Submission + - Can't See the Forest.exe for the Registry Trees
An anonymous reader writes: As I saw it, the single greatest flaw in Windows was that the end user had virtually no control over what programs were launched when the OS started. The only way to stop a program from launching at startup (or really even knowing it was being launched at all) was if the author of the program specifically allowed for the end user to do so. If there were but one solitary location that contained a list of all applications to be launched at startup then security, performance, stability, and end user satisfaction would increase a hundred fold. Alas, at first glance it appears vista did not bring more end user control but less.
My question is how easy is it for an application that launches on startup to hide from the end user under Linux? As of late for Windows, many unwanted apps that launch on startup come from legitimate sources who either don't tell you about the startup app, hide reference to it in a lengthy EULA, or just plain don't provide any means to remove it up to and including removing the parent application itself. I wonder if this is uncharted territory for Linux as most development for Linux appears to be done by open source developers with good intentions. If Vista's dead end roadmap for user control elicits a mass influx of Windows refugees to Linux, will the Linux desktop be ripe for pillage by the hordes of ruthless corporate parasites who are sure to follow?
My question is how easy is it for an application that launches on startup to hide from the end user under Linux? As of late for Windows, many unwanted apps that launch on startup come from legitimate sources who either don't tell you about the startup app, hide reference to it in a lengthy EULA, or just plain don't provide any means to remove it up to and including removing the parent application itself. I wonder if this is uncharted territory for Linux as most development for Linux appears to be done by open source developers with good intentions. If Vista's dead end roadmap for user control elicits a mass influx of Windows refugees to Linux, will the Linux desktop be ripe for pillage by the hordes of ruthless corporate parasites who are sure to follow?
