> Parameshwara Bhat wrote: > > > > Hello Mr. Erik & Mr.Robin, > > > > I thank you both for taking the pains to respond in such > details. I am > > trying to clarify my position ( to myself first and the > list ) help make > > issues clear.Dear List,please excuse me for the lenght.I can't help. > > We all have to learn sometime. After using Linux since 1994, I am > still learning and loving it more. > . . . . > > I expect a good OS to be able to figure out what settings > are required > > in this condition . . . . Bear in mind, that the notion of one-at-a-time usage is foreign to Linux. The tacit assumption is that multiple users are potentially using the system all the time. Even if I am not logged on, I can use cron to launch jobs for me. Since these jobs may want to control shared resources, a security mechanism is needed to maintain the integrity of the computer system. As a result, non-root users are frequently prevented from controlling shared resources. > > > . . . . > > Consider fstab as a fresh Fedora installation gave me.Even > if you have > > floppies and CDs automounted, as user I couldn't unmount ( > permission > > denied or device busy , even after one has closed all file > manager and In some cases, you can avoid "device busy" errors using a "lazy" umount. Try umount -l /mnt/cdrom in this situation. There are postings in the archive about this. On some disks, the umount itself causes the device to consider itself busy, producing the error. > > application windows ) and hence eject it.You are stuck. You have to > > either sudo or go to root account to wriggle out.Now either > I share root > > password with each user to enable them to change CDs and > floppies when > > they need it, which compromises system health or go to > fstab and change > > the entry there, which I did after much digging into the OS > and after a > > few days. OS has no clues or helping scripts,or GUIs to > help me.( Till I > > know about mount / unmount and fstab file ) I can't go to > help - in the > > windows way - search on CD or floppies and get all the > information the > > system has to offer. I think this is a matter of personal preference. I have never found Windows help to be of any use, and I have used every version since 2.11. If you do not know the specific phrases and keywords for the tasks the Help authors intend you to do, you find completely unrelated information. If you know the Linux command you want, use man command or info command for help pages. the apropos command can help when you are unsure of what you need. . . . . > > In the menu under System Tools is Disk Management. I can mount, > unmount and format disks using this tool. As *nix looks at > the device > differently, unmounting the device before removal does make more > sense. I have wrecked floppies and CD's in Windows by removing them > before the FAT was updated and all writing was complete. Being > totally automatic is nice but can cause problems. This is > more than a > security issue. It is a reliability issue. > > > > > Ditto about modem and dial up. A user cannot run kppp or > wvdial out of > > the box. . . . . > > Now,if > > Linux is really so security centric, isn't it wrong for it > to force me > > to be root to use the main resources of my computer or does > it expect me If someone had spyware hijack the modem and rack up hundreds of dollars in connect charges to overseas exchanges, he perhaps would see the value in preventing ordinary UIDs from handling a modem. . . . . > > Now RH itself is a decade old and in it's 10th version . I > believe it > > wants to be in PC space - the one I explained which makes > up the biggest > > chunk of PC consumers where the original Unix paradigm is > irrelevant.But > > wanting to be in this space, but not understanding the > changed paradigm Not to be picky, but I understood that Red Hat seeks to exit the personal desktop "space". If this were not so, why would the company end the support life of Red Hat Linux? Why would they go to the trouble to specifically describe Fedora as a "project", not a "product"? . . . . > > > > Let's come to Erik's example . Should a driver of a car be a > > Mechanical > > or Automobile engineer and be a master of Engine , > Transmission system, > > Sophisticated Instrumentation and all other things that go > with them ? > > If I am an Economics professional and want to drive my car > to workplace, > > do you expect me to study the internal mechanisms of the > car or have a > > technician seated beside so that I can drive my car ? Over > and above, if > > this car can recognise me and does not let my wife and son > anywhere near > > - how do you think about it ? Cars are what they are because their > > manufacturers were not foolish enough to expect that of > their users and > > ditto for Windows.( Yes, for all its failures ) If I go back to the late 1800's, when automobiles were about as new as computers are today, then the scene you describe was indeed the norm. Automobiles were hand-crafted machines, no two exactly alike. You needed to be a mechanic, tool-and-die-maker, machinist, and metallurgist in order to keep your car on the road. Few except the very wealthy could manage it. Even today, if I want a car that is reliable and carefree to drive, I don't get it for anything close to free. If I find a "free" car, I usually have to spend hours repairing it and making it roadworthy. If I have lots of automobile knowledge, I can keep a "clunker" on the road. If I lack that knowledge, I have to pay money for someone to build me a reliable car. . . . . > > Notice that some auto manufacturers are now looking at personal > identification as theft deterent. Many cars now monitor your driving performance in realtime, and some can monitor and report your location, speed, and bearing to third parties at any time. You have no control in this matter, too. > > > > > I believe I have been fair ( and forthright ). I have no > hesitation in > > correcting myself if I am not. > > > > Parameshwara Bhat . . . . . > > We are here to learn and any civil discussion. Some of the issues > that have been in this thread are issues that I have thought about as > well. I learn look at other issues due to discussions. I never > looked at the comparison between cars and using computers before > reading this post. > Just a change in point-of-view, my friend. Erik . . . .
