This might seem to make sense on a single user or home system, but creates administrative challenges on multiple user or enterprise systems. Remember that Trinity is a desktop environment only that sits on top of the base operating system, where date/time are configured. The tools provided in Trinity are conduits/wrappers to those operating system commands.

Conceptually, how would you go about implementing such a change?

(In reply to comment #1)
> Conceptually, how would you go about implementing such a change?
I imagine it like this: let's say it is 8AM system time. User knows it is otherwise and changes time to 9AM. Trinity then saves local settings that add one hour to actual system time. I think this would be pretty straightforward to implement in the clock applet, but I do not know what about rest of the system like file modification times and so on.

> This might seem to make sense on a single user or home system, but creates
> administrative challenges on multiple user or enterprise systems. 
I agree and thus my suggestion was only made with desktop computers in mind.

I don't how this would be implemented. Modifying the date/time has always been an administrative function in 'nix systems. Many system tasks, such as logs, cron, at, file management, etc., all depend upon using the correct time.

Once set, I don't recall ever needing to fix the date or time on a Linux based system. The only time I remember was when a CMOS battery died, but then I set the date/time in the BIOS after replacing the battery, not from within a desktop environment.

Just about all Linux based distros use the same basic method to ensure the date/time is set correctly during the boot process, long before X starts. All use the same time zone database.

Is this something you need to do often?

Do you know of other 'nix desktop environments that allow non-root users to modify the system date/time?

(In reply to comment #3)
> Is this something you need to do often?
Not often, but recently this turned out to be a problem on my mother's computer. Linux is installed as the main system, but there's also Windows just in case. She booted Windows recently and it changed the time setting in BIOS. Now time on Linux is off by 2 hours and I have to drive and visit her just to change the hour. I didn't gave her root password for linux, nor did I set up SSH on the machine (perhaps I should have). I think that for such a basic setting on a _desktop_ machine admin's intervention should not be required, but I agree with all that you said earlier and indeed it might not be possible to implement such behaviour in a sensible way.

> Do you know of other 'nix desktop environments that allow non-root users to
> modify the system date/time?
No.

Ah, ok. The root cause is Windows and not Trinity. :)

Searching the web reveals there is a registry hack that forces Windows to use UTC and hence, won't make changes to the BIOS hardware clock:

https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=windows+linux+time+bios&btnG=Search&oe=utf-8&num=30

With Windows set to UTC, your Linux based system can be configured for UTC or local time and dual booting won't cause problems with the clock.

To fix your mom's computer, have her power up the system and immediately enter the BIOS to change the time. Then boot into her Linux based system. Coach her by phone. :) When you next visit, add the Windows registry hack to use UTC.

If you believe this information helps you, please consider tagging this bug report as resolved.

(In reply to comment #5)
Thanks for info about the hack, I will use it.

After thinking about all this I think that the only reasonable solution to this problem is using sudo, so basically the Ubuntu approach. I guess it's indeed beyond Trinity.

I use the clock applet in the panel. When I select the context menu and select "Adjust Date & Time..." I am prompted immediately with the Run As Root dialog, which requires the root password. I don't use an Ubuntu based system, but I suspect the tdesudo mechanism works similarly. Similarly, when using kcontrol, selecting the Administrator Mode button results in the same dialog. I don't find typing a password inconvenient. :)

(In reply to comment #7)
> I don't find typing a password inconvenient. :)
Neither do I. What I find inconvenient is giving root password to my mom :)