Best guide for Fedora 9 ever !

[Bill Davidsen]

Michael Schwendt wrote:
> On Tue, 20 May 2008 17:33:24 +0200, Valent Turkovic wrote:
> 
>> Hi,
>> this guide is the best guide for Fedora 9!
>>
>> http://fedoraguide.info/index.php/Main_Page
>> http://digg.com/linux_unix/Best_guide_for_Fedora_9_ever
>>
>> How to setup MP3 and Video codecs, ATI and Nvidia drivers,
>> CompizFusion, etc... you need it they got it :)
>>
>> Probably most of your question about Fedora 9 are answered there and
>> the solutions are simple.
> 
> Whoever added the setuid cdrecord stuff for k3b, please delete that
> or at least give the rationale for making the tools +s. k3b's warning
> can't be the only reason.
> 
Just a clarification, I cdrecord is not installed on FC9 at all, rather 
there is a program called "wodim" which is linked to cdrecord. Wodim is 
a modified version of an old version of cdrecord, not the current 
program from the original author.

By any name the kernel filters commands send to the burner which 
prevents certain commands from being sent unless you are root, 
particularly commands specific to a particular vendor. The author of the 
original and still maintained cdrecord program asked that the command 
filtering be changed, but the kernel maintainers declined. The author of 
cdrecord was invited to learn to use capabilities rather than root, and 
*he* declined. As you might guess, there are personalities and politics 
involved, and the result is that cdrecord needs to run as setuid root.

Since Fedora is usually pretty cutting edge, it would be nice if wodim 
were called that, and only that, and since a setuid program is being 
run, why not the real cdrecord? I suspect there are politics involved 
there as well. It's disappointing that Fedora didn't change to using 
capabilities, although that may be harder than it seems.

In any case, there's the overview and the technical issue, you need 
privileged commands to burn on some hardware, and there are some monster 
egos in play. Perhaps someone will comment on why not real cdrecord and 
capabilities.

-- 
Bill Davidsen <davidsen at tmr.com>
   "We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from
the machinations of the wicked."  - from Slashdot