begin quoting Gregory K. Ruiz-Ade as of Fri, Mar 11, 2005 at 11:40:33AM -0800: > On Friday 11 March 2005 12:45 am, Stewart Stremler wrote: > > > http://gnufoo.org/ucontrol/ > > Bzzzt. Requires root password to install. Fail. > > No, it requires _your_ password. :)
Well, the administration password. Same difference. > What do you expect when you are essentially replacing a system component? I don't WANT to replace a system component. I especially don't want it doing so all by itself without telling me what it's doing. And I'm not sure that it *does* require anything to be replaced -- the old version (sucky as it was) didn't. And the venerable xmodmap doesn't. I will presumably get a better idea if it compiles from source. > You are installing software that alters the behavior of the hardware, so > buck up. Sorry, that's not a justification for demanding administrative access for *installing* [third-party] software. For one, I'm not guaranteed that it will work correctly, or that it won't screw something else up. (Last time I used uControl, it *did* hork up other programs and appeared to affect system stability.) So I want to install stuff like this in /tmp/ or the equivalent. For two, I don't want the software being installed asking for the administrative password. Too much of a "Trust Me" thing. Buck up? Hell no. It's broke, and I don't see why I have to put up with broken software just because the developers are too damn lazy to do it right, or too damn arrogant to care. My system. Mine. Not theirs. Not yours. Mine. How can we *begin* to ask users to remember to be security-concious, to choose strong passwords and to not give them out, if every damn time they want to install some software, they have to type in that password? How can we ask them to refrain from opening attachments when we expect them to type in the administrator password /whenever/ prompted? What use is installing a peephole in a door if you're in the habit of opening the door to every knock? > Do you install Apple's software updates if they require you to enter your > password for admin access, or no? That's because it's Apple, not third-party software. If this becomes an Apple-supported system capability that ships with the default system, sure, then I can call up Apple Tech and say "Oi! I have a problem." And lo! Apple Is Obligated To Take Care Of It. Third-party developers wanting to mess about with administrative access? When I don't trust that their code would even *work*? Are you _nuts_? (And yes, I would be happier if Apple had me run a program to grant administrative access rather than allowing their program to prompt for administrative access. But they didn't, so that's a huge black mark against the system.) -Stewart "GNU is Making OS X more like Lindows Every Day" Stremler -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
