Well I anticipate getting an iMac. I figure there will be a transition period. I figure I want both comps on line during that period for obvious reasons till its time to deactivate the Ex Pee. A month? 2 since I'm busy with other things? When I try to find a wired router on-line it doesn't come up in my interpretation of what I see that the routers are anything but wireless. Perhap I've used the rong search term. ie wired router. I'll try non-wireless, see what happens. Well I just tried again on Amazon and found one: Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch (BEFSR41) I have ATT/Yahoo DSL. I have a Seimens SpeedStream 4100 DSL MOdem. I have Cat 5 cables from a previous router, since defunct, which I used while transiting from W98 to WXP. At that time I had Charter Cable. The concept worked just fine at that time. That's what I am trying to do and without taking time to learn a lot about all kinds of related stuff like wireless and routers and switches and networking (which I do not want) because I have lots of other problems that aren't really a whole lot of fun and if I could just hook the damn thing up by pushing the wires together my stress level might come down to ceiling level. I cald ATT and they said just connect em all up and go to work- I will.

I'm no electrical expert but it seems you have a couple of choices. If the alarm had its own breaker, you could either leave it shut off, or actually disconnect its feed wire at the breaker box. If it's on the same circuit as lights or outlets, obviously that's not going to work. In that case, you could find where it's fed from (a nearby light fixture for example?) and disconnect the wire there. Or, you could install a ceiling box and cap off the wires inside it. This might be a good idea in the event that a future inspection picks up the fact that there is no hard wired alarm, or if a future owner wants to install one. I can't vouch for any of those ideas as far as meeting code. You can always call your local building permitting office and ask them what's OK to do in your situation.

lol. Interestingly enough if he were going to remove just one wire, I would have removed the black one... Either way, it's not a bomb. It is, however, a hazard to have ANY live wires "sticking out" or otherwise not properly "ended". If you choose to get rid of the hardwired smoke detector altogether, "cap" the wires with "wire nuts" and put a blank round plate over the hole (you can buy the plate at almost any hardware store. Don't try to make one yourself. Same with wirenuts.) Installing a new hardwired one is similarly simple. Match black to black, white to white, attach with wires, and secure it to the wall/ceiling per the instructions (usually two screws). I haven't seen a smoke detector with a ground wire since the early 80s, but if you somehow manage to find one, it'll have a green wire that needs to be connected to the bare copper wire in the wall/ceiling, also with a wirenut. No matter which option you choose, you'll want to turn off the power before mucking around with them wires. Since you probably have no reliable way to TEST them, I'd recommend turning off the power to the entire house.

"but I want to avoid limiting the connectivity of the router." That won't be adversely limited by a bookshelf. When I looked at the photos, my first thoughts were either a bookshelf or small side table (routers and cords go in a basket, maybe with a hole cut in the back), or a plant (router and cords hidden by greenery). To me, it looks like you need something on that side of the room anyway.