Re: A Few Ideas

["J.W. Bizzaro" <bizzaro bc edu>]

Haukur Hreinsson <hawk@london.is> wrote:
> 
> >> 1.  Add the ability to run programs as processes
> >>     under other user names, like "root" from another
> >>     account.  A right-button click over a program
> >>     icon could bring up dialog to specify the user
> >>     and password.
> 
> What I would like is program that sits on the desktop or panel and runs
> executables that are dropped onto it (from the menus or gmc or whereever)
> under its own userid. That way you can start one of these things as root and
> use it from there on as a root-program-factory of sorts.

I agree, as long as it is omnipresent.

This is some of my reasoning behind the concept: We know
it has been a big security issue whether or not people should
use the root account as their primary account while connected
to the Internet.  Okay, so let's say it's 2002, and I'm
someone who just bought their first PC, a GNOME-equipped
Linux machine from Walmart (it can happen). I heard I'm not
supposed to do work as root, but how do I perform all this
system administration without getting into the terminals and
the "cryptic commands"?  If GNOME is to make Linux/UNIX on
par with Windows and the Mac in ease-of-use (as all these
magazine articles are claiming it will), shouldn't there be
a *graphical* way to do something like this? That's all
I'm saying.

And I wasn't thinking of this for just root access. Say you
have multiple accounts for doing different things on the
system (like web work).  It may be more convenient to run
just one program under the other account than to log in
through the text terminal or play around with assigning groups
and adjusting permissions.


> 
> >> 3.  A voice synthesizer-to-GNOME connection can
> >>     let GNOME and applications "speak" messages
> >>     and alerts.
> >
> >Unless you are dealing with the blind, or vision impaired, I personally
> >just find this to be bloat.
> 
> And why not cater to the blind? Better yet, why not get the blind interested
> and involved right now and allow them to influence Gnome's development
> before any design decisions are made that would unnecessarily complicate the
> matter of making gnome truly useful to blind people (and users of audio-only
> wearables).

Sure, but I was also thinking about people who may have to
(dread the thought) get up from their computer and go into
the other room.  Maybe from the other room I want to hear
if I just got the e-mail I was waiting for.  Others have
set up voice-synthesizers for just such a purpose without
being impaired.

Kudos, Haukur, on all your other comments!



Jeff
-- 
J.W. Bizzaro                  Phone: 617-552-3905
Boston College                mailto:bizzaro@bc.edu
Department of Chemistry       http://www.uml.edu/Dept/Chem/Bizzaro/
--