OS X :: How To Find Linkstation (using IP Address) On MBA

I have just unpacked my new macbook air and after initially thinking I would put windows 7 on it, have decided to have a bash with the mac operating system first to see if I can get used to it. I have always used pc's so this is a big culture shock. I am 54 years old but consider myself quite techy minded, more so that my technophobe kids who always come to me when they have a problem. However I'm not sure you can teach an old dog new tricks, so to speak. I know it is frowned upon to compare with windows, and, as I said previously, I do not want my mac to be a pc, but might, at some points, refer to windows, so please be patient with me as that is all I know. I am going to trawl through all the guides at the top of the page as I'm sure they will be very informative.

I will be getting office for mac as learning a new OS is enough for me to tackle right now, and my air only has usb, no sd or dvd. I have a Buffalo linkstation with all my files etc., on and want to use it frequently for file transfer. I have downloaded NASnavigator and used 'finder' to look for it. (I am assuming 'finder' is similar to windows explorer, which is where the linkstation shows on my pc.) Should the linkstation show up automatically in the left hand menu, or do I need to click on something? Would it be under 'devices' or 'places'? (It is under neither at the mo.) I have searched and found info suggesting solutions for finding the linkstation using its IP address, but before doing this want to make sure I'm looking in the right place first.