Armitage still works and is still maintained (32 releases in the past year -- I'm on it). Make sure you're using the version that ships with Metasploit.

One note though, its dependencies have changed recently. If you use msfupdate, Armitage will no longer work with BackTrack 4 or BackTrack 5. BackTrack 5r1 is OK though. This is because the original msf install in BT4/5 does not include libraries that Armitage requires (msgpack, Java crypto extensions, etc.)

If you use a modern version of Armitage, it will open a tab and use the Metasploit console to launch exploits. At least you get feedback this way.

I have a Windows XP SP2 target that I use for demonstrations too. Sometimes it becomes unstable and I find I have to revert it to a previous snapshot to exploit it again.

A few people have asked me which drawing program I use on MacOS X to build network maps. I alluded to this program in the access lecture, but didn't mention it by name--my bad. The program is OmniGraffle and it's available at: http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnigraffle/

Most of my diagrams are made using OmniGraffle. It's commercial, but well worth the money. I downloaded a few stencils to make it easier to create network maps using it. Stencils are available at: http://graffletopia.com/

For example, I recommend: http://graffletopia.com/stencils/144 and http://graffletopia.com/stencils/523  There are plenty of other stencils for all your network mapping needs on this site though.

My penetration testing maps are probably ghetto by the standards of http://www.ratemynetworkdiagram.com/index2.php but they serve as a great tool to organize my thoughts, map open services/software versions, capture what network security devices I believe exist, and to note possible findings.

@Vp I'm a big fan of the DeICE VMs. They force folks to use the puzzle solving skills necessary for hacking. I love using tools like Armitage and Metasploit, but at the same time, they only take me so far. Sometimes you just have to look at what's there and figure it out using your knowledge of the system. DeICE is fantastic for that.

It's possible to run Metasploit on MacOS X but it's a lot of manual steps to get the dependencies in place. Further, it's even more work to get Armitage going beyond that. The Windows and Linux installers "just work". BackTrack 5 is fantastic. Everything is set up there for you. I recommend going that route.