

http://www.dataviz.com

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