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List:       kde-look
Subject:    Re: Minor suggestions
From:       Dave Leigh <dave.leigh () cratchit ! org>
Date:       2001-12-18 17:26:22
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On Tuesday 18 December 2001 11:45, Manuel Arriaga wrote:

> > System utilities can be run by non-priviledged users by virtue of the
> > "kdesu" command, which requires the root password at program invocation.
> > I almost never log on as root, and if you do you shouldn't. Having these
> > utilities on the menu allows us to run these programs without having to
> > log out as a user then log back in as root.  This both promotes security
> > and saves time.
>
> I understand your point. But, still, on a multi-user system, a user which
> can't run the system utilities (because she wasn't given root's password)
> shouldn't be presented with a considerable list of commands she will never
> be able to run. A possible solution would be to allow the user (either in
> the Control Center or under 'Preferences') to switch on the display of the
> System menu when/if  she was granted root access to the system.

Hmm. kdesu doesn't work that way. It runs a single application as root; it 
doesn't grant root access to the system to a user.

One way around this is to have a little app launcher. This could be run from 
the menu with kdesu. You'd have only one menu item (the "System Utility 
Launcher" or a "System Control Center") that would ask for the password up 
front. Then anything launched by it would also run as root. This would 
probably what you have in mind and wouldn't be too tough to write. It could 
be configured to read the list of apps from the directory of your choice. It 
would also be more convenient for someone who has a number of system 
functions to perform.

> Do you also believe that apparently there is some confusion in the choice
> of items under 'Preferences' and 'System'? What about the existence of the
> Control Center, which is a duplication of the 'Preferences' submenu, but
> lacks system-wide configuration options (those under 'System')?

I can't comment on the menus, using Mandrake as I do. However, I like the 
Control Center, and prefer it over the menus. I think it's important to 
mention here that re-use isn't the same as duplication. The fact that you can 
access these utilities in more than one way is not a flaw. It is desirable 
flexibility that increases the usability of the system to include people who 
think in different ways. The actual utilities that are run are the same.

-- 
dave.leigh@cratchit.org
http://www.cratchit.org

If you just try long enough and hard enough, you can always manage to
boot yourself in the posterior.
		-- A.J. Liebling, "The Press"

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