488
|
Chapter 14: Setting Up Your Network
When you select a connection in the Network Connection window, the toolbar
options allow you to work with the connection in several different ways. The option
buttons are used as follows:
Diagnose This Connection
Opens Network Diagnostics for troubleshooting the connection
View Status of This Connection
Displays the connection’s Status dialog box, which you can use to get details
about and manage the TCP/IP configuration
Change Settings of This Connection
Displays the connection’s Properties dialog box, which you can use to manage
the TCP/IP configuration
Disable This Network Device
Allows you to disable the network device so that your computer doesn’t try to
use it
Rename This Connection
Allows you to change the name of a selected connection by clicking this button,
typing the new name for the connection, and then pressing Enter
Using People Near Me
The People Near Me feature truly adds some needed functionality to Windows Vista.
With this feature, you are able to manage a profile of yourself for others to see, add a
picture of yourself, and approximate where a person resides in proximity to you.
When you use it in conjunction with other applications such as Microsoft Streets and
Trips or Microsoft MapPoint, you can actually find people close to you with whom
to chat.
Suppose you are sitting in an Internet café and you wonder whether someone around
you has a connection open; with People Near Me, you can check the map to find
people in your proximity. Once you find someone, you can read her profile, check
out her picture to verify that she is who she says she is, and then begin to chat or
share files. People Near Me shares the picture that appears on the Welcome screen
and Start menu.
This feature actually installs a virtual network adapter in the com-
puter to give itself the desired functionality, and it uses this device for
its communications. Please remember that any application allowed
network connectivity has the potential to allow other people to see
and manipulate your data.