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Author Topic: Feature Request: Solution to the Idiot/Mischievous kid/roomate problem  (Read 4872 times)

wolffe

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I would like a server side option to disallow library modifications on remote clients, while allowing local library modifications.

I have a central library that I update frequently as I add new music and movies. I have Other People in the house that can be trusted to select media, play/pause, and change the volume...and that's about it. Ideally, there would be a separate guest account to connect to this remote server that was read only, and a second, administrator type account.


As of now, I can either put the server in party mode, or trust that the Other People won't sync the library from their side.

As I update the library often, party mode on it has the drawback of being vulnerable during update (as well as the minor inconvenience of turning party mode off).

As the Other People are using their own devices, I can't trust that they won't screw things up.

While I can come up with several work arounds using multiple JRiver servers and networking permissions, they are at best *workarounds* and not even remotely elegant.
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mwillems

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My recollection is that if you disable authentication on the server, all clients are effectively placed in read-only mode.  I'm not sure why the two are linked, but that's how I recall it working.  Does that do what you need?
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wolffe

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I'll give it a test. It's not quite ideal, as I have the server exposed to the internet (I like to listen at work) but it may be a better work around than multiple servers.

Thanks for the response!

(although I still would like to see this feature added at some point :)
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justsomeguy

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I would really like to see user account control expanded/improved as well.

I would really like to have user accounts work with mobile clients independently from the server, gizmo etc.... as of now you have to set the server to a restricted account to get any kind of user control on any client that isn't a full blown MC install. This affects every mobile client. I'd like to setup a child account in MC then be able to select that on the mobile client while a different mobile client may use an unrestricted account. Running multiple full servers to accomplish this is a very inconvenient and no really proper way of doing things.

Not to hijack your thread but thought I'd expand and add to it seeing as they are kind of related.

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RD James

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Definitely an area I'd like to see expanded too.
I want to see user accounts brought over to Gizmo clients such as JRemote. (and Panel?)

That way I can set up a guest account which doesn't require a password and only has access to very specific library views and zones. No permission to edit metadata (even ratings) and possibly even restricted playback controls such as only being able to add to a playlist instead of having access to stop/pause/skip/shuffle/repeat controls.
I don't want anyone having free reign to access all content and zones in my library.
It would be even better if that could be set up to only work on the local network and not over the internet.

For personal library control JRemote works great.
I cannot use it for guests or family members of differing ages.
I want to set up JRemote on my kid's iPad so that it logs in to their restricted account and they are only presented with age-appropriate content and limited zone access.
I want a view set up that makes it easy for the wife to access the content relevant to her.
I want really simple and restricted views set up that guests can access - and can only access locally. This would be restricted to a single zone and would have limited playback control.
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gvanbrunt

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+ for better user account contol
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Matt

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Isn't putting the program in Party Mode a pretty good solution?
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

gvanbrunt

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No. If you have multiple remote clients at any one time you may want some to be editable and some not. For the most part you want WAF accounts to be read only.

It would be nice if you had a bit more control over what content they had access to, or what was w/r,  but just a plain r/w per account would be great.

I REALLY want to see this for my internet access. It scares me seeing my password for a read/write account go over the wire unencrypted. If it was read only, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. Personally I never edit via internet connection.
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wolffe

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Not to hijack your thread but thought I'd expand and add to it seeing as they are kind of related.
Hijack away! JRiver is a fantastic piece of software, and I'm pretty sure I'm a lifer on it....but it *does* have room to grow :)

... especially in the WAF field

Matt: I'm sorry to say, but for anything other than a single instance running on a single computer, party mode is kinda limited (read: mostly terrible) for much other than a party.
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astromo

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Why not work with an Id? Or at least apply Id thinking.

One of the Id's standard features is to access network or attached drives in read-only mode.

There's a model of some form to shine a light on future potential.
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wolffe

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For several reasons:

1. I already have all the hardware I need.

2. Adding Ids to the system adds unnecessary complication.... why have a second device which would require a mixer to play out of the Wife and Kid's laptops/pcs/phones?

3. The BIG one: Security and accessibility of this type should *always* be handled by the server... Let's take this to absurdity: what if my web browser was responsible for giving me permissions on this forum? That wouldn't be good at all. Additionally, a lot of us have JRiver passed through our firewall so we can use our library at or in our cars via a mobile device. This means that there is an exposed interface (JRiver) on the public internet. I don't know if you have ever looked at your router's logs, but at least in my case I have several hundred to thousand random requests from script kiddies looking for open goodies.... security through obscurity is never a usefull option.

Besides, this shouldn't be very difficult to implement, at least on a basic level with the addition of a "guest" account.
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