Understanding and Hacking Your User Account
Before Mac OS X was released, there wasn’t really a concept of a user or account in the Macintosh environment. This hack introduces you to what it means to have an account and what this business of a Home directory is all about. We’ll also show you how to rename an account — a nonobvious task indeed.
When Mac OS X first appeared, a lot of people were aghast at the concept of user accounts, especially when they were the only ones using their computer. “Why go through all the hassle when only I exist?” they asked. The complaints only intensified as users were asked to enter an administrator password [Hack #50] for access to certain files, sometimes even denied access to settings and files on their very own computers — the gall of it!
The reasoning is two-fold: to protect you from yourself and to support Mac OS X’s multiuser environment.
The concept of protecting you from yourself may at first blush appear intrusive, but we’ve all had an instance where we’ve deleted an innocent file from our OS 9 System Folder, only to discover our idiocy when our system didn’t reboot, our printer didn’t print, or our modem didn’t sizzle. In this regard, OS X has your back; crucial files necessary for everyday operation are protected from overzealous removal.
The multiuser environment of OS X is based on technology that’s been around for a while in the Unix world: a system of checks and balances that stop your kid sister from gleefully deleting that Photoshop ...
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