Panther network functionality

[John Crane]

Hi List,

I've been a Mac user for many, many years, and an OSX user since it was 
first released.
In '99 I finally bought a WinTel machine for some specific 3D work and 
since have increased my network with multiple WinTel machines-but use 
my 17" PowerBook/20" Cinema Display for 99.9% of my non-3D tasks (as 
well as some 3D tasks now). As a result, I use the PowerBook as a "hub" 
if you will (not a server), to monitor activity on my network, which 
was the original vision when buying this computer-and it works well.

However...
Over the years I've come to depend on Window's "Map Network Drive" 
option.
So the question is this: Is there a way to implement these same 
functions: "Map Network Drive," and "Reconnect at Startup" using 
Panther? At present it seems cumbersome: I need to go into the finder, 
click on Network, locate the workgroup directory, then locate the 
machine within that workgroup. In the forth "pane" (the finder 
"desktop" being the 1st pane) I get the connect option, SMB/CIFS 
Filesystem Authentication window, which constantly has the wrong 
Username entered, and I have to re-type in the password every time 
despite the fact I ask it to remember it in the keychain.

This is functionality in the Windows environment that doesn't rely on 
"Server" software, so I'm hoping that Apple, in it's infinite creative 
superiority, has provided a way to accomplish these same tasks better, 
faster and of course more elegantly. I'm looking forward to the day I 
can implement OSX Server, but it won't be today ;-).
Any suggestions?

John B. Crane
Principal
CraneDigital, LLC
Visual Communications for All Media
jbcrane at cranedigital.com
+1 (970) 229-1462
www.cranedigital.com

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