Ubuntu & Linspire

[ac]

Scott Mazur wrote:
> On Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:26:07 +1100, Daniel Pittman wrote
>> Joe Hart <j.hart at orange.nl> writes:
>> > Jonathan Jesse wrote:
>> >
>> >> Wow, lots of broad statements there.... I always thought the beauty
>> >> of Ubuntu was that all the command line stuff, the "hardcore", is
>> >> still there and one can use it if he/she wants to or if one is closer
>> >> to a "newbie" then he/she can use the graphical options to
>> >> change/update/configure their system.
>> >
>> > Well, yes and no.  Take a look at this:
>> >
>> > https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelCustomBuild
>> >
>> > They explain (sort of) how to do it right after they say it will void
>> > any contract you have for support.  All "hardcore" users know that
>> > compiling your own kernel is the best way to tune your system to your
>> > own hardware.
>> 
>> All "hardcore" users are damned fools, apparently.  This is, not 
>> least, because there is no statistically significant measurable difference
>> between a generic kernel and one that you "tune ... to your own
>> hardware."
>> 
>> > Why do I need floppy support, parallel port, serial port, bluetooth,
>> > pcmcia, etc. if my computer doesn't have, or use them?
>> 
>> Do you /really/ miss the 77MB of disk space they consume?
>> 
>> Do you actually know that is the one and only resource they consume?
>> 
>> > Why is there a 'restricted modules' in the first place?
>> 
>> Licensing reasons.  "Hardcore" users, of course, don't care for that 
>> law and disregard it.  Companies lack that luxury.
>> 
>> > Sudo/Root?
>> 
>> Good security practice?  Is it that hard for a "hardcore" user to run
>> 'sudo passwd root' -- I mean, seriously.
>> 
>> These are the "hardcore!"  They know how to use the command line,
>>  and it isn't like Ubuntu prevents you setting a root password -- or 
>> even blinks if you do.
> 
> I agree (or have no opinion) about everything you've said up to this point. 
> It's true Kubuntu doesn't prevent you from setting a root password (I've done
> so myself, becuase that's just the kind of user I am).  But it's not true
> there are no consequences to this.  Every (and I mean EVERY) configurable
> option in KDE that needs admin rights prompts for a password.  Out of the box
> that's fine (whether you agree it should be any old user password or root
> only).  But once you set a root password none of the KDE password prompts
> work.  Regardless of the password you type in (root or user) it's wrong and
> does not authenticate. 

I do not use this (root account) approach in kubuntu, but I had 
something sounding very similar in suse(kde) and it drove me up the 
wall until I found that once I had set a fixed IP (not the previous 
use of dhcp) the problem went (!) I did not understand it, still do 
not. But it was quite repeatable in my use on different machines over 
several suse versions.
Summary - use of fixed IP address solved the kde password problem.....

I sort of guessed it might be related to the way dhcp happened from my 
adsl modem/router, but who knows?

good luck
-- 
ac