With Gnome 3, new authorization dialogs have been introduced to interface with PolicyKit (I love all those KITs by the way…), you can see them at this gnome live page. The company policy is to set up Ubuntu in the same way for everyone, and all the machines have several users that are allowed to install software. They are in one group — Ubuntu policy is to not use the root user.

As a developer, I am allowed to install software through the Ubuntu software center, or should be, anyways. With the Gnome 3 PolicyKit authorization dialog, choice between several possible users has been simplified, i.e. removed! So I get asked to enter the password for the “IT Administrator” account, which I obviously don’t know. Effectively resulting in me not being able to install any software.

I had to patch the gnome-shell (again) to restore at least basic usability. It asks for the current user password, when this user is permitted to perform that function (instead of the “first” one, whichever that might be.)

get the Gnome 3 PolicyKit fix here

Yes, there are bug reports for this

--- polkitAuthenticationAgent.js_web	2011-10-24 11:55:26.000000000 +0200
+++ polkitAuthenticationAgent.js	2011-10-26 13:31:28.350313323 +0200
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ const Lang = imports.lang;
 const Signals = imports.signals;
 const Shell = imports.gi.Shell;
 const AccountsService = imports.gi.AccountsService;
+const GLib = imports.gi.GLib;
 const Clutter = imports.gi.Clutter;
 const St = imports.gi.St;
 const Pango = imports.gi.Pango;
@@ -85,13 +85,25 @@ AuthenticationDialog.prototype = {
                        { y_fill:  true,
                          y_align: St.Align.START });
 
+        let chosenIndex = 0;
+
         if (userNames.length > 1) {
+            let thisUser = GLib.get_user_name();
+            for (let i = 0; i < userNames.length; i++) {
+                if (userNames[i] == thisUser) {
+                    chosenIndex = i;
+                    break;
+                }
+                else if (userNames[i] == 'root') {
+                    chosenIndex = i;
+                }
+            }
             log('polkitAuthenticationAgent: Received ' + userNames.length +
                 ' identities that can be used for authentication. Only ' +
-                'considering the first one.');
+                'considering the ' + (1+chosenIndex) + ' one.');
         }
 
-        let userName = userNames[0];
+        let userName = userNames[chosenIndex];
 
         this._user = AccountsService.UserManager.get_default().get_user(userName);
         let userRealName = this._user.get_real_name()

The biggest change is away from the Task bar to the Exposé-like overview of all windows, combined with a per-application chooser on the left (called “dash” in Gnome new-speak). The Alt+Tab window switcher got Application centric too. The application-behavior means: switch between windows of the same application with Alt+(key over tab). After getting used to it, it’s not that bad, even faster for some tasks.

However, there was one big problem. I’m still using the XTerm and just can’t leave it for something like gnome-terminal. I usually open a lot of xterms on my desktop. I have them display something sensible in their title bar. Now with Gnome 3, every XTerm is recognized as its own little application, that means I have to switch between XTerm-windows using Alt+Tab.

While this itself maybe wouldn’t be that big a deal, it also results in all the XTerm-windows only showing their class in both the Alt+Tab switcher and the dash (remember, the switcher and the dash are supposed to show the Application, not the apps window title). That means it gets really really difficult to find an XTerm window, as the title bar content is no longer visible anywhere.

So I had to resort to patching the gnome-shell to treat all the windows with a class of UXterm as one single application. Now I can switch to an xterm using Alt+Tab, and between xterms with Alt+(key over tab). A first step of making Gnome 3 usable to me!

Download uxterm_gnome3.diff. I would need help from any Gnome hacker to turn this into an extension instead of patching the source.

--- dash.js_web	2011-10-22 13:29:31.252177524 +0200
+++ dash.js	2011-10-18 14:56:40.753795871 +0200
@@ -512,6 +524,38 @@ const Dash = new Lang.Class({
             newApps.push(app);
         }
 
