Perhaps in older distros. But most newers ones will have you create an account during the installation, other then root. If you need root access you can use the 'SU" command.
Users fight to save Windows XP
- Thread starter Praxius
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Perhaps in older distros. But most newers ones will have you create an account during the installation, other then root. If you need root access you can use the 'SU" command.
That would deny almost every benefit (other than cost) of using Linux. Considering most PC's come bundled with windows anyways, that isn't as much of a benefit as it could be.
If your gonna do it, do it right, use root
Using root as your default user profile is asking for trouble. :x
Admin tasks/software installs can be peformed using the "SU" command. If one uses root for day to day operations, you are no better then a Windows user using "administrator" exclusively.
and this would be the main reason the average user would have problems with a linux OS. It's still not user friendly enough.
I did DL the iso for the newest ubuntu... have a machine that I was using as a file server and am replacing with a newer one.... will install ubuntu on it and get back to ya's from a die hard MS user point of view.
Install vmware player and you can install multiple linux distro's without wrecking partions etc, works pretty good.
Even an experienced user can download a rootkit...
With a unix based system, there really isn't any need to run everything under root. Once you have your drivers/software installed, there is no need for it and then you have SU command when you need to make a quick change. With a normal user account, you can easily use it as a sandbox and not screw the system, you do that under root and the system is trashed.
here is a pic of Ubuntu 7.10 running in a virtual machine on my XP box... Having a quad core helps.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e198/dan_c22/screenie.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e198/dan_c22/screenie.jpg
Ubuntu breathes new life into school's abandoned hardware
When 3Ghz dual core computers running 2GB of RAM weren't being used for many heavily CPU-intensive applications in a Victorian secondary school library, the school's IT department initially joked about replacing them with older and previously abandoned hardware. Then it saw the serious side.
When the KDE-centric Ubuntu derivation, Kubuntu, was installed on the old gear -- a mixture of Acer Veriton 3600s and 2.1Ghz V5100s -- the school found it performed just as efficiently as on the newer hardware. So the IT department installed six Kubuntu desktops in kiosk mode on the old gear for its Web-based student library system, and sent the newer hardware back into classrooms where they could be used by students to their full potential.
Implementing a kiosk mode Kubuntu setup allowed Westall Secondary School, located in eastern Melbourne, to save money, exact greater control over security measures, and extend the life of older and discarded hardware without sacrificing performance, said Westall's IT support manager Daniel Stefyn.
But according to Stefyn, the "huge amount of flexibility" offered by the Linux operating system was the primary motive behind its adoption.
The library system at the college uses a Web-based service that students can access from six Linux desktops located throughout the library.
Initially, the school trialed Ubuntu with the GNOME desktop, but found that Kubuntu, with KDE's kiosk tool, allowed for greater control in locking down workstations.
"The KDE Kiosk admin tool is currently used as there didn't appear to be enough flexibility with the GNOME setup to allow for a decent lockdown," Stefyn said.
"Using Kubuntu, we can easily extend the life of older hardware with little performance drop. It was easy to secure the workstations and train a student technician to maintain the hardware."
Library staff only need to turn on the computers which automatically log onto a restricted Ubuntu session. By default, a library search screen launches in Firefox with a kiosk lock down extension.
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When 3Ghz dual core computers running 2GB of RAM weren't being used for many heavily CPU-intensive applications in a Victorian secondary school library, the school's IT department initially joked about replacing them with older and previously abandoned hardware. Then it saw the serious side.
When the KDE-centric Ubuntu derivation, Kubuntu, was installed on the old gear -- a mixture of Acer Veriton 3600s and 2.1Ghz V5100s -- the school found it performed just as efficiently as on the newer hardware. So the IT department installed six Kubuntu desktops in kiosk mode on the old gear for its Web-based student library system, and sent the newer hardware back into classrooms where they could be used by students to their full potential.
Implementing a kiosk mode Kubuntu setup allowed Westall Secondary School, located in eastern Melbourne, to save money, exact greater control over security measures, and extend the life of older and discarded hardware without sacrificing performance, said Westall's IT support manager Daniel Stefyn.
But according to Stefyn, the "huge amount of flexibility" offered by the Linux operating system was the primary motive behind its adoption.
The library system at the college uses a Web-based service that students can access from six Linux desktops located throughout the library.
Initially, the school trialed Ubuntu with the GNOME desktop, but found that Kubuntu, with KDE's kiosk tool, allowed for greater control in locking down workstations.
"The KDE Kiosk admin tool is currently used as there didn't appear to be enough flexibility with the GNOME setup to allow for a decent lockdown," Stefyn said.
"Using Kubuntu, we can easily extend the life of older hardware with little performance drop. It was easy to secure the workstations and train a student technician to maintain the hardware."
Library staff only need to turn on the computers which automatically log onto a restricted Ubuntu session. By default, a library search screen launches in Firefox with a kiosk lock down extension.
More