log into x as root

[Kent Borg]

As you have read, logging in a root is dangerous, so here is a
somewhat less dangerous suggestion.  If all you want to do is
manipulate files, fire up a Nautilus window as root.  In a terminal
window:

  sudo nautilus

That window will let you mess with any file.  Use it to open a second
root Nautilus window if you need to do drags that require root on both
ends.  Then, close both of them when you are through so you don't
forget and do something stupid that breaks your whole computer so it
won't boot, deletes valuable data, etc.

A good reason for doing this is if you need to do some dangerous
stuff, like deleting lots of files.  It is much safer for me to drag
something to the trash than to start using wildcards in a terminal.

Also, it looks like installing nautilus-gksu might do it too, but I
haven't figured out what it does.  (Probably have to logout and login
again to see it, and I don't logout often--I like my context too
much.)

Hint: whenever I am going to do an "rm -rf /home/kentborg/foo/bar/*" I
always type "rm /home/kentborg/foo/bar/*" first, and then cursor back
and, add the " -rf ", press enter.  That way if I bump the enter key
before I finish typing the path I don't risk forcing a big recursive
delete of the wrong thing.

-kb