Great Typed DataSet Tutorial
www.ASP.NET is quite a resource for learning the .NET 2.0 Framework in general and of course all things ASP.NET. The team has added a well done tutorial on Data Access. My two favorite tutorials are http://www.asp.net/learn/dataaccess/tutorial01cs.aspx?tabid=63 which covers building a Data Access Layer with Typed DataSets and http://www.asp.net/learn/dataaccess/tutorial02cs.aspx?tabid=63 which covers building a Business Logice Layer with Typed DataSets. Essentially, the second tutorial expands on and consumes the work begun in the first.
Until recently, my general opinion of DataSets was rather low. This was mainly due to the fact that in .NET 1.x their were some performance serialization issues associated with DataSets. Furthermore, I really didn't like the late binding promoted by DataSets. Typed DataSets used with Table Adapters in .NET 2.0 have really changed my opinion. First, Typed DataSets are just that Strongly Typed. Second, serialization performance has been vastly improved. Next, if you really dive in to the DataSet Designer and Table Adapters I think you will find them to be quite powerfull. By default these tools can help you generate the SQL Statements necessary to query the database. However, you can also use existing stored procs or even generate stored procs.