Finally I was able to check Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
I was disappointed to see that Computer Management is still crippled.
It may look normal, but there is something missing...
Yes. Properties are missing.
And while it seems that is not a big deal, this option allowed to make several changes on remote computers.
(Similar screens appear as Advanced System Settings, but these only work on the local computer)
First, it was an option to check amount of memory and speed without running msinfo
Then, it allowed you to change the computer description of the PC
However it seems that Microsoft lost interest on this attribute, as the new Network Browser no longer even shows this value exist. It seems that Microsoft only cares now for the Computer Description that is stored on Active Directory, however it could be an excellent idea if these both values were synchronized as soon as a computer joined a domain... (HINT!!!)
Then, there were the options to change the computer performance options and pagefile size:
The way to change the system and user environment variables of that computer including any user that may have been logged on there:
Start up options and dump file location:
And a nice way to reboot or logoff the remote computer:
All these options are now gone with Windows Vista. It seems that in order to avoid security problems they removed some options that weren't audited or documented, but that doesn't mean that there weren't users that were using those options... And may want them back.
I contacted Microsoft Support and I was told that "my advices were already forwarded to their Product Team". Maybe that is a new way to say "You already paid, we have your money, we don't care". At least that is what it seems now. I hope they would eventually restore this.
However, I'm not mad with Microsoft as I'm with Google right now, and I will write about that on my next post.