Today we dug into the new Group Policy features found in Vista. There's 800 new policies altogether, so wow is there lots to see! Plus there's a new XML-based format used to store the information, the ADMX files by which you create the "Central Store" on the domain controller. So lots of neat new things there.
After having fun implementing policy around the classroom, we dug into PowerShell in the afternoon. That's truly a significant feature, one that will change the landscape of network administration. There will be a version of Longhorn Server that has for its UI nothing more than this command prompt interface. Great for security, and lower resource usage overall. So this is definitely something to be familiar with. Unfortunately the RC2 bits won't install on Vista RTM, which we got snagged with today during the lab. We ended up doing all the PowerShell experimentation through terminal service connections to a Server 2003 box we had configured in the front of the room. It all worked out OK.
Another thing to note about PowerShell: if you install it on XP and then try to upgrade that copy to Vista, the compatibility wizard complains, forcing you to uninstall PowerShell. And often you won't find the uninstaller listed in Add/Remove programs! In that case, uninstall by simply running this:
C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB926139$\spuninst\spuninst.exe
One more day of class left, and we get to talk about security, CardSpace, networking, MeetingSpace, diagnostics, roaming profiles vs folder redirection, and more. Lots of fun.
Just for kicks, during an install of Vista it's fun to hit SHIFT-F10 in the last part when the OOBE stuff is going on. Up comes a cmd prompt running as System. Then after all the OOBE completes and you log on with a user, it's still there running as System:
You can then end task on the Explorer that was running as your user account, and call up Explorer again using this cmd window. Some interesting security implications to explore in Vista when you can run everything as the local system account! To get back to running Explorer as the end user, just do Shift-Ctrl-Esc to bring up Task Manager running as your user account, end task on the existing Explorer, and start another one up using File / New Task (Run).