Re: Permission for 'dev/pmu'

[Michael Schmitz <schmitz@opal.biophys.uni-duesseldorf.de>]

> > There's not much you can do about that - remember that access to /dev/pmu
> > means the console user (if you restrict access by means of some console
> > group) can result in PMU communications hiccup, and when the PMU finds the
> > host has borked the communications, it will shut down power after some
> > timeout, no questions asked. I often find the clock reset to 1904 after
> > such a reset, boot variables cleared, and so on.
>
> Actually, no.  When using pbbuttonsd or pmud, a daemon process accesses
> /dev/pmu, which dispenses the need for fiddling with user permissions.

Right. What I meant to say, there's not much you can do about acme (or
other user programs) needing access to /dev/pmu. Just don't do it.

> > That's one option. And fblevel from powerpc-utils could be installed suid
> > root and used by acme to control brightness, without need for user level
> > access to /dev/pmu, for those who don't wish to install pbbuttonsd. (The
> > alternative, for acme to set the effective user ID to root before opening
> > the PMU, is perhaps too unsafe to consider).
>
> That could work too.  Please add it as a fourth option to bugs 281952+284328.

Should be in the BTS for one of them already (I kept CC: set).

	Michael