As an IT contractor and network engineer/admin, I oversee 4 fairly large domains. Group Policy is THE foundation upon which my remote management strategy is built. I don't understand the premise that MS is thinking each PC is a single user device. All it takes is some minor scripting ability and Group Policy know-how. Any user on my domain can log into any PC on the network and see their desktop, their documents, and their email. They can print to all the same printers and perform virtually every task on a different PC that they can perform on their own. With an authorized VPN login, they can even log in from a pc in their home and have a very similar experience, internet conditions permitting.

I am not a "Microsoft Guy". I am a "getting things done and performing actual work" guy. I want to like Linux. I would love to be able to design and build a network with the same powers of centralized administration on a Linux platform. You simply can't.

Right now, Group Policy has no equal. The only real limitation I see with it is the experience level and skill of the administrator.