+        let newNewApps = new Array();
+        let uxterm;
+        for (let i = 0; i < newApps.length; i++) {
+            if (newApps[i].get_name() == "UXTerm") {
+                if (!uxterm) {
+                    uxterm = newApps[i];
+                    uxterm._apps = new Array();
+                    if (!uxterm._get_windows) {
+                        uxterm._get_windows = uxterm.get_windows;
+                        uxterm.get_windows = function () {
+                            let ret = new Array();
+                            for (let k = 0; k < this._apps.length; k++) {
+                                let that_windows = this._apps[k]._get_windows ?
+                                    this._apps[k]._get_windows() :
+                                    this._apps[k].get_windows();
+                                for (let j = 0; j < that_windows.length; j++) {
+                                    ret.push(that_windows[j]);
+                                }
+                            }
+                            return ret;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    newNewApps.push(uxterm);
+                }
+                uxterm._apps.push(newApps[i]);
+            }
+            else {
+                newNewApps.push(newApps[i]);
+            }
+        }
+        newApps = newNewApps;
+
         // Figure out the actual changes to the list of items; we iterate
         // over both the list of items currently in the dash and the list
         // of items expected there, and collect additions and removals.
--- altTab.js_web	2011-10-22 13:28:12.569161194 +0200
+++ altTab.js	2011-10-18 14:56:40.753795871 +0200
@@ -183,6 +181,69 @@ const AltTabPopup = new Lang.Class({
         this.actor.connect('button-press-event', Lang.bind(this, this._clickedOutside));
         this.actor.connect('scroll-event', Lang.bind(this, this._onScroll));
 
+        let newLocalApps = new Array();
+        let uxterm;
+        for (let i = 0; i < localApps.length; i++) {
+            if (localApps[i].get_name() == "UXTerm") {
+                if (!uxterm) {
+                    uxterm = localApps[i];
+                    uxterm._apps = new Array();
+                    if (!uxterm._get_windows) {
+                        uxterm._get_windows = uxterm.get_windows;
+                        uxterm.get_windows = function () {
+                            let ret = new Array();
+                            for (let k = 0; k < this._apps.length; k++) {
+                                let that_windows = this._apps[k]._get_windows ?
+                                    this._apps[k]._get_windows() :
+                                    this._apps[k].get_windows();
+                                for (let j = 0; j < that_windows.length; j++) {
+                                    ret.push(that_windows[j]);
+                                }
+                            }
+                            return ret;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    newLocalApps.push(uxterm);
+                }
+                uxterm._apps.push(localApps[i]);
+            }
+            else {
+                newLocalApps.push(localApps[i]);
+            }
+        }
+        localApps = newLocalApps;
+
+        let newOtherApps = new Array();
+        for (let i = 0; i < otherApps.length; i++) {
+            if (otherApps[i].get_name() == "UXTerm") {
+                if (!uxterm) {
+                    uxterm = otherApps[i];
+                    uxterm._apps = new Array();
+                    if (!uxterm._get_windows) {
+                        uxterm._get_windows = uxterm.get_windows;
+                        uxterm.get_windows = function () {
+                            let ret = new Array();
+                            for (let k = 0; k < this._apps.length; k++) {
+                                let that_windows = this._apps[k]._get_windows ?
+                                    this._apps[k]._get_windows() :
+                                    this._apps[k].get_windows();
+                                for (let j = 0; j < that_windows.length; j++) {
+                                    ret.push(that_windows[j]);
+                                }
+                            }
+                            return ret;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    newOtherApps.push(uxterm);
+                }
+                uxterm._apps.push(otherApps[i]);
+            }
+            else {
+                newOtherApps.push(otherApps[i]);
+            }
+        }
+        otherApps = newOtherApps;
+
         this._appSwitcher = new AppSwitcher(localApps, otherApps, this);
         this.actor.add_actor(this._appSwitcher.actor);
         this._appSwitcher.connect('item-activated', Lang.bind(this, this._appActivated));

Thanks mcrha!

• using the images posted on neosmart
• with a virtual XP installation
• and wintoflash

I have yet failed to do it with pure Linux, but if anyone knows how, I would be very interested to learn. Reason for this is that some companies only do firmware updates from Windows — avoid such companies/products if possible :-(

some guides describe how to use diskpart to format the USB drive. This did not work for me on Windows XP, it didn’t show the USB at all in there. Trying to format the drive with linux didn’t result in a bootable one, even after I tried several tools such as “MbrFix” and “bootsect” (a Vista copy I found on the net), all from within Windows. Partitioning with diskmgmt.msc was also not possible for me.

here were my steps to success in some more detail:

• fdisk the USB drive with one partition (if you have already messed everything up, consider dd if=/dev/zero of=your_drive etc…), type “b” (Win95)
• (quick)format the drive in Windows
• extract the repair image somewhere
• use wintoflash to have it copy the files to the USB

good luck!