They go by many foreboding names that only an engineer could love or understand -- 802.11, Wi-Fi, WLANs -- suggesting headaches and misery for nontechnical users.
Yet wireless home networks, which allow computers to access the Internet, untethered, from as far as 300 feet away from a landline Internet connection, are growing in popularity as the technology becomes easier to install and prices drop.
The pace of adoption could pick up still more, too, as technology leaders, such as Microsoft Corp., push forward with plans for home networks products aimed at mainstream users, not just early adopters. Sales of wireless home networks are expected to surge almost five-fold over the next four years.
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