If those options don’t sound particularly appealing, take heart. A solution will soon be coming along that could satisfy most of your family’s needs without busting your budget. You could call it a family network, or “FamNet,” as a techie might say, and NEWSWEEK is testing one out in my home. The manufacturer, Wyse Technology in San Jose, Calif., describes it as “a way to turn a single PC into multiple PCs,” according to general manager Jeff McNaught. Over the coming year, many experts say, such family nets could become one of the hottest trends in home computing. Wyse works its brand of digital magic using the first of a new breed of so-called network computers. These aren’t the stripped-down Internet browsers you’ve been hearing about in the news, which do away with such things as memory, operating systems and raw processing speed. They function, instead, as full-fledged computers with all the power and features (from big full-color screens to CD drives and gigs of hard drive) that you would normally find in a $2,500 machine. Except these sell for around $500.

What’s the catch? Simple. Wyse’s devices, called WinTerms or Windows-based terminals, are not real desktop computers. Instead, they are a second or third or fourth monitor that is hooked up to one. Consider my Family Net. I’ve got one WinTerm in my bedroom, another in the children’s room, yet another in the living room. All run off a Pentium desktop, each connected to one another with cables not unlike those linking a TV to the outside world. The beauty is that any of the terminals can be used differently at the same time. My oldest son, for instance, can be writing a book report using a Windows word-processing program, while my youngest might be playing Math Blaster on another. I’ll be writing a letter, doing e-mail or checking the news via the Internet. No need to choose who gets the computer, or when.

As many as 10 WinTerms can operate off a standard Pentium desktop, drawing on its power and memory to run Windows 95 or other software as smoothly as a top-of-the-line PC. (Wyse claims there will be no power shortages when Mom pops a bagel into the toaster.) They link through the PC to the Internet, using Netscape or Microsoft Explorer. Just as the main PC doles out your programs, so also does it store your data in its capacious hard drive. Sound complicated to set up? It isn’t, and it will get even easier. Within a few months, I’ll be able to scrap my cables and simply plug the terminals into any electrical outlet; the network will run over the wires built into the walls. Wyse plans to release the first of these systems in October, all with the necessary networking software and components built in. Take them out of the box, and voil…: Family Net.

There are problems, of course. Games run slower on the terminals than on the PC; colors also aren’t as vivid. And Wyse’s version of a full plug-in-and-play network won’t be widely available until next year. Businesses may adopt the technology earlier than that, partly to save money. One of New York’s trendy cybersalons, Cafe, recently added Wyse’s WinTerms to its network of stand-alone PCs, sparing the expense of upgrading to more costly desktops as well as the headache of administering and maintaining dozens of computers, each with its own software and operating system. Compaq Computer, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, among other manufacturers of computer monitors, are expected to bring out similar systems.

One aspect of these nets is sure to have special appeal for parents. Whoever runs the main PC can see what the others are doing. Just click a button, and you can check up on your teenager’s activities on the Web. Then message him if you choose: “Junior, if you don’t stop hitting NymphomaniAx, Dad won’t buy you that car!” Not that this Dad would, even if he could afford it…