Office Wireless Networks-How Reliable Are They?

xinit asks: "The company I'm working with is moving into a new, large space and we're just in the process of throwing up a couple of walls and such in the new space. We're going to need to wire the place pretty heavily, and I'd prefer to avoid the cabling snarls that I've seen in some places that were setup wrong from the start. We've got approx 8000 sq. ft. split up a little bit with some hollow walls splitting off meeting rooms, some offices, etc. Since we're all pretty much using laptops at the moment as our workstations, what if we were to just go with a wireless solution that would allow us to move our laptops around at a whim..." We've given wireless networks alot of coverage on Slashdot. How do some of solutions rank in terms of practicality?

"...rather than unplugging and replugging, you could move down to the employee lounge and continue to work. Or perhaps with a hub placed in a choice location near the front window, a person could even venture downstairs (we're on the second floor) and sit outside for a coffee and some coding. To me, the advantages of being able to do this outweigh the speed hit at least. However, the question is, how reliable is this, and what can affect the performance realistically? What's the practical distance and coverage of the available units? Who makes quality wireless gear?"