I have this question, about multiuser some years ago we see a source liberation for a posible multiuser haiku os, is that posible? or how would be the security on haiku os? cause strongly believe this system will be used by many web designers and it should have at less a password or other way to protect the system i supose.
Security wise, I would like to see OpenBinder working on Haiku.
It has been mentioned by developers many times in the past, but it is only a low priority at this stage and nothing ever comes of it. Android Binder is a fork of OpenBinder to Linux by Google and provides many of the sandboxing features for Android.
The ‘password on wake from screensaver’ feature has been suggested to be outsourced to an offical system login screen. Small steps like this could add up to a basic multiuser system, but it is not going to be in Beta1, as Beta1 is on track to be released 1st quarter 2015.
It will be definitly not in Beta1.
An i am not at all convinced by “multiuser” because i have rarely seen people working on a desktop maschin with “different” users…
Nearly none used this feature as it should have been.
For Security… i would like to see something like truecryp volumes / images
(because this are the ones wich proofed to be the best and the most secure way for protecting your data)
maybe in combination with a fs wich blend all of your stuff into “your” haiku (like Package-FS dose it already - just with write support)
… wich would mean that you can use two accounts at one (something i would really like to see) you can mount all images you have the pasword to 
and they will blend into the working haiku system.
If this is combinable with something like dropbox … this would be the feature 
I’m not convinced that multi-user (single machine) is necessary.
I think it would be better to have a password for privileged settings, which can also be used when joining a Haiku workstation to a domain (of sorts) for workplace use.
To summarize:
-
Single user with a password for higher-level settings and for enabling the domain-workstation mode and settings
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Multi-user as part of a domain of Haiku systems. (Maybe the server is just a set of UNIX daemons which host a Haiku workdomain for file / print / authentication).
Not many share this view, though. I can understand why - but again, I don’t think too many people would miss multiuser. BeOS never had it (as far as I know) and new users might not even use it. If Haiku is being repositioned as a developers’ toybox rather than a BeOS binary replacement, I can’t see multi-user support (for a single machine) as being something that one of those kinds of users would require. That may change as more users come on board.
Well, for now, at least, is possible to protect the access with a login mask 
I’m doing some test, and soon I will release this app on Haikuware (source code included!).
Giova84 - There is already such an implementation with sourcecode in haiku available:
http://cgit.haiku-os.org/haiku/tree/src/bin/multiuser
Why not using this?
The idea that multiuser instantly enables security is a fallacy. If you want security, ask for security.
And there's nothing about a web-dev workload that requires multiuser functionality.
A lot of actual users actually prefer to keep it single user (myself included). Many Haiku developers think the opposite :p
And the majority of users who scream for multiuser actually want security, not multiuser.
[quote=Paradoxon]Giova84 - There is already such an implementation with sourcecode in haiku available:
http://cgit.haiku-os.org/haiku/tree/src/bin/multiuser
Why not using this?[/quote]
I’m one of these people that prefer single user, so a simple login mask is enough for me 
Haiku R1, not alpha, not beta, but R1 FINAL is supposed to replicate the functionality of BeOS R5. The devs have mostly held on to that vision for ten years and I believe they should continue to do so. BeOS R5 did not have multi-user.
Multiuser would delay the release of R1 by … who knows? Years, perhaps. I see no reason to burden Haiku with layer upon layer of software just to solve a problem that arose in the 1950s when computers were expensive and people had to share processing time. Computers are commodity items now. My wife needed something to compute on. I didn’t set up an account for her on the iMac. I bought her a laptop of her own. Still, when R1 is out, the devs will no doubt rethink the whole thing for R2. If they come up with a more elegant way to multi-use than what we see now on *NIX or Windows, great.
If you need a password to prevent anyone else starting up your computer, look to your BIOS. Every computer made in the last thirty years lets you set one there.
+1
[quote=Giova84][quote=Paradoxon]Giova84 - There is already such an implementation with sourcecode in haiku available:
http://cgit.haiku-os.org/haiku/tree/src/bin/multiuser
Why not using this?[/quote]
I’m one of these people that prefer single user, so a simple login mask is enough for me :-)[/quote]
+1
I am not interested in Multiuser eighter…
A login is enough for my needs…
[quote=philcostin]I’m not convinced that multi-user (single machine) is necessary.
I don’t think too many people would miss multiuser. [/quote]
There are many cases for multiuser in a consumer setting, I’m not going to list all of them, but the following would be the classical “things that make hmmm”:
- Parental control
- Separation between work and personal stuff
- Single Computer sharing between many people
The latter two matters to me (I’ve yet to experience the first one ^_^): I have a work laptop that happens to be used for personal stuff, and a home desktop, shared by the whole family and the occasional guests.
Both of them have multiple accounts set on them: in the first case (laptop) for obvious privacy reasons, while in the latter case, also to prevent important files from being (accidentally) deleted by other users than the owner.
However, I suppose that a multiuser mode feature is better qualified for R2 than R1, just because the underlying architecture must be carefully designed and tested: I don’t think there are enough resources/time to implement it in R1, which has the explicit purpose to replicate and modernize the last official version of BeOS (a single user OS, anyway. :-).
[quote=dnltst]There are many cases for multiuser in a consumer setting, I’m not going to list all of them, but the following would be the classical “things that make hmmm”:
- Parental control
- Separation between work and personal stuff
- Single Computer sharing between many people
- Jessicah’s point remains valid. You can build in parental control without going multiuser. It’s a matter of encrypting directories. (of course, the question of how long you can really lock out a tech-savvy 13-year old is an entirely different issue)
- Haiku takes very little space and hard drives are cheap. You can set up two Haiku partitions, one for work and one for porn, I mean personal ;-). My 1TB disk has nine partitions, six of which boot to a Haiku installation and one to Linux. The other two hold data. But this is a very hypothetical discussion. Without an office suite and something that approaches Photoshop, Haiku will remain a hobby, not a workhorse.
- I’ve dealt with that before. One person, one computer. I’m lobbying the UN to have that declared a human right. NOBODY touches my computer.
But I’m not against MU. The Haiku devs have worked out a truly elegant PM system. No doubt if they bent their minds towards MU they could bring out something better than what is available now, something that takes up little overhead if you don’t actually use it. I just disagree with the OP that it should be implemented right now.
How would you have different levels of privilege, to change system settings and install/uninstall software or not, with just single user and encrypted folders. Wouldn’t it be necessary for multi user logins, such as Administrator, User or Guest?
I need multiuser and in my home all have a user password.
Hello Giova84!
[quote=Giova84]Well, for now, at least, is possible to protect the access with a login mask
I’m doing some test, and soon I will release this app on Haikuware (source code included!).[/quote]
Haikuware is past and remembrances fading out… So… do you still have the sources or an useable version of your application?
Once beta1 is released i plan to use a Haiku-OS machine as daily workstation with heavy use at work (i think it will be good beta-testing so far), but i really need a solution to lock my screen when i’m off the office.
Back in R5 times i used LockWorkstation, but that application seems lost or at least its sources… so every other solutions are very welcome.
greets,
prOSy
I think, maybe, Haiku-OS requires simpler Multiuser. Let’s say, as a Baron’s desktop’s “child”. The “child” would not be able to install applications and change system settings and so on with restrictions, as decided by Baron. Maybe, some of the available virtual desktops could have a passwords and restricted access to computer resources. The system is loaded, “child” to enter precisely those virtual desktops.
[quote=prOSy]
Back in R5 times i used LockWorkstation, but that application seems lost or at least its sources… so every other solutions are very welcome.
greets,
prOSy[/quote]
Sources not lost.