@DOA said:
Or I could do it your way and type my password EVERY SINGLE TIME I need to update a library. And if you think updating libraries is rare, try installing mplayer in a new installation of Ubuntu.
You could of course use the console, but if I wanted to do it that way I wouldn't have chosen Ubuntu with its "user-friendly" interface.
That's got to be a troll. When I was having issues with video playback (red/blue swapped iirc, damn ATI X1900 card) I tried installing vlc and mplayer, and I only had to put my password in once, when running the "add/remove software" app in the menu.
Yes, updating libraries is rare. Yes, you should have to confirm that you trust the program that's changing them. Half-decent security practices are pretty much the only thing keeping viruses off linux.