I recently switched from a Belkin wireless router (connected to a Virgin
cable modem), to a Virgin all-in-one cable modem with built in router.
(I think it's a rebranded Netgear device, if it matters). Both routers
have four ethernet ports as well as wireless.

I've got two wired desktops and two wireless laptops, plus a printer on
one of the ethernet ports. The desktops are both on 64-bit Maverick and
the laptops are both on 32-bit Maverick. (When I need the speed I can
hook a laptop to the free ethernet port). One of the desktops dual boots
into Windows 7, and one of the laptops into XP.

All machines can browse the internet, and download Ubuntu updates and
packages, without any difficulty. They seem to be able to see each other
via remote desktop too ("seem to" because I can't remember if I tried it
every which way). Printing is also working across my network without any
issues.

The problem comes when I try to get to a share on one machine from
another. Previously, with the Belkin, if I chose Network from places, or
from the Nautilus side pane, I would go straight to any folder on the
network that I had shared. Now that almost never works. I see a list of
connected machines, but when I click on one I get a long wait, then
"unable to mount location. Failed to retrieve share list from server".

I've found a workaround, but it's so clumsy and I'd like to get things
back how they were. What I have to do is choose "connect to server" from
Places, then give the target machine's ip address and choose Windows
Share as the service type. I think once or twice "SSH" worked, but
"Windows Share" always does. The shares are samba shares, right enough,
because that's what worked for me before, and I don't know how to change
that, or whether I even ought to, given that I sometimes use Windows
over the network. I want to use the computers in a peer to peer way, so
having to connect each to each as a "server" doesn't make sense, apart
from being long winded.

Rather disappointingly, Windows can always see all of the connected
shares; and if Windows is booted it's usually simpler to use Explorer to
move files between two other machines than try to do it in Ubuntu.

Anybody find any clues in that as to what I'm doing wrong?