In the first part of our Windows Vista review , we checked out some of the many changes that have taken place. The focus had been more on Vista’s history and its graphical and security changes. In this part we will focus on network changes, and media center changes. We will also learn more of new tools that have been introduced or updated.

Windows Vista in many ways is not just a graphical leap for Microsoft. While most of the world is enjoying the new Aero interface, there will be a few who will be marveling at the host of changes that have occurred in Vista’s network stack. Technically speaking, Windows Vista is the 5th generation of Microsoft OS’s that sports a TCP/IP stack. However that’s where all the comparisons end. For Vista, Microsoft went back to the drawing board. The entire stack has been re-written from the scratch and now natively supports both IPV4 (current 32 bit version of TCP/IP that is in commercial deployment) and IPV6 (128 bit TCP/IP stack that is under testing right now and will slowly be deployed over the next few years).

If that was not good enough, Microsoft has taken a step further by offering network profiles based on access points, network settings and locations which are configurable through a wizard based system. In case you are confused what we are referring to, let us explain this with a practical example. Over the last few years Wi-Fi has become the a preferred mode of connection for laptop users. This has lead to an annoying development, wherein one has to keep changing the network settings all the time to achieve Internet or LAN connectivity. It’s a different setup everywhere you go, be it office home or your favorite café, try to remember the settings for each place and we assure you that sooner or later you will want to kill someone at Microsoft for not building a profiles based system earlier. Though most notebook manufacturers have tried to work around this problem, by means of their own applications that would retain networks in profiles, these programs were never really up to the task. They would just confuse the user and in most cases would just stop working mysteriously. This is a problem we have faced time and time again across the spectrum from laptops of different manufacturers.

Well Vista finally has a solution for this problem. Every time we connect to a network Vista displays 3 profiles Home, Work and Public. These 3 broad profiles based on what you choose, will configure various settings such as file-sharing and security-levels. The profiles are quite comprehensive and remember network settings quite easily. Depending on your location, the correct profile is loaded and makes seamless "Wi-Fi" network roaming a reality. Just in case you were wondering, the network profiles work with LAN /Bluetooth PAN/WAN networks too, making this a welcome addition to the Windows Platform.
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