I've been cruising cyberspace since 1999. Dial-up. In lieu of just sitting there twiddling my thumbs as I wait for things to load, I've become a whiz at Minesweeper (expert level), and I'm getting pretty hot with Spider Solitaire. But I'm not getting any younger, so I decided to bite the bullet, pay the freight, and hook up to Broadband. Since we already have cable TV, and Earthlink is offering a deal right now (three months at $19.95 a month, free hook-up), we've decided to go for it. The guy from Comcast is coming to hook us up Monday afternoon (Apr. 11th).

Also, to eliminate those uncomfortable periods of heavy sighs and loud throat-clearings when one of us is using the computer and the other is waiting impatiently, Barbara and I have blown the budget and bought HP Pavilion zv5000z notebooks (one each). These in addition to the desktop we already have.

But why stop there? We've decided to go wireless as well. A wireless network will give us maximum flexibility.

I've read articles on wireless networking hook-ups in various magazines, book chapters (Windows XP for Dummies, The Healthy PC, etc.), and numerous web sites, and I'm beginning to get a bit punchy! The problem seems to be terminology. For example, the terms "access point" and "router" seem to be used interchangeably. These terms and others.

Now here's how I have it figured:   

The cable comes in through the wall. The man from Comcast attaches a signal splitter to the cable, hooks up one bit of cable to the television (as before) and another bit cable to a cable modem. Now, if we just had the one computer, he'd hook a wire? cable? from the cable modem to a port in the computer (Ah. But which port?).

But since we're setting up a wireless network, I presume that the bit of cable from the cable modem would be hooked to a wireless router. Install the essential software on each computer. The two notebooks came wireless-ready, but I'll have to do whatever is necessary to the desktop—wireless adapter? Is that a card I need to install?   Configure the software (not forgetting passwords, firewalls, anti-virus software, ad-blockers, and spyware removers!), and Bob's your uncle!   

I'm flailing about here. I have a cable outlet currently hooked up to a TV and a VCR, two notebook computers with wireless cards, and a desktop without a wireless adapter (with printer and scanner attached). I presume that I need to get a wireless router such as a Linksys or D-Link 802.11 b/g and an adapter for the desktop. Anything else? Any recommendations?

Can anyone recommend a nice, clear book on the subject or give me some straight, step-by-step advice? I'd really appreciate it!

Don Firth