Need help for file sharing -- linux --> linux boxen

[C-Cose Masters <cmasters@nbnet.nb.ca>]

Greetings,

I'm having difficulties installing nfs- (user-server | kernel-server)
through apt. Basically they exit with pre- and post-config errors as
follows:

for nfs-user-server

	==>SUPER: apt-get -u install -t testing nfs-user-server
	Reading Package Lists... Done
	Building Dependency Tree... Done
	The following NEW packages will be installed:
	nfs-user-server 
	0 packages upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 518  not
	upgraded.
	Need to get 97.9kB of archives. After unpacking 266kB will be used.
	Get:1 ftp://ftp.us.debian.org testing/main nfs-user-server
	2.2beta47-14 [97.9kB]
	Fetched 97.9kB in 14s (6640B/s)         
	Selecting previously deselected package nfs-user-server.
	(Reading database ... 109846 files and directories currently
	installed.)
	Unpacking nfs-user-server (from
	.../nfs-user-server_2.2beta47-14_i386.deb) ...
	Setting up nfs-user-server (2.2beta47-14) ...
	Starting NFS servers:Cannot register service: RPC: Unable to
	receive; errno = Connection refused
	dpkg: error processing nfs-user-server (--configure):
	 subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1
	 Errors were encountered while processing:
	nfs-user-server
	E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

for nfs-kernel-server, the same error about RPC "Connection refused" is
returned after it hangs during post-install and has to be interrupted
with <control>+c.

When I was running potato, I had "nfs-server" installed without any
difficulties at all but removed it as, at the time, it was an
unnecessary extra service.

Now, I've finally got a small home LAN set up with a mixture of Mac, MS
and Linux boxes. I'd like to have a way to transfer files between the
Linux boxes (currently ~this~ desktop, with two users, and a laptop,
with only myself).

Am I over-thinking the means to xfer files to and fro? Seeing as I'll be
on a secure wired LAN and no more than two rooms separating the desktop
and laptop, I'd like to do this without having to resort to ssh, ftp, or
emailing files to and fro.

I'm also having quandaries with other servers (specifically pop3 service
offering to the MS and Mac machines) but will address them in another
post.

Many thanks for any help offered,

C-Cose Masters