Re: OSX: what's the damn' deal with "priveleges"
- From: see_signature@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Jon)
- Date: Tue, 9 May 2006 08:16:13 +0300
Robb Scott <robbscott@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In article <sehix-D08810.16512208052006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Steve Hix <sehix@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Is there any way at all I can just turn all that stuff off, and run this
G4 under OSX like a good old-fashioned single-user Macintosh?
You do *not* want to do that (you just think you do right now).
I don't just *think* I want to do that right now. I demand it. A lot
of this Unix BS on a personal computer is is just that: BS.
Well - opinions differ on that one. :-) Be that as it may.
I live alone. Why do I have to enter a system password every time I
want to install some new software? This is nuts. I've used Macs since
'85 and somehow survived without this crap.
Me, too - I survived from 86, slightly shorter than yourself. But I have
used OS X now for five odd years and I it is very rarely that these
things bother me at all. They rarely pop up, and when they do, it has a
reason that I can understand. And I love OS X and would _never_ go back.
I understand that in a multi-user environment this stuff is essential,
and it would be nice to have it as an option. My system is likely
never going to have any user other than myself, and I want to have the
option of turning it off. Period.
I can see your point, and even sympathise with it. However, the world
has changed and, e.g., security is a much larger issue now than it was
twenty, ten or even five years ago. For that reason and others I think
you will get a lot further towards your goal if you try to play along
with the system instead of fighting it. In other words, find out where
you can get it to do exactly what you want without messing things up and
where you cannot, and then either find workarounds or understand the
reasons and learn to live with them.
*The following assumes you are not too familiar with the OS X
architecture and style of working. If you are, I apoligize (it seemed a
natural assupmtion from your posts). In that case I hope someone else
can find it useful.*
First: If you really are your own master and the only user of the
machine and you want to emulate the old-style Mac way, use one account
only which has automatic log-in and full admin privileges. *)
*Then get used to this idea:*
It is your Home folder (the one in /Users/ that has your name on it)
that is your "root", where you belong, it is _not_ the top level of the
hard drive. Within the home folder, you are indeed your own master and
you do more or less what you please. Leave the HD top level alone,
pretend it doesn't exist, use your Home. Once you get that under your
skin, it feels very natural.
Within the Home folder, I _recommend_ that you "play along" with the
system and put documents in subfolders inside the Documents, Music, and
Pictures folders, applications in Applications, and so on - simply
because it makes life easier in the lonng run. You don't have to, but it
may create more work for you later on if you don't (e.g., application
and system updates often expect things to be in certain locations).
The caveat to your absolute rule in your Home folder is the Library
folder in your home folder, which can be remotely likened to the old
System folder. It does indeed contain stuff you can modify, but that
stuff can and will then alter the way your computer behaves. (Strictly
speaking, _this_ library folder will modify your user account's
behaviour, but if you are the only user, that is more or less the same.)
This is where fonts. preferences, support files for apps, etc., get
stored.
There is another Library folder you will need to know about, and that is
the /Library (the one on the HD top level). That contains the same
things, but for "all users". (In addition there is one inside /System/,
but that is strictly for the System _only_.)
You will still have to authenticate when you install certain
applications and system updates and the like, but I hope you can live
with that. If you look at it in the light of all the potential security
threats from the Internet, it shold be possible IMHO.
I do recommend creating one extra user for troubleshooting purposes,
though. If and when you have trouble with an app or with the system, it
is very useful to be able to know whether the error is system-wide or
has to do with your personal settings - settings that can go haywire as
they are used, from time to time. In such cases it is very good to be
able to log into a different account and see if the problem persists or
not. Depending on the result, you know where to start looking for the
problem; very often it is a preference file or something like that, and
this will tell you whether it is global or user-spcific and
consequently, which library to start looking in.
Good luck!
*) Please note: I am well aware that this practice - one user, auto
login and full admin privileges - is not recommended by most
security-conscious users. However, I want to take your concern seriously
and suggest the closest approximation to old-style single-user Mac use
that is also reasonably OS X-like.
Most users reflecting actively on security would probably not want to
use automatic login, they would probably not even list available users
visibly at login time but present a blank login dialogue, and they would
not run their standard user account as Admin, but rather accept somewhat
more frequent authentication challenges in view of the ever-increasing
risks out there. But needs are different; YMMV.
--
/Jon
For mail address, run the following in Terminal:
echo 36199371860304980107073482417748002696458P|dc
Skype: storhaugen
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- Re: OSX: what's the damn' deal with "priveleges"
- From: Steve Hix
- Re: OSX: what's the damn' deal with "priveleges"
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