Actually Linspire does ask you if you want to creat USER accounts during installation. HERE IS A LINK TO THE SCREENSHOT.

So, once again, why do they HAVE to run as ROOT? When they create USER accounts (which can be done suring installation) it will give them a Log-In screen with options... ROOT, USER 1, USER 2, etc. And I'm sure the school system isn't flying blind on this either. They either have documentation, or a REP from Wintergreen Systems (who had been preinstalling LOS for the past few years) onsite to help them through the first couple of installations. Truth of the matter is, none of KNOW how the units are shipping.

The IT department, I'm sure has dealt with MS machines, that also ship by default as the Administrator. If they are getting the Linspire machine preinstalled without USERS (the same as the would Windows machines), then setting up USER accounts is very simple (as it is in Windows)..... LAUNCH>SETTINGS>ADDITIONAL OPTION>USER MANAGER (KUser)

Windows never ask for Users Accounts to be created either...

Yes, I looked at your screenshot, and I've actually installed Linspire 5.0 myself. I don't consider that to be "asking" you to create a user account. It gives you the option to create a user account, but so does Windows. Most other Linux distros actually ask you (more or less force you, really) to create a user account.

Yes, my point exactly--read the above post (same points, just not in ALL CAPS). I don't see why you're getting so worked up. Nobody said Linspire forces you to operate as root and so the schools must be having their students run as root. The question was brought up, "Will they run as root?" The answer is probably no, as you and I have both pointed out, considering that Windows generally defaults to administrator, but most school IT admins set up students as users. The same will probably happen for Linspire.

Don't get me wrong, not getting all worked up (unfortunately with forums and text it is always difficult to tell how a person it saying things, and sorry about the ALL CAPS, I generally do a lot of instructional writing and it is a habit to emphasis important points, one I don't realize I'm doing all the time.)

I think it is great that these machines are being put into the schools no matter what distro, but I do think that Linspire is a great distro for the linux novice and therefore one of the obvious choices to incorporate into schools (Xandros, PCLOS, MEPIS and others are also good for the linux novice).

I just didn't want there to be any misconceptions about the whole "running as root" and Linspire dead horse that has been beaten, and beaten, and beaten. If I came off as argumentive, I apologize, I was not at all upset, just trying to clear any preconcieved ideas about USERS and ROOT for any of the readers, that's all.

I have to agree that

1. The tone of written communication can easily be misinterpreted. I obviously misinterpreted yours
2. Lots of people have misconceptions of Linspire

I've actually tried Linspire, and I have to say that I'm disappointed they don't make more of an effort to discourage people from running as root. Still, as you and I have both stated, it's highly unlikely that school IT folk will let high school students run as root.

And I was just pointing out what I have read at other forums. Some corporate distros have problems with software install, proper permission, and in some cases software just not working correctly as a non-root user.

Oh and if anyone thinks fedora, suse community(name forthcoming), debian, is three nerds sitting in a basement then I would have to say first that you are wrong. And in at least a few cases that those three nerds built the basis of the majority of corporate distros. And I would think IF debian could allow it then having the school system fund a debian endorsed project and fund developers to work specifically on their rollout and support that would be the BEST support you could ask for.

I am saying that numerous options exist and are all valid. However one option is that instead of paying and depending on a company for support hire a linux guru or team of gurus to roll out a non-corporate solution. That way it can be tweaked to your needs and you never have to worry about a company going out of business. I am at least willing to say their are numerous options and they all have their pros and cons. You cant? Can you do nothing but proclaim your corporate distro as the end-all and be-all! Can you not even admit that there are other options that have some good advantages to it.

Thats right, as someone else put it.... Linspire is the only chance linux has for beating microsoft.

Yes Xavier I was trying to be nice but I can only resist the hulk side of me for so long :)

Well, no one thinks SuSE or Fedora are made of a couple of "nerds" sitting in a basement. After all, we're talking Novell and Red Hat, here. You have to admit, though, for a school administrator who knows nothing about Linux, this website looks a lot more "corporate" and "stable" than this one.

and if this is true

and they are simply going to be users the wouldnt any distro suite the purpose....

In fact you could use older computers, even ones they may currently have and install a lighter distro with less hardware requriements. You could also decide exactly the software you want instead of being required to install the whole mozilla suite for example.

Dont get me wrong, this is good....but in my opinion could of been better. :) ... aww heck why do I bother...

GO LINSP.... I just cant do it.... :) GO LINUX! as close as I can get

No one's arguing that Linspire is clearly the best choice for schools, as far as I can tell.
I'm just happy Linux is getting there in some form. If a school admin asked me, "We're thinking of putting Linux in schools, which version should we choose?" my first response would not be "Linspire." However, now that they've chosen Linspire, I'm not going to complain that they're using Linux.

And the article seems to indicate that it wasn't schools saying, "Hey, let's get some Linux in here." It was more Linspire taking the initiative to push itself into/offer itself to schools, and the schools possibly accepting this offer.

