Still relatively confused on how to use the .NET through Powershell. Here are some simple examples that were easy to find because they have accessible overloaded interfaces (??):

$Ping = new-object System.Net.NetworkInformation.ping
$Ping.Send("192.168.0.1")
Status : Success
Address : 192.168.0.1
RoundtripTime : 1 ms
BufferSize : 32
Options : TTL=127, DontFragment=False


[System.Net.Dns]::Resolve("google.com") | fl *
HostName : google.com
Aliases : {}
AddressList : {64.233.167.99, 72.14.207.99, 64.233.187.99}


[System.Net.Dns]::GetHostName()
rmfmedia

[System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface]::GetAllNetworkInterfaces()

Id : {0348D5D7-6D83-44C8-B556-B29466698340}
Name : Wireless Network Connection
Description : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport
NetworkInterfaceType : Ethernet
OperationalStatus : Up
Speed : 54000000
IsReceiveOnly : False
SupportsMulticast : True
....

[System.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface]::GetIsNetworkAvailable()
True