Comment 40 for bug 284596

This nm-applet situation beats anything
I have encountered in 15+ years of using Linux.
A bug in a relatively simple program stays for 3/2 years
and severely impacts the usability of an entire desktop environment
on any multi-user system that depends on wireless access.

My dektop machine at home is kept busy all all day with extended tasks
such as homework, recording music, watching tv episodes, etc.
For quick things like checking email, getting driving directions,
looking up a recipe, etc, my family uses a shared laptop.
It is opened (and closed) dozens of times each day,
and with user switching taking just two seconds,
everybody feels like having their own laptop.
I can't think of a better commercial for Linux
than seeing something like this in action.
Most people are simply not aware of this possibility.
It is significantly cheaper than what they do:
buy each family member their own PC or Mac.
But now imagine what people think
when they see my wife and kids struggle with something as basic
as connecting to the home network.
Not to mention our own frustration.

Don't tell me that there are just 64 "affected users".
I felt like screaming when I read this in a recent email message.
What a great excuse for ignoring the problem.

Another lame excuse: security concerns.
As I mentioned already last year,
KDE's network manager applet does not have this problem.
Under KDE, I can connect to the home (or any other) network
by treating it either as a "user connection" or "system connection".
The user connection, which is the default,
blocks others from doing anything to this connection.
Not so with the "system connection".
As system administrator (root) I can declare the home network
to be a system connection, once and for all,
allowing others to connect/disconnect,
and allow the machine to connect automatically to the network,
no matter who logs in/out or who opens/closes the lid.
The point is that I have a choice!
Why can't this be done under gnome?

I bet that the nm-applet has a serious design flaw,
and that the current bug will only be fixed
as part of a new design, at some unknown time in the future.
In retrospect, it seems clear that it was known 3/2 years ago
that the situation will drag on and on as it did.
Be it as it may,
I would appreciate hearing what the real problem is
and who is planning to do what about it.
I am aware that work like this is done by volunteers.
I would be willing to contribute $50, or more,
and maybe others could do the same,
if this is what it takes to get this problem solved soon.