Wireless freedom: installing an AirPort network can be a breeze.

Last Christmas, Santa Claus came down our "chimney" with two iBook G4s for our 6-year-old twins and one PowerBook G4 for my wife and I (a nice upgrade from an obsolete Mac we had purchased in 1996). We connected our new G4 to the Internet, but decided we wouldn't connect our children's because they were too young to have unfettered access to the Web. Ironically, over the course of the next three months, our kids connected to the Web more frequently than we did. Between the two, my wife and I barely got a chance to check e-mail.

"You know they need their own access to the Internet," my wife said one night as we pondered our frustration. Suddenly, one of our kids banged too hard on the keyboard; it was one time too many. "See? They're going to break our computer."

"Just what we need," I sighed, looking around at our apartment. "More stuff."

We live in a tiny apartment. In order to maximize every square foot to accommodate our family of four, we have had to think outside the box. This has meant turning our coat closet into a nook for the refrigerator, and turning half of our living room into a bedroom, using a mobile closet to double as a wall.

But connecting our children meant more cables, wires, two bulky modems, and everything else we didn't want to add to our apartment.

So one cold winter weekend, we gathered our computers and headed to the nearest Apple store to purchase everything we needed to go wireless: Three AirPort cards and an AirPort Base Station. Total purchase price: $593.09.

That, night, with the first iBook, I took out the battery and unlocked the keyboard, simply pulling down a small square lock found between the Esc and F1 keys on the left side of the keyboard and the F11 and F12 keys on the right side. Then, carefully, I flipped over the keyboard. Inside there was a thin set of wires connected to it and the computer. The instructions come with a clear warning: If I damage anything trying to install a computer card on my own, Apple Corp. would not be liable for fixing it.

Once I flipped over the keyboard, the instructions suggested I touch a metal part on the inside of the computer to discharge any static. Next, I carefully connected the antenna that comes with the computer, waiting dormant behind the keyboard for an AirPort card. The antenna softly snaps into a small opening on the AirPort card. The next step is to gently stick the card into the slot with the Apple logo facing up and secure the brackets to keep the card from sliding out of place. Once the procedure was done, I replaced the keyboard, put the battery back in, and turned on the computer. It took less than five minutes.

My children watched as I repeated the process with the second iBook; but I lost them when I turned my attention to the PowerBook G4. That required a slightly different, but easier installation process. This was just a matter of taking out the battery, attaching the antenna, and sliding the AirPort card in a slot inside the battery compartment. Once the card snapped into place, I simply put the battery back, turned over the computer and turned it on.

It turns out attaching and installing an AirPort card was that easy. In fact, my only problem was with the brackets in the iBook. They were a little hard to maneuver, and if the card isn't properly inserted, you risk bending it.

Of course there was more to do. I still had to install the software that came with the individual AirPort cards. (The instructions suggested that I install the software before setting up the base station.) The entire process took less than an hour.

Once the AirPort cards and software were properly installed, the next step was to turn my focus to the base station. And this required only plugging it into an electrical outlet, attaching the appropriate telephone wire (Ethernet vs. dial-up) to the proper slot, and turning on the base station. I didn't install the software that came with the base station because it was the same software that came with the AirPort cards.

To activate our wireless network, I had to go into my Applications folder, open the Utilities folder, and click on the Set Up Assistant icon. Your service provider and the type of computer you use will dictate how you set up your network. But always remember: If you need technical support, Apple has a great toll-free number (800-APL-CARE) that you can use to help walk you through the process.