Just a few short years ago, many people told me that they would never get a computer. They never wanted to have anything to do with the Internet. In the last few years I have occasionally received e-mail from some of these folks as, despite their denials, they have been swept up by the Internet storm. Usually, the e-mail starts something like this: “I never thought I would buy a computer, but you were right…..”

Well, recently I received an e-mail from one of these self-professed computer hold-outs that went like this: “I can’t believe it; I thought I hated computers but now I am hooked. I bought my first computer just last year and we are already a two-computer household.”

Computers are addictive and more and more people are finding themselves with two or more computers in their homes. Wouldn’t it be nice if those computers could share files, a printer, and an Internet connection without the cost and trouble of tearing up walls and running wires through the house? Well the technology needed to do this is available now. Better yet, it is already affordable.

Wireless technology when combined with a laptop computer can also free you from being tethered to a desk. After you have created a wireless network in your home, you can add a wireless card to a laptop computer and roam through the house with your computer. You can even sit in the yard to do your computing (Which is something that I enjoy doing every now and then).

If you have a laptop with a wireless card, you can also roam the world with it. Many community groups are setting up free wireless Internet hot spots where you can use your wireless notebook to hook up to the Internet. Other entities like airports and coffee shops are offering wireless Internet services on a paid basis. Wireless Internet is, without a doubt, the Internet of the future.

If you want to be a part of the future right now, setting up a wireless network is fairly easy. All you need is a wireless router and a wireless network card in each computer. Recent price reductions have made wireless computing attractive to many. At the time I write this, routers are in the range of $50-$200 and wireless cards can be had for $30-$125 each. Apple’s OS X operating systems and Microsoft’s Windows XP both make it very easy to set up the software for a wireless network. Older operating systems can also be used, but the software setup is slightly more complicated.

Called Wi-Fi, or high-speed wireless networking, the most popular wireless networking protocol is 802.11b. It has a maximum throughput of 11 Mbps. To put this into perspective, this is only about one-tenth the speed of common wired Ethernet networks, but is fast enough for most average home users. Two other faster versions called 802.11a and 802.11g have appeared on the horizon, but have not yet come into widespread use. They are about five times faster than 802.11b at 54 Mbps. These versions each use different transmission frequencies. As time goes on, one of these technology versions will probably become the defacto standard, but in the mean time, don’t be afraid to jump in. Several companies have introduced network cards that will work with any one of these three standards.

I am very happy with the 802.11b wireless network that I have in my home, and I expect that I will remain happy with it, even though faster connections may become available. So don’t be afraid to choose 802.11b as your wireless protocol.

If you hate being tethered by wires, try the freedom that wireless computing offers.