Hey, Robert,
IMO, there are two factors that make things easier to learn .NET now than 4 years ago.
First, VS2005 is a better product than VS2003. This may sound like an odd analogy, but VS2005 is to VS2003 as VFP5 was to VFP3.
Second, there is so much more information and valuable resources now than 4 years ago. I literally have over 100 blogs and sites that I read (OK, not daily, but I usually keep up with them). For instance, a few months ago I took a serious look at the new objectdatasource in ASP.NET 2.0. In less than an hour I found over a dozen code samples and sites that covered it in detail.
(And for that matter, if one has a PUTM membership, one can look through all the solutions on the .NET forum. Just from the solutions provided by pepole like Cathi Gero and Bonnie Berent over the years, there's probably 10 books worth of solutions available).
Kevin