Very Computer

But I still can't access my Linux machine from my Win95/98 machines; I still
can't ping the Win machines from Linux by name, but can by IP address; and
when, in Windows, I right click my Linux server and check Properties, I get
the message "Server (name) does not accept remote access"  (or maybe the
word is "permit" instead of "accept").

What have I missed here?

192.168.0.1  bob
192.168.0.2  mary

Of course you will need to change the ip addresses for your environment.
After trying that verify that you can ping your systems by:

ping bob
ping mary

If that works then you have name resolution set up.  For control purposes I
usually specify the workgroup AND the netbios name in the /etc/smb.conf
file.

workgroup = SAMBA
netbios name = BOB

Also, make sure you have 'host' in the line name resolve order line:

name resolve order = wins lmhosts bcast host

Make sure you have encryption set up right.  If you followed the
instructions that tell you how to make the smbpasswd file:

cat /etc/passwd | mksmbpasswd.sh > /etc/smbpasswd

You still need to run the command smbpasswd to set the user's password.  So
if your linux username is 'joe' and password 'schmoe' then you need to run

smbpasswd joe

And enter schmoe when it asks.  Assuming all other parameters are set
correctly this should get you up and going.  If you still you have problems
I recommend that you read the documents in:

/usr/doc/samba-2.0XXX/docs/textdocs

This is better than any information you can get on the net.

Hope this helps

I supplemented your information with an EXCELLENT book which I commend to
anyone dealing with SAMBA:  Samba, Integrating UNIX and Windows, by John D.
Blair.