Re: recent sysinst UX changes

[Chavdar Ivanov <ci4ic4%gmail.com@localhost>]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 at 17:32, nia <nia%netbsd.org@localhost> wrote:
>
> after several changes in 9.1 and -current, it's strange to me that the option
> that I expect is the most popular for installing NetBSD (start over, fresh
> partitions, use the whole disk) is no longer the default option:
>
> > d: Delete everything, use different partitions
>
> it's option 4! that doesn't feel right at all.
>
> the installer in -current now asks users to input entropy by hand:
>
> > {They should contain at last 256 bits of randomness, as in 256 coin
> > tosses, 100 throws of a 6-sided die, 64 random hexadecimal digits, or
> > (if you are able to copy & paste output from another machine into this
> > installer) the output from running the following command on another
> > machine whose randomness you trust:}
>
> while inputting entropy by hand isn't something i would consider
> acceptable to expose to everyday users of a modern operating system
> in the first place, the suggestion that they might use coin tosses
> makes the entire thing feel like a big joke (and in general the dialog
> is overly complicated).
>
> i really feel like both of these things could be improved.

I wondered the same, thinking that I might have caught the
installation procedure mid-way of a change. It looks not finished. The
only way I was able to get the entropy in was via ftp from one of my
other systems. I tried scp-ing the file locally and reading it, which
for some reason didn't work.

I don't think anybody is suggesting actually doing coin tosses - this
is just an illustration of the amount of entropy required (although on
a few occasions in the past I have thrown a few dice in order to get a
diceware password...).

Perhaps the default procedure should warn the user if enough entropy
is not available, leaving the actual retrieval of it in some advanced
option.


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