I know 802.11g is the newest standard. But why the huge price differences
(I've seen them from $19 to almost $200. What exactly should I be looking
for if I want to network one CPU and 3 laptops?

That's a good question, and there's a lot of experience to draw on in this
group. My 2 cents worth:

The $200 (or $300) models will work MUCHO better than the $19 one. Cheap
wireless products, be they routers, APs, PCI NICS, PCMCIA NICs, etc. will
give poor performance. We use 3COM APs for commercial coverage areas
(Hotels, etc). They cost about $300.00 and are worth every penny. You put
them in place, configure them and forget about them. They work and just keep
on working. You can get a signal from a city block away (which means you can
get a signal from the parking lot, pool, etc. They chain themselves up and
provide zones like cell phone coverage. Wireless is still flakey. It's a lot
better than it was 2 or 3 years ago, but if your wireless network needs
wired reliability - you get what you pay for.

Look for 802.11b/g auto config, WPA encryption. If you're looking at a
router, you want NAT so multiple devices can connect simultaneously. Check
out the support and return policies.

....kurt

"JK" <jeff-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:1G_ye.62269$go.35193@fed1read05...
>I know 802.11g is the newest standard. But why the huge price differences
>(I've seen them from $19 to almost $200. What exactly should I be looking
>for if I want to network one CPU and 3 laptops?
>