Re: Drive Mount Applet only works as root?

[Michael ROGERS <M Rogers cs ucl ac uk>]

>Here's precisely the usability problem I've been pointing to. Naive 
>users will not understand Linux's roots in multi-user systems; they 
>won't understand why users should not have disk drive access by 
>default. When they're told that they have to consult man pages and 
>figure out how to configure fstab using a text editor, they'll 
>conclude -- very quickly -- that GNOME isn't doing enough to shield 
>such users from the underlying complexity of Linux.
>
>In a previous message, I suggested that, on first use, GNOME should 
>start with a wizard that briefly explains the concepts of root user 
>and user accounts, and guides the user through the process of 
>setting up a user account for everyday use. Such a wizard could 
>include an install option (selected by default) that enables users 
>to configure the system as a single-user, non-networked system. This 
>option could launch a script that, behind the scenes, rewrites fstab 
>so that users are granted access to disk drives.

 This is really a Linux installation issue rather than a Gnome issue. 
Anyone who is installing Gnome presumably has root privileges and 
should already understand what root and user accounts are. (If they 
have problems using Gnome from a user account, at least it means that 
they had the sense to set up a user account for themselves.) They 
need to learn this stuff before they install Gnome, not after.

 At some point in the future when (e.g.) Red Hat ships Gnome as an 
integral part of its Linux distribution, I agree that a Gnome-based 
installation wizard/tutorial would be extremely helpful. Installation 
difficulties seem to scare a lot of people away from both Linux and Gnome.


 - Michael Rogers