NetBIOS name service and NTLM

Back in the early days of networking, just after the birth of the PC, people wanted the ability to share files from one system to another. In business applications, systems already had the ability to network themselves using proprietary networking protocols such as IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange), Tolkien Ring, and coaxial bus networks. One big problem with all these proprietary protocols is that none of them could cross-communicate between themselves. This became known as vendor lock-in, and we still have some of this even today with proprietary systems and protocols. (Yes, I am pointing the finger at you, Microsoft.) Using these protocols meant paying a license fee for each system on the network-not just a cost for the OS, but an extra cost to network each system, then an extra fee on top of that for each workstation connecting to a server across...