Chapter 4. What Can I Do on a Local Network?

If you connect your MacBook to the Internet with an AirPort Extreme Base Station or Time Capsule, as described in Chapter 3, you create a local network at the same time. Any devices connected to your local network, whether through a wired Ethernet connection or a wireless one, can communicate with the other devices on your network. This is a good thing because Mac OS X includes a lot of network features that you'll find to be very useful. Perhaps the most useful of these features is the ability to share files, but there are plenty of other powerful network features to explore and use.