Just how do you get your teeth into wireless?

The trouble with IT is that sometimes, it can be so darn repetitive. Regular readers of this column will know that following last week's introduction to the wonderful world of Bluetooth, in today's barely coherent scribblings we will focus upon the fast-developing array of products, gadgets and wheezes out there to help you implement the wireless networking technology.

Irregular readers should know that in addition to discovering this fine radio signal tech, in previous weeks we have also cracked the secrets of perpetual motion and eternal youth, discovered seven infallible methods of attracting the opposite sex and discussed 42 sure-fire ways to win friends and influence people, so let that be a lesson to you.

Foremost on today's agenda is getting your PC equipped for the Bluetooth revolution. Companies such as Fujitsu are already punting suitably equipped machines like the super-sleek £869 Lifebook P-2020 on the high street, but for many this will be a simple matter of upgrading your existing kit.

TDK Systems have released a range of upgrade cards to fit notebooks, PCs and PDAs that will cost you between £90 and £170. Using one of these in conjunction with a Palm m500, I had the handheld communicating seamlessly with mobile and desktop in an hour, an implementation time that admittedly would have been shorter were it not for this column's oft-stated belief that reading the instructions is for pussies.

Red M have a similar range of clip-on Bluetooth modules retailing at around the same price which worked very well with a Handspring Visor. If you don't fancy the hassle of configuration, Socket Communications manufacture £125 cards specifically designed to connect a pocket PC with various mobile phones.

A slightly different approach is offered by Blue2Space, whose range of networking products starts at around £200. With these babies, named Blueballs, you simply plug the unit into a PC's Ethernet card or serial port, spend five minutes on configuration and hey presto you've got a wireless LAN in operation.

Once Bluetooth is up and running, there's an emerging range of gizmos and gadgets available to start really exploring the technology's potential. A personal favourite is GN- Netcom's GN 9000 cordless headset, which allows the user to switch control between computer, mobile and landline. One headset, no wires, much less hassle.

HP has also come up with the £329 995c inkjet printer, a sleek black machine that provides excellent print quality, even when dealing with large files, anywhere within 10 metres of the command PC. Toshiba, meanwhile, have issued the TLP-X21, the world's first Bluetooth projector, forever removing the once ever present risk of tripping over your cables mid-presentation.

There are issues still hovering above Bluetooth however, not least of which is the thorny matter of security. Although attempts are already under way to solve the problem, many experts have emerged to counsel that any data broadcast via the technology is wide open to a drive-by hack attack. To many users this will not be a significant risk, but if you're thinking of using the system in conjunction with sensitive information, carefully consider the safety aspects first.

The other problem is price. The added functionality that the technology affords is fantastic, but for many of you it will simply not be worth splashing out upwards of £100 on. This column's advice in this case would be to monitor developments at www.bluetooth.com, wait six months to a year for the cost to start falling and then jump into the fray.

It isn't perfect and it isn't cheap, but this is going to be big. Flexibility, ease of use and the pure joy of a life without wires are irresistible charms, and while the technology has its fair share of detractors, its continued advance seems inevitable.

Turn on, tune in and pull the cables out, man, Bluetooth is the way ahead.

Iain S Bruce takes a personal look at the sex appeal of Bluetooth (extracted from Sunday Herald 20 Jan. 2002)