Looks are not a good thing to base anything on. Linspires site certainly looks more corporate, flashy, selling, type of site than debian. But the fact that debian has been in "biz" since the early 90s, the fact that they have spawned over a 100 other distros, the fact they produce the "largest" distro, along with the fact that a majority of corporate distros that focus most on selling go out of business within a handful of years probably paints non-corporate debian as more stable and more likely to be around in the long run. IMO of course :)

but enough said, i will comment no more for fear of the wrath of Xavier :)

Jake, I'm not going to get into a pi**ing match with you over this. I'm just saying that even with the exhalted WINDOWS XP, users in a college level computer lab have ZERO access to installing software, so it makes sense that that would more than likely be the model that is used. It is how things are done in the local HSs here already....by HERE I mean in my little neck of Indiana.

Because Linspire is the distro that has been chosen. Linspire is probably the distro that went after the school. Wintergreen Systems, the computer supplier, preinstalls Linspire. If other distros go after a project like this, then maybe they will be used. Like the old saying goes, You'll never know unless you ask. Apparently these other distros aren't asking, and if they are, we just haven't heard about it yet.

I never claimed that MY corporate distro was the "end all and be all!". In fact, if you refer back to this quote...."...Linspire is a great distro for the linux novice and therefore one of the obvious choices to incorporate into schools (Xandros, PCLOS, MEPIS and others are also good for the linux novice)." you'd notice that there are two distros listed as well as "others" that aren't "corporate" distros. And that I said that Linspire was ONE of the obvious CHOICES But, then again, had you actually read the post instead of reading into what you wanted to, you would have known that too. Yes, and this time I am a little aggitated, because this "I am at least willing to say.....You cant?" appears to be a personal attack and an implication that I am closed minded, which I am obviously not.

This was an article about Linspire being implemented into a school system. I am happy for them and think it will help LINUX AS A WHOLE gain traction. Not just Linspire. Just because I use Linspire on a daily basis does not mean that I do not want to see other distros succeed.

I am through posting in this thread since it has taken a turn from being about a school system implementing a desktop linux....that just happens to be Linspire.....to let's compare the commercial distro to the *gratis* distro. We can argue the pros and cons about commercial and gratis all day long but it still is not going to change the fact the this school system is installing 125 Linspire Linux computers. Which is, IMHO, great for linux.

Do you think Indiana school administrators read this website? Who are you talking to? I never said, "I definitely trust Linspire over Debian." I said that Linspire's website looks more professional than Debian's to someone who knows nothing about Linux, and I'd wager to say that most school administrators know either nothing or next to nothing about Linux. Arguing with me over which distros schools should choose is like arguing with your sibling over whether your parents should have children or not--already chosen, and not by you. As I've already stated, if a school administrator had asked me, "Which Linux should we go for?" I wouldn't have picked Linspire, but no school administrator asked anyone this question. Linspire has or probably will be chosen because it already took the initiative. There were no other contenders.

I wonder if you have actually installed and run the product?

Or are you taking someone else's uninformed say-so?

There is little difference between the actually words used in the SuSE installer and the words used in the Linspire installer.

In both cases, the person doing the installation is given the choice whether or not to create users.

As someone said earlier, one would hope that whoever is the admin doing the installation would know the need.

If the school is an all-Microsoft one currently - which is what one assumes - then they would need to be briefed.

In any case, one would assume that with turnkey projects like this, there would be some hands-on training - even if limited in scope - and probably a checklist provided for the school people doing the installation.

Please let not this thread become yet another root versus user flame war.

Anything which gets Linux up and running on the desktop in large numbers is a positive thing for open source.

As someone else mentioned, a ten-minute reinstallation is not hard for a broken installation.

One also could think about ghosted drives... or preloaded drives... and this would eliminate much of the problems.

Preinstalled drives obviously also need to have users set up on them, so honestly I don't see the fuss.

First of all, I'm defending Linspire. I think it's a great thing it's being put in schools. I'm also making the point that regardless of Linspire's general practices, no school would have all its users running as root.

Secondly, I have installed Linspire 5.0 and SuSE 9.1. I'm not basing this on hearsay. SuSE does actually have a separate section where you have to add a new user.

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerwork...s9/Image94.jpg

Linspire actually has a separate section called "advanced settings" that makes it sound as if you don't have to add a new user.

http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/293/36.gif

Nowhere on that screen does it say adding a user account is a good idea. I'm not spreading FUD about Linspire. I've installed it myself, and it defaults to root in a way that I've never seen another distro do. You can use Linspire, and I won't judge you for it, but I'm simply stating the facts.

I may have replied to the wrong person; if that's the case, please accept my apologies.

I too have installed both - SuSE 8, 9, 9.1 and 9.3 varying numbers of times.

Lindows 4 and 4.5, Linspire 4.5 and 5 equally a range of times.

Yes they both do do it slightly differently, but my opinion is that both make it obvious that while not mandatory to set user accounts, it is highly desirable.

This suggests that a general installation manual, readily available, would be a good idea, which explains how running as user in a single user machine will offer added security against accidental damage, and running as user in a multi-user machine (as in a school or other workplace) can prevent a deliberate act of one user to destroy the contents.

I think the whole conversation may have headed in the wrong direction because of this root versus user stuff; if the school admins don't know what they are doing, whatever they install will be flawed.

If they know what they are doing, then the installations will work succesfully and be a flagship for other school systems to follow suit.

The object is to put Linux on desktops imho, not to quibble obout what distro doesn't do what.

But my comments are not meant in offence, but constructively. Please don't take them the wrong way :D

I think these are two statements almost everyone in the Linux community can agree with. I know I do.