Going wireless is gaining popularity

After a hard day's work as a grocery store manager, the toughest decision Joe Swantack has to make is where he'll relax while surfing the Internet.

On his rear deck, where he can admire his water garden and butterfly bushes? By the fireplace? Or should he open his laptop in the hubbub of his kitchen, where he can keep an eye on his three kids?

No longer confined to the desktop computer in the basement of his home in Perrysburg, Ohio, Swantack is enjoying newfound freedom. And he's not alone — after big price drops, the market for wireless home networking products is sizzling.

The average price of a wireless home "access point" dropped from $140 in 2002 to $88 in recent months, and is expected to fall to about $60 next year. Even discount retailer Wal-Mart sells the gear that once belonged only to the technophile set.

But uninitiated computer users hoping to go wireless this holiday season should be aware that setting up an untethered network — like many computer-related upgrades — is not necessarily tangle-proof.

Wireless networking, also commonly known as Wi-Fi, for "wireless fidelity," allows users to link multiple computers or other devices, such as printers, to each other and to the Internet without cables.

It works similarly to a cordless phone setup. The base station that your computer network needs is a device known as an access point, or gateway, that plugs into your cable or DSL modem and transmits data in radio signals.

The most common access point devices also contain routers, which are necessary to let multiple computers share an Internet connection. Without a router, a gateway can send wireless Internet access to only one computer.

Each device on the wireless network needs to be able to receive the signals with the attachment of special Wi-Fi cards or adapters. Many new laptops now include wireless capabilities as a standard.

If any installation problems arise, they usually occur in getting the devices to communicate with each other. The newest computer operating systems — Windows XP and Mac OS X — have made the configuration process simpler, but the industry is still far from being able to say the majority of setups occur without a hitch, said Craig Mathias, a wireless industry analyst with the Farpoint Group.

Users can find themselves trapped in a jumble of unfamiliar computer and radio networking lingo. Product manuals can be confusing, and even people who pride themselves as being somewhat tech-savvy have issued online pleas for help.