> With "localhost", no name lookup should be necessary, but you
> can actually get files from remote computers through file: URLs.

Well, that's stretching things a bit. RFC 1738 says you can enter a full
hostname in the URL, but it also says:

   This scheme, unlike most other URL schemes, does not designate a
   resource that is universally accessible over the Internet.

Anyway, since there is (on purpose) no protocol specified, there is simply
no way to reliably make file:// work for remote files. Or, to quote the RFC:

   The file URL scheme is unusual in that it does not specify an
   Internet protocol or access method for such files; as such, its
   utility in network protocols between hosts is limited.

-- 
Björn Stenberg
mailto:bjorn_at_haxx.se
http://bjorn.haxx.se