How to create a smart group that will alert anytime an application is installed.

Just have a smart group that looks for an "Application Title is <name>" and then check the box to email you on membership changes. The next time the machin inventories after the app is installed it will email you.

Sorry I meant anytime 'any' application is installed.

A Managed Preference/Profile that allows applications to run from the Applications directory only and disallow admin rights.

You could have a LaunchDaemon that has a WatchPath for the Applications path and runs an appropriate script. Then you could write a result to a plist file that an EA reads, but this is, of course, relying on the fact that the App is indeed installed into the Applications directory, since Apps could be installed anywhere. You could run a find over the entire disc(s) space, but the overhead of this would be high. However, with users as local admins they can of course undo any of this, depending on the ability of your user base.

Kill "Disk Image Mounter" when launch and also "Disk Utility" & "Installer". This will prevent any .zip or .dmg from being mounted to the desktop that might have a application that will run on the Users desktop without "admin" rights.

Is there anyway to create policies that will notify admins , if a user installs a new software ?