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The inclusion of BitLocker in Windows Vista is a “win” for those who continually fret over the security of data physically stored on hard drives that aren’t in the relatively secure confines of a data center.

Choosing wireless networking over more traditional wired networking has always troubled users, more than likely because they’ve seen lots of bad press regarding the wireless technology over the past few years. Unfortunately, these stories were not unfounded; with security-enforcing technologies such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) being demonstrably insecure, it’s little wonder it has taken wireless networking until now to penetrate the home PC marketplace as well as it has.

You’ve no doubt heard of TCP/IP before now, but what really is it? It stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol and is the industry networking standard used most widely today. Other networking standards also exist, but with the advent of the Internet, which is solely based on the services provided by TCP/IP, and with Microsoft standardizing all platform development on the paradigm of “Internet readiness,” then it’s little wonder TCP/IP is removing all competition.

To connect your Vista PC to the Internet so you can begin consuming services such as email and web browsing, you’ll need to set an account up with an Internet service provider (ISP).

The Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) allows remote computer systems to connect to Vista over a network connection. When a connection is established, it’s possible to interact with the target system, obtaining a standard Vista desktop and working as if you were local to that computer.

In this chapter, we’ll cover setting up a projector that you can access over the network, which allows you to give presentations without having to fuss with external monitor cables, connections, and all of the trouble that traditionally surrounds hooking your PC up to a projector.

Despite all the controversy about whether Internet Explorer (IE) is a separate product or inextricably intertwined with Windows, or whether it should be bundled with the operating system, the fact of the matter is that millions upon millions of users load IE to view the Web each day. The next version of Internet Explorer, version 7, has a lot to offer these users, particularly when they’re using IE 7 on Windows Vista.

Windows Mail, the replacement to the venerable Outlook Express, is the mail and newsgroup client bundled with every version of Windows Vista. Windows Mail has improved incrementally over its predecessor, with some minor improvements and user interface tweaks here and there. There’s nothing major in this product—it’s a simple mail client, designed for people who don’t need the full-blown power of Outlook or other email solutions.

Collaboration is king these days. However, starting a meeting is difficult. How do you share notes, files, or other documents? How do you get everyone on the same page? What if you need to meet with someone but no network is available? Or how do you meet with people who might not be in the same state, or even country, as you?

Windows Fax and Scan is a unified application that allows you to enter, send, and receive faxes from your computer, as well as manage scanned images from an attached scanner. The interface is decidedly like Microsoft’s Outlook email software, and chances are you’ll be able to get started right away with the familiar interface.