APT, Yum and Red Carpet

[Alan Cox]

> In a real corporate environment, Secretaries don't have the access 
> required to install software.  Giving a secretary root on a box is just 

I wish 8)

> insane.  Corporate images are developed, deployed and only updated when 
> there is a true business need.  Allowing users to install software 
> willy nilly just causes huge headaches, leads to virus infection and 
> system instability.  While there is some argument for having a nice gui 
> frontend to installing software, it doesn't quite click in the real 
> corporate environment.

Over 90% of companies are *small business*. Most of them either use 
consultants or have relatively lightly trained staff for whom making the
computers work is often just part of their job and in many cases not part
of any official job description at all.

Its also not just a case of "root" either, on a really locked down system
with something like SELinux or RSBAC installed you not only don't give
people root you make it impossible for anything to create executables or
any scripts for shells to be run unless they have been "blessed" by some
sysadmin controlled tool. That turns "I got this cool screensaver.." into
"I got this cool screensaver but it wont run" which allows the sysadmin to
explain to the staff member why not and why that wont be changing.