"Although some may argue that this is perfectly acceptable because you shouldn't be an Admin if you don't know what you're doing, bear in mind that any new Mac owner — your aged Aunt who's upgrading from her trusty Performa — is an Admin."
Source: MacFixIt
This new "feature" is for convenience, but in the long run I do not see what its purpose is for. It does not safeguard people from deleting things they do not know are critical for the system to function. This was a bad choice, IMO, on Apple's part to include in Panther. The fact that you are blessed with root privs for 5 minutes after login is also unacceptable for the most part.
I say for the most part because I myself know what root is. There is a small portion of the Mac OS X crowd who know, and understand what root is, and how to (not) use it. Being able to delete a file that is being belligerent is a nice "feature" but I do not think it should have been included in Panther for the reason Chris Breen described above. I know why a file will not delete when I tell it to, it is because I do not have the access privs. to delete it. There are usually reasons why I don't have privs. to delete it. The only reason I like this feature is because I know and understand why I am being asked for my admin password when I try and delete a file and I am prompted for this info. Most people do not.
Originally posted on Breaking Windows.
Article comments
1 - Douglas Dir
What happened to bookofjoe? It's now password protected? How do I get access?
Peace,
DOUG