is the router and it has an IP address. You probably are using the defaults to allow it to configure an address for your PC. While this is the easist method, it's not always the quickest. There is a negotiation process that takes place in the background. What you can do is manually configure a static IP. Some don't recommend this. It means you tell your PC that the router is the gateway but configuring such in the TCP/IP setup. You give your own PC an address in the same network as the router. You can also plug the DNS addresses in your settings which are the server addresses of your ISP. You need to get these from the provider. This can speed things up considerably as far as boot up to being able to surf.
My Dell laptop with internal Centrino wireless chip connects to the Net via a Linksys wireless router, to which my desktop is also connected via Ethernet cable.
Does anybody know why I sometimes don't get a Gateway on the laptop even though the screen says I'm connected to the network? Sometimes, it takes ten or 15 minutes for a Gateway and IP address to appear. My ISP is Verizon DSL. Is this a Verizon "thing," or does it stem from the Centrino?

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic