Microsoft Patents Sudo?!! (Groklaw)

Any time I start Mandriva Linux Control Center from a graphical login other than root, it requires authentication against a user name it offers in a pop-up graphical window before starting MLCC. Generally it request authentication against the root login, but if I recall correctly, it changes this if the graphical session is previously configured to start without login, in the name of a particular user. I think in this case it requests authentication against the username in which the session is running.

Sounds very similar to this "patent". Certainly it graphically:

1. recognises the need for privilege escalation
2. offers the name root or offers another user ID if relevant
3. provides a graphical interface to choose and authenticate
4. then runs the requested task with root privileges.

Mandriva have been doing this for many years.
Tony