After two reboots, and one request for my Windows 98 CD-ROM, my computer was ready to go. Then I booted my wife's system and went through the installation process. HomeFree's two network cards found each other, and the LAN was installed. The network recognized the ISDN phone line on my system, and I was all set. HomeFree handles up to 16 PCs, and each one can be up to 150 feet away.
Wireless nets move data more slowly than ethernet LANs.
With HomeFree, the 5MB file took 3 minutes and the 29MB file slogged along for 20 minutes. But I saw no slowdown with Net browsing or e-mail. The other gotcha is more basic. To dig deeper, try Networking Home PCs for Dummies , a super how-to book. Contributing Editor Steve Bass is a licensed marriage and family therapist and the president of the Pasadena IBM Users Group.