Tiger’s Improved Windows File Sharing

I needed to move a Windows Media movie file to my XP powered PC, so I tried to access it from my Tiger-powered iMac. It didn’t see the XP PC on the network, so I went into Sharing preferences (System Preferences/Sharing) to see if some settings had been changed by Tiger’s installation. Windows File Sharing had been turned off. When I selected it, I got a new button near the bottom of the screen telling me I would need to accept a “slightly less secure password” to get this feature to work best. I selected it and then turned my attention to my G5 PowerMac to reselect the same feature there. Once that was done, I pedaled over to my XP computer and opened Network Places and my home network to see what was there. My G5 PowerMac was displayed! I double-clicked on it to knock on its door and Windows presented me with a dialog where I needed to enter my user name and password. I obliged; and when I told it “OK”, it promptly opened up my user account just like I had accessed it from another Mac. Fantastic! I now had true accessibility to every machine on my network. That feature almost by itself made Tiger worth the upgrade!