Wi-fi 802.11 wireless home network without a hub

[bill at horne.net (Bill Horne)]

Thank you for reading this.

My neighbor wants to connect his home computers with wireless cards,
and has asked for my help. He has four PC's, and wants a "least cost" 
solution.

If you have used cheap 802.11 PCI cards in an "ad hoc" wireless 
network, without a wireless hub, please tell me how it worked out
and if you'd recommend it as a low-cost alternative to a Linksys 
or Netgear Wireless Access Point.

TIA.

Bill