Apple’s simple-to-use, built-in file sharing now works over the Internet as easily as it works between two Macs in the same room. Internet file sharing is implemented using ShareWay IP from Open Door Networks. With Mac OS 9, File Sharing works over the TCP/IP protocol, so you can share your files, folders and disks with other Macintosh users at home, school or at work—or at a branch office halfway around the world. And when you give your friends or colleagues permission to log on, they can see the folders you’re sharing with them right on their desktops—just like local disks or file servers.

How it works: To share items on your Mac with others on the Internet, just turn on File Sharing, select the items to be shared, and set the access privileges for the people with whom you’ll be sharing your files and folders. You can even share applications designed for multiple users on a network simply by turning on the Program Linking option in the File Sharing control panel. (Available under Mac OS 9 and above)