[Headshot]

What I'd like to do is find a way to link my dad's and my macs, he's in St. Louis I'm in Chicago, they don't make a 300 mile cable, but wait they do! It's called the internet.

How can I transfer large files back and forth, like music, photos, etc. without e-mailing?
I know the new Limewire has a Direct Connect feature, is there something more direct than this?

Like, we enter each other's IP addresses, and send files right to that address.
E-mail has major limitations.

I don't think Fetch is for this, that's if you have your own web-server, right?

[philm]

iChat is an easy way of transferring big files.

You could enable File Sharing and log into his Mac such that his hard disk appears on your Desktop. All you would need for this is (a) his IP address and (b) Personal File Sharing enabled on his Mac. If his Mac is behind a router, things are a bit more complicated as you would need to enable port forwarding on the router. Also, if his IP address changes every time he connects to the Internet, you would need to consider using the free facilities of www.no-ip.com or another dynamic DNS facility.

[shortcipher]

Originally Posted by Headshot

What I'd like to do is find a way to link my dad's and my macs, he's in St. Louis I'm in Chicago, they don't make a 300 mile cable, but wait they do! It's called the internet.

How can I transfer large files back and forth, like music, photos, etc. without e-mailing?
I know the new Limewire has a Direct Connect feature, is there something more direct than this?

Like, we enter each other's IP addresses, and send files right to that address.
E-mail has major limitations.

I don't think Fetch is for this, that's if you have your own web-server, right?

If you have a .Mac account you can use the iDisk feature, which is shared server space at Apple that you can access directly from the Finder, one of you would have to "own" the account and the other could simply dial in to the public areas on the iDisk. There is another advantage to posting files onto an iDisk in that it doesn't then matter if one of you switches your Mac off.

[PurpleGiant]

Many ways to do it, but iChat file transfer would be the easiest.

[Millennium]

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is one of the oldest means of transferring files on the Internet. It's not known for being terribly secure -in particular, passwords are easy to sniff- but it gets the job done.

Peer-to-Peer is not so much a protocol as an architecture (that is to say, a basic idea for how to design software). Most older file-transfer protocols, such as FTP and HTTP use a Client-Server architecture. This means that one machine is designated as a 'server', and all network traffic passes through it. Other machines, called clients, log into the server. They can upload files, download files, and do many other things, but two different clients cannot see each other. FTP is a client-server protocol. So are HTTP (which the Web uses) SMTP, POP, and IMAP (which most e-mail services use), and almost all IM protocols. These networks are easy to manage, they serve most needs quite well, and they're easy to implement.

Peer-to-Peer architectures are newer, though still quite old (their use in file-sharing is a modern phenomenon, but they have been used for other things). In this model, there is no client-server relationship; all machines involved can do anything with any other machines on the network, such as passing information. These networks tend to be very robust -if one machine goes down, another can take its place- but because there is no central point of control these networks can be hard to manage. Depending on what you're using the network for, these may be disadvantages, or they may not.

True peer-to-peer networks are actually pretty rare. Most so-called 'peer-to-peer' networks use a hybrid approach, with one (or several) central servers that regulate logins and keeping track of who is "online", while passing information between logged-in clients in a peer-to-peer fashion. There are also cases of client-server networks where the servers themselves are organized in a peer-to-peer web but the clients never see this aspect of things. E-mail and Jabber instant messaging work in this manner, among others.

If you want to share files with a specific person, then iChat's file transfer is probably the easiest thing to set up. You piggyback off of an existing network, so there is no additional client or server software to configure, and it's reasonably secure since the AIM network will handle authentication for you.

[Headshot]

The iDisk is a hard pill to swallow, especially seeing as I have 500 Mb storage on my website for my business, but I want to reserve that for business, I'll be uploading entire weddings there, and more now this season. I'm only paying $15 a month thru Interland.

Someone said they use Timbuktu, any experience with that?

Thanks SO MUCH for the obvious time people put into these replies!

-matt

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by Headshot

I don't think Fetch is for this, that's if you have your own web-server, right?

Ah, but you do! In the Sharing preference pane, you have the option to turn on FTP access.

The only problem with this is that FTP is really insecure, and you could cause your password to be visible to any hacker who may be watching your traffic. Therefore, SFTP is a better option. Instead of FTP, turn on "Remote Login" in Sharing, and then your dad can connect to your Mac with Cyberduck, a free client that supports both FTP and SFTP. All he has to do is make sure he's connecting via SFTP, and he'll be able to copy files just by using drag and drop.

No matter what service you use, though, I would turn it off afterward. If someone should manage to correctly guess your password, they would gain full control of your Mac if Remote Login were left on.

[Superchicken]

I believe AFP has been suggested. I would say it is by FAR the best option. Find out his IP addy, and an admin user name and password. put in afp://IP ADDY, and you're good to go. I once browsed a friend's OS X machine from within OS 9. His machine was in California, mine was in Manitoba. It's a great option.

[tooki]

Configuring a router may be too tricky. (Not to mention that some consumer routers just don't work right in the necessary settings.)

I'd suggest using Skype, which is a peer-to-peer based internet phone and file sharing app. Its big advantage is that it self-configures to get through routers and firewalls -- no hassle.

tooki