Wireless in general works much better than it did say 3-5 years ago, but it still has issues. It's incredibly sensitive to equipment on the same frequency (phones, microwaves) and sometimes you just get a plain shitty connection. But overall, it's simply amazing when you get it working. I've found that Linksys products work the best, even better than Netgear. Netgear is still the best for wired, though.
My girlfriend has her laptop connected to the wireless network at her house and maintains a damn good connection through their DSL router downstairs. She can download at 150 kilobytes per second over wireless. Like I said, if you can get a clear path without a lot of frequency bombardments, then it's as simple as choosing 802.11a/b/g, depending on the length of the connection, and what it will be used for.
-Lasereth