Like many people, you may have come to realize that a two-year-old computer has all the resale value of a bikini in the Arctic. You also realized that it was cheaper to buy a new computer with eight gigabytes of number-numbing memory and 64MB of super-fast RAM than it was to upgrade your old machine. You now have the essential ingredients for a home network: two or more computers.

Linking your computers at home is now much easier than ever before. But the principles and the benefits remain the same. Networks are formed by linking computers together, allowing you to share resources, such as a printer and files.

Creating a home network requires a piece of hardware called a network adapter, and some means of transferring data on your network. This is where setting up your home network just got easier. A number of manufacturers are offering network adapters that use your household phone wires, power lines, or radio signals to send and receive data between your computers and any attached devices, such as a printer or scanner.

Unlike conventional network connections, these new devices often don't require you to open up your computer or install special network cable in your home. But they may require some fine-tuning so that the adapters work perfectly with your computers.

Windows 98 Second Edition is designed to make setting up a home network easy. Only one computer on your network needs to run Windows 98 Second Edition; your other machines can run Windows 95, Windows 98 or both can have Windows 98 Second Edition installed. However, networks are complex and the home network hardware involved may cause a conflict with some of the hardware settings within your computers. If you're not comfortable installing extra devices or trouble-shooting device conflicts that may occur, you may want to ask a more knowledgeable person to help you out.

If you have the computers, the home network hardware and are eager to get networking, start the installation first on the computer that runs Windows 98 Second Edition. Remember, you'll also need to follow any instructions provided by the manufacturer of the network adapter you purchase.

Once you have installed the hardware for your network, you're ready to enjoy the benefits of sharing an Interent connection. Just follow these steps:

1. Click Start, then Settings, then Control Panel.
2. Click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
3. Select the Windows Setup tab.
4. Click Internet Tools and then click Details.
5. Check the Internet Connection Sharing box, and then click OK.
   
6. Click OK again.
7. The Internet Connection Sharing wizard will walk you through a series of steps to configure your computer for sharing one connection over two or more computers, as well as allow you to create a disk to copy files to other computers in your home network.

With a network at home, the saying "getting on the Net" takes on a whole new meaning.