> My main concern as a potential admin of binary-only software on a linux > system is how to install/remove/run it without granting it undue privilege > on the the systems on which it's installed and the systems those systems > are connected to. well, it really depends on the software. Games often require root access to the video subsystem, for example. I think this is too vague a question. If you are asking how users can install software, without giving them root access, the answer is simple: you can't. They can install locally run software, but most (not all, see StarOffice for an example) aren't setup to allow individual users to run it alone. Yes, you can compile anything you want, but then you end up with all sorts of binaries floating around in local user directories, which is ugly. Plus, ports 1-1024 are off limits. > Many people, including some of those listed in the talkbacks of the > article in question seem to think that linux users are a bunch of whiny > gripers who are against paying for software. Something that being around > this group has made me think is only slightly less than half-true. Nah, it's more than half-true. The desire for free and the desire for free-dom often overlap. Not always but often. I will pay for software rarely. It must be something I feel is worth it, and something I cannot find a free equivalent for. Those 2 are a rare combo. > also suggestions about how to lockdown various package managers so they > can't read/write to parts of the system you don't want them to. Debian isn't setup to work like that. (Someone submit a patch, it's a interesting idea: User X may only install/remove items under a subsection such as games, etc) On second thought, you might want to check around, I'd be surprised if one of the graphical apt gui's doesn't have this, or else the authors would love the idea and implement it. You can use sudo to allow only certain users to do things without giving them root access, but that isn't the same. Basically, there is a reason for a system admin, and that is it: responsible for installing and uninstalling software. Seth translation of above into SethSpeak(tm) : If I can't apt-get, I don't (usually) apt-want it. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, but I do pretty good at finding them. Users are Lusers. got root?
