Wireless Network Hardware

The biggest downside to this technology is the price point (versus standard "wired" networking). However, this is not a big drawback, considering the prices possible on the market. For example, buy.com has the PCMCIA card at a little over $115 and the desktop card at around $40 (Linksys).

The one drawback I can see to the manner in which you wish to set it up is you will have to set up the desktop with some form of Internet sharing (ie, two cards). While I am confident that this setup will work, I have only seen the wireless in action with an Access point.

I personally find most forms of Internet sharing to be a pain to get fully setup, although ME has made it easier. With NT/2000, the IP forwarding is a bit more straightforward (IMHO), but more consuming as there is no wizard. The only question I have is how the computers are connected; ie, does the card form some sort of hub in the computer that is sharing connectivity? If not, you may have to have an access point. As mentioned before, I have only seen this working with an Access point, so be wary before you start down this path.

These new high-tech toys are a neat way to be able to network your house without having to tear up the walls. The technology is very similarto cordless home phones and should give you over 10MBps in most homes (you would have to have a large home to get less, or some form of severe interference). In the backyard, the range is expanded tremendously.

Pluses:
Freedom to roam around thehouse without wires.

Minuses:
Added expense of wireless. Probable lock in to a specific vendor, due to lack of published standards for interoperability; this leads to lack of support if vendor either quits on the technology or goes out of business.

Good luck!

Gregory A. Beamer
MCP: +I, SE, SD, DBA

Not quite sure how far you want to take this.
If all you want to do is have access to files on your desktop, all you will need is a null modem cable, and use direct cable connect.

If you want a permanent connection, without having to plug/unplug the null modem, then you might want to move to wireless. The bare minimum you will need is a standard NIC card for your PC, a small 4 port hub, a wireless access point, and a wireless NIC for your laptop.

There is no way around the Access point, as wireless will not emulate crossover connections to the best of my knowledge. I may be wrong, but technology changes daily.

actually, there is, if you connect the access point to your Desktop with a crossover cable, but a cheap 4port hub is less than $40.00, and becomes important later.

The whole package I described above could be had for around $600.00, maybe less. Prices change daily too.

The beauty of this setup is that your pc and laptop are always connected. The access point and hub are setup where your desktop is, since the desktop doesn't move.

If and when you decide to go ADSL or Cable Modem, the 4 port hub will also provide your connection.

Pros - again, as with caller 1, freedom to roam with your laptop, especially if you go the internet route.

Cons - depends on the size of your home. The low end wireless access points are limited to about 10 meters. Ranges improve as price rises.

Wireless right now is limited to 11 mps, but as its just you and trusty old desktop, that's not a real limitation.

3Com has a starter kit for wireless LAN's. You must have an access point which comes with the kit and your wireless nic's (3) which also come with the kit. The drawbacks are the cost, but this is coming down. The advantages are the ability to move freely throughout your house and even your yard. The access point should give you a range of about 300 ft.

Most wireless technologies I've come across need to have a access point so you may need to think about purchasing one.

BUT - I've just come across a company called ShareWave (www.sharewave.com) who profess to have products that do not need an access point. I have a catalogue in front of me for a company called GlobalDirect (www.globaldirect.co.uk, but nothing on the site) who retail the adapters in PCI and USB form for GBP135.

Here's the specs that Global have :
* 11MBpS
* 150 foot range
* No Access Point required
* "Automatically avoids interference"
* Priority given to streaming data

The ShareWave kit seems to be designed specifcally for the home environment.

A Great question!!!!

First and foremost, I have to set the record straight. You can configure what is called a peer to peer wireless network (ie two wireless capabile computer) The most commly used term for this is an ad-hoch network. Here is where the problem comes in... I love linksys products but their documentation on this is incredibly BAD. Most of the manuals that come in the box deal only with installing the card or drivers, not getting started with the network. Also, the tech have almost no clue as to what they are doing, unless you get a level 2 tech. I know this may kill some of you pc user's out there but the only truely user friendly wireless tech out there is the airport technology from apple. Get this... you can setup multiple connections to an apple airport card with the given software called simply Software Base Station in which yor mac will serve as an internet provider, via modem, lan , or high speed. However, the documentation is not really out there to do this for the Linksys.

Pros: Not having a really long cat 5 cable so as to stay connected to your lan's resources

Cons: Price, and more importantly support. This is a relatively new technology as far as mainstream computing is concerned,and you are on an uphill battle.

The best of luck to you

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