networking a PC, Mac and Linux

[blindrhino]

Hi all,

I'm on the market for a new laptop and was considering buying a Mac. The problem is, I have a desktop PC (Win XP Home) and am hoping to build a Linux computer to use as a TiVo and for running some work programs.

Why not just stick with a PC laptop? I guess I just want to see what using a Mac is like. I am hoping to go into bioinformatics soon and, from what I have seen, Macs are pretty common in that environment. I swear, I'm not masochistic, I just feel like this is a learning opportunity.

What I'm worried about is compatibility of my network at home. I'd like to share files and printers and I'd like to be able to log on to the linux box from one of the other computers. Would this all be possible with such a diverse network?

I don't know anything about networking. The three computers in my house are all connected to the internet through a wireless router and they can sometimes share files and printers. Will I still be able to use the wireless router with the diverse set of OS's I'm thinking of using? Or will I need to do something more industrial strength? If so what? I'm willing to spend a little money on it so any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks in advance for any help!

br

[Floppyman]

Even with the Mac/Linux box added in, all should still be able to connect fine to the wireless router. As for filesharing, Mac to Windows, is pretty easy to setup. If you want to share files among all three operating systems, consider installing Samba on the Linux machine, and then mapping a network share from the linux machine to the windows machine/Mac laptop. Mac OS X is very Linux like, so getting all three machines to play nicely should not really be a hassle. HTH

[rhysox]

You shouldn't have any problems at all, all should work fine with the network. If you want to logon to the linux box, you can use vmware to connect over the network, and if you want to be able to access network shares, see samba. All relatively easy to setup. If you need any help with the linux side, just give me a shout.