With growing interest in wireless local area networks (Lans), it is gratifying to note new players are coming on to the scene.

They are producing a range of network products that show more than a hint of design and style.

Gone are the days of the square grey box and in comes elegant designer networking modules like the ORiNOCO RG1000 internet gateway It is fast and furious with looks to die for and it performs as well as it appears, is easy to configure and works right out of the box.

The RG1000 claims an 11 megabits per second data-transfer rate in optimum circumstances.

Radio Lan equipment can be adversely affected by atmospherics and is subject to interference from unsuppressed machinery, e.g. diggers and earth movers.

Another consideration is security. It is quite possible for a hacker to pick up signals outside a building from a radio Lan and convert them back into decipherable information.

Not ideal if you handle sensitive business data.

But the ORiNOCO RG1000 represents good value for money and saves the time and trouble of installing a hard wired cable network.

Price: £170.

Contact: 01252 858070.

Feel good factor: 8 out of 10.