I have a couple of projects in mind which necessitate me getting to grips with VB. At the moment I have a copy of VB5 PRO and was looking to update it.
Firstly as my projects involve comms, isdn and FTP / Telnet etc is it advisable to get a later version? Can anyone make any suggestions? What is .NET all about?

Does anyone know where I can get a look at some software which will dial an ISP "type" connection and then run up FTP or a browser?
Any suggested reading for someone who has an idea about programming but not a lot about VB?