Nowadays an average family of two adults and three kids will have at least three computers in the house and a computer network to feed them all.
Setting it all up can be scary for the amateurs, but if I managed, then I'm almost sure that anybody can. First you'll need a router, of course, to link the various computers in the house together and to the modem. For aesthetical reasons many will favor wireless, so evidently every computer will need its own wireless network card.
If you're contemplating a network printer it might be wise to look for a wireless one, and you may also consider a network camera... useful, if only to keep an eye on the baby. Setting up a home network is relatively easy, since the most popular operating systems, such as Vista or XP, provide step by step instructions, the required network drivers and directives to map network drive. As for the network speed, it will depend mostly on the router, and of course the processor and network card in each of the linked computers.
As you go along you may find, as I did, that you need a good network manager software to keep it all under control. Setting up my home network was a challenge, but I made it, so don't be shy to try. And remember, the Web is full of resources to solve all kinds of network problems
