Well it’s week #7 using Vista RTM and I am finally settling in to using Vista for most of my day-to-day activities. I am finally getting conformable enough using the new OS, though every once in a while I stumble, looking for something that is in a different place in XP. Overall, the experience has been relatively painless.

This week I wanted to take a look at networking, which for the most part has been greatly improved over previous Windows versions. The network I am talking about is for home users and SOHO operations and not the enterprise class. Vista has what is called a Network Center, which includes a Network Map that shows all of the connections in a single easy to read location. In addition there is a built-in Network Diagnostic feature that offers some very basic help in determining network problems.

I was able, or I should say Vista was able, to connect to my wireless network with ease. I only needed to answer one question as to the type of connection I was making. Very simple and straightforward. File and folder sharing was also easy to set up and use. I didn’t find any particular problem that Vista wasn’t able to complete. All in all it was quite boring setting up.

I wish I had more to say, but it just worked.

Well next week I think I’ll put together a conclusion about Vista. I will try and be open-minded in my thoughts and be as honest as possible. Knowing that Vista will be a serious decision for each of us to make, I’ll try and present as fair an evaluation as I possibly can.

Tags: vista rtm, week 7, network, wireless, evaluation, improved, network center, vista, windows