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That all changed a few weeks ago, when I.T. replaced my desktop with a notebook. I took it with me to a deposition, intending to take notes. As the deposition started, a small box popped up on my computer screen: "You are Now Connected to the Wireless Network." I was mesmerized; I had completely forgotten the laptop was equipped with a wireless adapter. Fortunately, the firm's wireless network was protected by appropriate security measures -- otherwise, I could easily have wasted the entire deposition surfing the Internet. The experience caused me to rethink my ambivalence to wireless, and so I decided to have some fun by connecting my own home wireless network.

I decided that for now, I would hook up a wireless Internet connection, which would allow me to conduct Internet research for articles in any part of the house. The idea of surfing the Internet in the den or on the patio, instead of my office, really appealed to me. I chose not to enable file sharing between the notebook and my PC -- I don't really need the feature, and I did not want to be worried about the extra security concerns.

Learning about the technology involved in wireless networks took up the most time -- I spent a few days doing research on the Internet. First, I had to decide the standard for my wireless LAN, or Local Area Network. The family of specifications developed for wireless LANs is called 802.11, and there are three members of this family: a, b, and g. The oldest and most widespread standard is 802.11b; it transfers data over the network at speeds of up to 11 megabytes per second, has a range of about 150 feet, and is relatively inexpensive. It operates at the 2.4GHz frequency level, which is an "unregulated" range -- this means the standard occupies frequencies also used by other commercial wireless products, which can lead to interference from these devices. The successor to 802.11b is 802.11a, which is capable of transfer speeds of 54 megabytes per second. The "a" standard works at the 5GHz frequency, which is "regulated" and subject to less interference. It's also more expensive than the "b" solutions. The newcomer to the wireless scene is 802.11g, which operates on the same frequency as 802.11b, but at much faster speeds. After researching the options, I chose the 802.11g standard for my wireless network. It offers a fast solution at a reasonable price.

Next up: the hardware. At home, I only needed to connect my PC and notebook, so my decision was relatively easy. The first thing I needed was a router, to serve as a gateway between my Internet connection and my soon-to-be network. In order to access the Internet from my notebook, I also needed a wireless access point, which is the focus for all data flowing between my PC and the notebook. Fortunately, most routers come installed with a wireless access point built in, and the prices for these routers are not bad -- $75-$150 will purchase a good quality product. The only other item I needed was an adapter for my laptop, which you know by now came pre-installed with the wireless card. That's all I needed. If you have more than one computer you want to connect to the wireless network, you'll want to purchase an adapter for each computer, or perhaps a "hub," which allows you to extend your network to multiple PCs.

Before buying the router, however, I needed to consider the issue of security. Wireless networks have proven easily susceptible to attack, and the best wireless products these days offer increasingly effective levels of security. I looked for a router with a NAT (Network Address Translation) firewall, which hides the network behind the router; it should also have SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection), to assist in filtering information through the firewall. If the hardware comes equipped with MAC (Media Access Control) Filtering, you can grant or deny access to specific machines. But that's not enough. Your wireless equipment should also come equipped with encryption. The two most common types of encryption standards are WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). Both standards require entering an encryption key for access.

After all this research, the rest of the process was a breeze. I found a router/wireless access point for under $150 and brought it home. After connecting the router to my DSL modem and my PC, I adjusted the configuration through a browser-based interface. With one click of a button, I was wirelessly surfing the Internet on my notebook. And it took just fifteen minutes -- give or take.