Paul Jones wrote:

quote
Emy's question has inspired me to go ahead and connect two computers here
at home.  If the cost is not too great, I think wireless would be the
easiest all around.

Just want printer and file sharing for now, maybe internet connection
sharing but we're still on dial-up.

 I just need a few suggestions on which way to go, even suggestions of
specific brands and models are welcome.

unquote

For the most reliable and least expensive way to obtain the bare minimums
that you mentioned, you will not need a wireless access point (router). All
you need are two Ethernet 10/100 network cards. You can choose wireless or
wired. For wireless, just create an adhoc network between the two computers.
For wired, you will need to use a cross-over UTP cable. The cross-over uses
the TIA/EIA 568A standard on one end and the TIA/EIA 568B standard on the
other end, which is just a technical way of saying that the send and receive
wires are switched on one end of the cable to an industry standard. This
will make file and printer sharing feasible.

On the wireless network, you can add a broadband router to your network
whenever you want - just drop the adhoc network and connect through the WAP.
On the wired network, you will most likely need to purchase a
straight-through (standard) UTP cable for each computer to physically
connect to the router. Another solution might be to purchase one cable for
the computer that will be closer to the router and a wireless network card
for the computer that will further away and utilizing the wireless
connection capabilities. So, as you can see, you still have some things to
consider before you decide.

I cannot imagine internet connection sharing with dial-up. Assuming that
there is a modem in each computer, my solution would be to hook-up each
computer's modem to nearby RJ-11 wall jacks. If someone was using the
Internet on the other computer - I would ask them to disconnect (or let me
know when they were finished), so that I could dial up the ISP from my
computer. My concern is that dial-up is slow enough already - it doesn't
need any help to run slower with the added delays induced through ICS.

I'm sure our colleagues on this site will have brand preferences for you. I
really do not make those recommendations. I use NetGear, but I understand
LinkSys and some others are just as good.

HTH...John

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