[Novices] wireless network range expansion?

[Steve Petersen]

Hey folks,

I'm new to Kalamazoo and I could use your expertise.  I've got this 
typical Linksys wireless G router that won't reach crucial areas of my 
house.  I tried the $80 larger antennae that Linksys sells (ouch) to 
little avail, and today tried their $100 "range expander" repeater, 
which apparently doesn't work with WEP.  (It's hard to say for sure 
since the configuration software Linksys bundles is, of course, 
Windows-only--but I've just seen reviews online that suggest it doesn't 
work with WEP in Windows either.)

Does anyone have a suggestion for a way to expand my wireless range 
that's a good combination of a) cheap, b) easy to set up, and c) plays 
nice with linux?

(Though I've been using linux for 4 or 5 years now, I'm still a relative 
novice--never recompiled a kernel, for example, and very little 
networking knowledge.)

Thanks in advance,
Steve