What's wrong with the terminal way?
sudo apt-get update ; sudo apt-get upgrade
Upgrading the system is assumed to be the job of the administrator, who in a corporate setting is expected to be familiar with the terminal.
The home user, admittedly, isn't expected to have this knowledge... I guess I agree that adding PolicyKit to the update manager would make things more streamlined, but I don't know if it's a must-have when an admin can either a) switch users from the panel item, or b) run a quick terminal command. The terminal is something that lots of people seem scared of (as I was!) but updating the system is a pretty straightforward command (see above).
Hi,
For the a) option:
As I said before, is a waste of time to start another session is you only want to update the system. I's contraproductive.
Like an admin, I want to do the things the easy way.
For the b) option:
try to do a sudo apt-get from a user with no admin privilege. It don“t work because you dont have the permisions, is just that simple.
Have you ever try Hardy? the PolicyKit allow to run a process like another user without starting a new session. Thats what PolicyKit is all about.
Do you know what are the target users of Ubuntu? Home users, not "corporate" users.