Let's take a look at improving your Wi-Fi network.

With the advent of wireless technology, surfing the web can now be enjoyed without the shackles of broadband cables connected to your computer. Wireless routers are relatively cheap these days, and can connect multiple computers, allowing the sharing of one broadband connection, whether it be DSL or cable broadband.

Almost all new PCs sold these days come with a wireless network card; make your laptop truly portable by connecting it to a wireless router.

When your wireless connection is working optimally, it's easy to forget that you're not connecting to the internet with the bondage of cables. But when you've a weak Wi-Fi signal, web pages can load excruciatingly slow, and you can even experience downtime. Perhaps you'd like to extend the reach of your wireless network?

The following advice should be used when your wireless network seems to be out of sorts; sometimes all your Wi-Fi network needs is a few tweaks here and there to get things back into working order.

Extending the Reach of your Wi-Fi Network

An excellent method for extending the range of your wireless network is by making sure you're mounting your Wi-Fi router on a high wall somewhere in the center of your house.

Around the near vicinity of your wireless router, ensure there are no cordless phones, microwaves and other miscellaneous 2.4 GHz devices, as these are notorious for causing wireless interference.

Changing the channel on your Wi-Fi router to a different one from your neighbors' router can also help; for example, if they're using channel 10, try switching your router to channel 2 and suchlike.

If you're still getting a feeble signal, you may want to think about upgrading to a more advanced wireless router, one that utilizes MIMO--multiple-input; multiple output--or draft-n technology; these more advanced wireless technologies can greatly amplify your wireless range, as well as increasing your Wi-Fi speed tenfold.

802.11n: What's with all those strange numbers?

Like the rest of technology, Wi-Fi standard will continue to improve by leaps and bounds. In the beginning, there was only the 802.11b, which could only push and pull data at a maximum speed of 11 megabits per second. 802.11b was surpassed by the 802.11g standard, boosting the speed up to 54 mbps.

As of this writing, the MIMO and draft-802 standards are at the apex of wireless speeds, as they boost the Wi-Fi throughput to 280 mbps; wireless speeds are now rivaling wired Ethernet networks! If you're in need of a new wireless router, purchase one that boasts the MIMO and draft-802 standards for extremely fast Wi-Fi.

Sharing Devices over your Wi-Fi Network

If your device--PlayStation, Xbox etc.--has a wired Ethernet port, you can acquire an adapter that will convert said device into a Wi-Fi-capable device. D-Link and Netgear market these types of adapters as "wireless game adapters".

Most of these wireless bridges will work without any configuration if your Wi-Fi network is configured to use DHCP--dynamic host configuration protocol--which is a protocol that takes care of assigning IP addresses to devices that request one.

You'll most often see these adapters advertised as "wireless game adapters", but these adapters will work with printers, cameras and other devices just as well.

If your printer is an older model, it may not have come equipped with an Ethernet port; don't despair, though, as you can remedy this situation by buying a wireless print server. When purchasing a wireless print server, take note to acquire one that has a port that can interface with your printers: USB, parallel etc.

Streaming Video and Audio via your Wi-Fi Network

If you can stream it over wired Ethernet, you can stream it over Wi-Fi; however, you must ensure that you've enough bandwidth to push the type of media over your wireless network. If you wish to stream high-quality video, it's a good idea to use a 802.11e capable router.

Ample bandwidth is only piece of the puzzle; you'll also need some sort of server to stream your data. A PC running Windows Media Center is a popular choice. If you'd like to go the open-source route, installing SlimServer along with a NAS drive on your Wi-Fi network can create a powerful streaming solution.

Wi-Fi has made networking computers more convenient by cutting away the shackles of network cables. Setting up your own Wi-Fi network at home is now easier than before and you can be sure that Wi-Fi speeds will continue to improve by vast amounts in the near future.

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