Yup.. they've definitely improved it..

In terms of going to the local site.. if I remember right it was just running by default after I installed.. however if it isn't.. try running "/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd start" to make sure it's running. If not.. it will start it. If it gives you errors.. check the httpd.conf file for misconfig.. (I can help you through that if you like as well.. )

Ryan