New installation Jaunty constant permissions problems

[Billie Erin Walsh]

On 05/18/2009 steven vollom wrote:
>  File:///home/steven/.kde/share/config/arkrc.  I open arkrc using sudo
>  dolphin
>  and change the permissions so that I can use the program.  The
>  permissions are
>  not greyed out, and I am able to change them to give me permission,
>  but when I
>  click OK, no permissions are transferred to me.  I can't tell you how
>  angry
>  this makes me.  If we are supporting freedom, why do the owners of
>  their own
>  computers have to fight with programmers to get permission to use
>  what is their
>  own.  Every time I turn around I am stopped from doing something I
>  need to do
>  by my own computer.  I love Kubuntu, but I will trash my computer
>  before I
>  give over my freedom.

I am far from being any sort of guru when it comes to Linux of any 
flavor. I know my own limitations and live within them. That doesn't 
mean I'm not willing/trying to learn more just that I don't push my own 
envelope to far at a time. I have three hard drives in my computer and I 
keep one stable version running and one new version [ the third one is 
Win XP which hardly ever sees the light of day ]. In this way if 
something gets trashed in the new version I still can fall back on my 
stable version till I get things worked out. The current stable version 
is also sort of a backup of stuff [ read: junk ] that I want to keep [ 
for some unknown reason ]. File transfers are simple and easy using dolphin.

One of the ways I limit my problems is to not dink around with the 
system except in _RARE_ cases. Installation is _VERY_ vanilla. Pop in 
the CD/DVD , start the install and go have a cup of coffee. 
99.999999999999................................% percent of the time the 
install program is way smarter than I am and the defaults just plain 
_work_. It's not fancy, it's not whizzbang, AND it's definitely _NOT_ up 
to the standards of the pro's but it _is_ simple, clean, and workable. I 
make every attempt possible to avoid problems. As a result I seldom have 
difficulties.

All that to say this.

Steven please don't get mad at me, but over the past several months from 
what I've read you have created most of your own biggest problems. And 
PLEASE everyone else don't get mad at me, but many times I see Steven 
given some VERY good advice that is _WAY_ above his technical level. 
This advice then leads to more trouble later because Steven uses that 
tidbit in a way that causes him more problems.

Linux systems are very stable and (K)Ubuntu is IMHO very much ready for 
the casual home user, _BUT_ the help expertise level needs to be lowered 
a couple notch's for these type users. Knowledge is wonderful, but to 
little knowledge can be VERY dangerous when messing with parts of the 
system you don't have a complete understanding of. Some people hate that 
(K)Ubuntu doesn't have a standard Root Mode. I say it's a blessing. Yes, 
it's baby sitting of a type. It protects the owner/user from himself. 
Can you imagine what would happen if someone like Steven, or myself, 
were to have a system running in Root all the time. _VERY_ soon that 
person would be back to Windows and bad mouthing that lousy no good 
piece of trash [ S___ ] called Linux to everyone within earshot.

A studious application of the K.I.S.S. Principal is called for when 
giving advice to newbies and people like Steven and myself.

Help prevent ID-ten-T Errors!! Use the K.I.S.S. Principle!

-- 
Treat all stressful situations like a dog does.
If you can't eat it or play with it, 
just pee on it and walk away