so the conclusion is. we should not upgrade to vista in next 3 years, or never think about it until windows XP is dead, anyway we can install one or two client for test purpose.

people who familiar with Linux/Unix often complain that MS windows command line shell was too weak and useless. so do i. i had been spend long time searching for a good Linux command environment for Microsoft windows. my coworker from another plant suggested me a software called Cygwin.

What Is Cygwin?
Cygwin is a Linux-like environment for Windows.

What Isn't Cygwin?
Cygwin is not a way to run native linux apps on Windows.

Cygwin is enough for most people who want to run Linux command in Windows.
you can download it from here: www.cygwin.com

from 6th March,2008 the first IE 8 public beta has released.

Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

download it from: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110325

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110328

Quick DetailsFile Name: IE8-WindowsVista-x86-ENU.exe
Version: 8
Date Published: 3/6/2008
Language: English
Download Size: 11.0 MB
Estimated Download Time: 27 min 56K

IE8 for xp sp2: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110324

there are several group policies that i think a Active directory must have. which are what we can't live without in my IT department.

1. default domain policy
every active directory domain has it because it was there after you install a domain server, do not change most of them, we only use it to change the user account setting such as password policy, lockout duration.

2. automatic install default software for client computers
Group policy
this gpo installs software for you, zip tools, office ware, or industrial software.