This is a big question.
The very short answer is that it is the protocol by which a lot of
-PC-related machines share files and printers and other informatiuon
+PC-related machines share files and printers and other information
such as lists of available files and printers. Operating systems that
support this natively include Windows NT, OS/2, and Linux and add on
packages that achieve the same thing are available for DOS, Windows,