Only you can determine how wireless you need your computer to be. There are more ways to go wireless than you can shake a stick at. Some people believe you need a laptop to be wireless, but it just isn't so. Not only that, but some people who have laptop computers use them in a "wired" fashion.

Laptops: Notebooks, Mini-Laptops and Netbooks

Most modern laptops can be used in a wireless way because they include the proper wireless cards. Often termed "WiFi" or something similar, the cards allow you to connect to networks provided at "hotspots" and cellular providers of Internet services. The cards will also allow you to connect to various wireless routers, but not all of them.

Laptops also include RJ-45 jacks so you plug Cat5 cables directly into them. A lot of people do this with full-featured notebooks and never use the wireless options.

Desktop Computers and Other Non-Portable Computers

Any computer that can be connected to the Internet via an RJ-45 jack can be turned into a wireless computer. Two additional components are required: The wireless router and the wireless transmitter. I won't go into the details, but a lot of people move their computers from place to place within a room without worrying about rerouting wires using this technique.

Another way is to buy a receiver and transmitter pair that has nothing to do with a wireless router. The connection procedure is the same, but this device pair is strictly for one computer and nothing more, whereas a wireless router can handle multiple computers. Each computer using the router would need either a wireless card or an attached transmitter.

Wireless Telephone Connections

For the people still stuck using dial-up services, even you can go wireless. A receiver and transmitter pair is available to make your modem almost wireless. A short phone cord goes to the part that connects to the computer and the other component can plug directly into the telephone jack.

There is a drawback to this type of connection, just as there is for a similar connection for the RJ-45 setup. The component connected to the computer has to be connected to an electrical source and that's usually a wall socket. I haven't verified it with a search of any kind, but I suspect you can probably find some now that are USB-driven.

There are other devices which can help you go wireless, you just have to find them. One place I've found is a site called "Cables To Go". Unfortunately, I don't have the web address handy right now and I'm way too lazy to look it up.

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