gnome-session 2.4 no longer runs $HOME/.gnomerc

[Joe Kelsey]

Brian Gruber wrote:
> 1) set up your gnome session to be executed inside of an ssh-agent.  it
> really doesn't matter how you do this.  i for one, have an .xinitrc file
> that just says "ssh-agent gnome-session" and that seems to work for
> startx and i believe gdm as well (hard to test since gdm is currently
> broken on my system).

I do not consider anything related to using startx as anything worth 
considering.  Why do you think gdm does not work on your system?  Do you 
run some sort of ancient FreeBSD or have you just not tried recently?

GDM has included *automatic* use of ssh-agent for quite a long time. 
The _corrrect_ method to use ssh-agent to start gnome-session (and the 
one used by GDM) is:

ssh-agent -- gnome-session

The -- serves to stop ssh-agent from scanning for command-line arguments 
in case you put something besides a simple command word instead of 
gnome-session.


> 2) put aside any prejudices you might have against gui config tools for
> half a second and bring up the gnome "Sessions" control panel. 
> foot->applications->desktop preferences->advanced->sessions.

I have nothing agains gui config tools.  I never implied I had anything 
against gui config tools.  I have a problem with the convoluted and 
obscure and undocumented way that Gnome uses config files that have no 
gui front end.

> 3) click on the "Startup Programs" tab.  click add.  Enter the command
> "ssh-add" and give it a sensibly high order number (mine is 90).

This so-called "solution" has many problems, not the least of which 
involve the way that ssh-askpass gratuitously "grabs" focus.  If you 
don't type quickly, the password box quickly becomes hidden by other 
windows starting up and leads to extreme problems with focus.

> and i think that's it.  from now on, after you log in, you should get an
> ssh-askpass box (of course, assuming you have openssh-askpass installed,
> which i'm taking as a given here).  i've noticed that openssh-askpass is
> a little funky in that maintains keyboard focus even when other windows
> seem to take focus.  whatever, maybe it's a security feature or
> something to prevent a window popping up and taking keyboard focus in
> the middle of you typing a password.

Your solution may work for you personally, but I find it unusable in the 
extreme.  I experimented with it long ago and rejected it due to the 
many problems that ssh-askpass has in the presence of other windows 
starting up.

/Joe