there's way more to 'administer' than using apt-get. All that does is install/upgrade. If it's time for configuration you'll have to dive into /etc, or some sub

there's way more to 'administer' than using apt-get. All that does is install/upgrade. If it's time for configuration you'll have to dive into /etc, or some subdirectory of ~. And most files you will find there doe not use one unified format. So I thinj the OP means: on Windows you just go to Control Panel / Group Policy editor and those two will get you a long way. Apart from that every GUI application probably has a Tools->Options menu. Btw "which means boot gets slower...and...slow...er... " basically means you are doing it wrong :P