Permenant Root / Sudo access

[lonewolff]

Is there a way to configure Ubuntu so that everything that is performed by the user is done at root level?

I know this is highly frowned upon. But, I am just learning Ubuntu (& linux in general) and would like to tinker around with full access until I am confident with the system.

Losing data and blowing things up is not an issue as I plan on installing and 'playing' repeatedly.

Thanks in advance

[jayd512]

Well, so long as you realize the dangers...
this page from the Ubuntu pages give details on enabling the root account.

[lonewolff]

Excellent, thanks for the link.

And, I do understand the dangers and wouldn't normally do this.

This is more for learning purposes. So, I can muck around heaps with the OS freely.

[jayd512]

In that case, have fun blowing it up!

[lonewolff]

Will do :P

[oz]

Hello, lonewolff!

One problem with doing what you want to do is that having full permissions all the time can become addictive and a very hard habit to break. You'd probably be better off in the long run to get in the habit of using your box as a regular user with normal permissions, then properly switching to root permissions only when you need them. Just something to consider... and best of luck with the learning process, either way. Hope you'll have fun with it.

[sgosnell]

I agree. It's not that hard to use sudo for things requiring root permission, and getting into the habit of using it is a very valuable experience. Learning what needs sudo and what doesn't is an important part of learning the OS. You'll learn much more in the long run, and learn it more quickly, by doing it the right way from the start. But it's your life, and your computer.

[lonewolff]

I agree 100%. But there is nothing more frustraing when 'playing around', than having to fire up a terminal and sudo everything when all you want to do is edit a conf file - reboot and see what effect this has. Especially when you dont know what is where in the Linux world.

[sgosnell]

A couple of things:

1. You can just right-click on a file, select "Open as administrator", and edit the file as root.
2. With tilda, the terminal is only one keystroke away, and it's far quicker for me to press a key, type "gksu gedit file.conf" than open Nautilus and click around to get to the file and open it.

When you don't know how Linux really works, you think it's easier to run as root full time, but in reality, when you know what you're doing, it's not. If knowing what you're doing is the object of the exercise, then I think it's better to learn how to do it properly.

Again, though, it's your computer, so you'll do what you like.

[lonewolff]

That it is