Give your workspace a much-needed makeover with our picks, guaranteed to save you time, space and money.

How's this for a commute? Wake up. Put on slippers. Walk downstairs. For 50 million Americans, home is where the office is. The trick is making your workspace modern enough so you don't waste the time once sacrificed to the rush hour gods constantly tinkering with obsolete hardware. Whether you're looking to set up a home office for the first time or upgrade your existing one, we've got all the gear you need.

The biggest trend in home offices is wireless networking. In addition to PCs, everything from printers to hard drives are coming with Wi-Fi inside. Meanwhile, cutting the cord between your PC and your keyboard and mouse is a snap, thanks to Bluetooth and other similar short-range wireless technologies.

Of course, you can't forget the little things either, whether it's the ultimate ergonomic chair or a high-speed business card reader. With a little help from us, you'll start feeling like the CEO you are in no time.

Space Age, Space-Saving PCs

As the centerpiece of any home office, your computer needs to be powerful without overwhelming your desk. So it should come as no surprise that laptops are flying off the shelves. You can get a decent Pentium 4 system with a 15-inch screen for a little over a grand.

On the other hand, if you're going to be staring at your PC for hours on end, we recommend a jump up to 17 inches or larger. That way, you'll have enough room to show two applications simultaneously.

One of the best new so-called desktop replacement notebooks is the Toshiba Satellite P35. Running at a blazing 3.3 GHz, this $2,099 powerhouse sports a brilliant 17-inch screen with TruBrite Display technology. You'll be rewarded with excellent contrast, a wide viewing angle, and superb ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics for everything from scrolling through web pages more smoothly to editing photos in the blink of an eye.

Even though you're not likely to tuck this machine under your arm, Toshiba includes wireless 802.11b/g on the P35 so you can connect from anywhere in your abode. "Users want power, functionality, productivity and the option of mobility when setting up their home office," explains Kimberly Phipps, brand manager for Toshiba's Digital Products Division.

If you prefer to go the desktop route, no Windows machine comes close to the Apple iMac G5's combination of elegance and power. Starting at $1,299 for the 17-inch version (the 20 incher goes for $1,899), this all-in-one computer stuffs a zippy G5 processor, NVIDIA graphics and tons of other goodies into a two-inch-thick frame. "Design from both an image standpoint as well as a space saving standpoint is important, especially when you have limited room," says Sandy Green, Apple's director of small business markets.

The G5 runs Microsoft Office applications smoothly, of course, but its greatest strength is that it's virtually impervious to most of the security flaws that plague the Windows world. "With a rock-solid Unix underpinning to the Mac OS X and far fewer viruses to worry about than [with] the PC, the Mac is a very secure platform for the home office," raves Jai Chulani, Apple's product line manager. "If you have to spend time rebooting your computer once or twice a day, that means that you are waiting to get back to work."

Unlike most desktop machines, the G5 offers two flavors of wireless technology. One is the AirportExtreme 802.11g card ($79), which means you won't have to snake Ethernet cable to your broadband modem. The other is Bluetooth. For an extra $99, you can add an adapter and a wireless mouse and keyboard combination to eliminate every cord except the central one that plugs into your outlet. You'll also be able to synchronize data with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, like PDAs and cell phones, without a cord in sight.

If you're more comfortable in a Windows environment and don't need the occasional mobility of a laptop, consider Gateway's new Profile 5.5, which starts at $1,389 with a 17-inch screen. This all-in-one system comes with a 2.8-GHz Pentium 4 processor, a 7,200-RPM 40-GB hard drive, six USB and two FireWire ports and a copy of Microsoft Works. Gateway charges $45 for the optional 802.11g wireless card.

Put Your Network to Work

Perhaps the most important benefit of installing a wireless network is that it lets you relocate your home office to any room in the house at a moment's notice. "Wireless connectivity enables users to roam the house and work where they want," says Malachy Moynihan, Linksys VP of Engineering and Product Marketing.

There are several other compelling features for your home network. The latest trend: making phone calls over the Internet, which can save subscribers a bundle compared with traditional landline services--without sacrificing the features we've all come to expect. For example, Vonage's popular VoIP service offers unlimited local and long distance calling in the United States and Canada, caller ID, voicemail, three-way calling, 911, 411 and other features for only $29.99 per month.

If you already have a home network installed, the easiest way to get started is to purchase Linksys' new PAP2 phone adapter ($59), a tiny box that connects to the back of your router and comes with two phone jacks. Once you have an account set up through Vonage, all you have to do is plug in your telephone, and you can start making calls that sound just as good as those made via landline. Other services that are compatible with the adapter include AT&T CallVantage ($34.99 per month) and Verizon's Voicewing ($39.99 per month).

VoIP service has other benefits that a landline can't match. "You can manage your phone service from an online dashboard," says Vonage spokesperson Mitchell Slepian. "[This] allows you to see a record of every phone call you have ever made or received." Vonage also offers small business accounts a dedicated fax line for free, while residential customers pay $9.99 per month.

The best part is that, in many cases, you can keep your existing phone number. With Vonage, CallVantage and Voicewing, it typically takes anywhere from 8 to 20 days to complete the switch. If you live in one area and the bulk of your clients reside elsewhere, you can even get an area code in their location so you're charged for only local calls.

Connect It All

More traditional home office equipment is also getting networked. With the HP Photosmart 2710 ($399), an all-in-one printer, flatbed fax machine, scanner and copier, 802.11g wireless technology comes built in. That means you don't have to position the device right next to your PC, and you can print from virtually anywhere in your home with a Wi-Fi–enabled laptop.

While it's not as sexy as printing files over the air, the most important networked device you can buy is the one that will save your butt in case of a computer crash: a hard drive. The latest versions of Buffalo's LinkStation Network Storage Centers plug right into your wireless router and offer 160 GB ($299) and 250 GB ($399) of storage, respectively. The networked drives come with Buffalo's backup utility, so you can protect your data and schedule backups automatically.

Mark Spoonauer has covered technology for Wired, Business 2.0, and Men's Health.

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Instant Office Upgrades

Get more out of your current setup with one of these great add-ons.

Samsung SyncMaster 173mw Want to see the latest CNN headlines and catch up on your email at the same time? Just plug Samsung's latest 17-inch multitasking LCD into your desktop. This HDTV-ready display features Samsung's MagicBright technology, allowing users to change the brightness based on the type of application. $799, www.samsungusa.com

Altec Lansing FX6021 2.1 Speaker System Altec Lansing's tall but slim three-piece speaker system delivers loud but distortion-free audio, thanks to a total of 12 high-performance micro-drivers, without taking up much room on your desk. Surprisingly good bass, supplied by the 6.5-inch woofer, and a wireless remote sweeten the deal. $299, www.alteclansing.com

Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse With 20 times more sensitivity to surface detail than yesterday's wireless mouse, the MX1000 raises the bar for pointing accuracy. The mouse also features a fast RF cordless connection, a battery-level indicator so you know when to drop it into the rapid-charging base and an applications switch that lets you toggle between two open windows instantly. $79, www.logitech.com

Corex CardScan Executive If you're sick of staring at that messy stack of business cards, it's time for a CardScan. This compact gadget scans the information on each card in seconds and automatically places contacts' names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and other info into the appropriate fields on your computer, no typing required. $249, www.corex.com

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