Apple Tries to Patent Fast User Switching

Ashcrow writes "An article from The Register points out Apple's attempt to patent fast user switching. It seems that Steve Jobs admits that Microsoft beat them to the punch but believes Panther's implementation is superior."

Comments

Unix beat them all

[Stonent1]

root@server# su - jbob
Welcome jbob! Current system time is 17:20GMT
jbob@server$ ^D
root@server#

Prior Art

[EmagGeek]

Shift-F1
Login
startx --display :0
Alt-Shift-F2
Login
startx --display :1
Alt-Shift-F7
Alt-Shift-F8
Alt-Shift-F7
Alt- Shift-F8

Been there, done that...

Re:Sorry, I do think so

[OYAHHH]

Well,

Agreed, the description I used is somewhat biased towards multiple users. But, nothing says that I couldn't have multiple personalities on the same machine, and I did.

But, I do regress and note that you said:

"Location Manager allows a single user to change multiple settings on a computer with a single selection:"

I think my example covered that base.

But, based upon your latest note, I'll give it another go.

Beyond the default environment that was provided, I had my GCC (c compiler) development environment which I envoked by issuing a single command.

This command simply copied a few files here and there and made it so that when I issued a make command I was already connected to the correct network (possibly none), the correct CDROM drive, the correct monitor etc.

Next I could issue a different command and a few files moved here and there and suddenly I had a Sun C-Compiler development environment. Different network, different CDROM, different monitor again.

I had all of this on a Sun Tadpole (an early Sun laptop workstation). If I was on location at a Navy base my environment accessed material local to the tadpole only.

If I was at the home office my environment accessed network resources.

Sounds to me like one machine, multiple environments was done by Sun certainly prior to 1995 since I had the Tadpole before then.

Quite frankly, I'm glad Apple and Microsoft are finally getting around to offering the capabilities that I've used on UNIX boxes for the last 17 years.

Nothing described in the Register article is new to me and I'm sure a lot of other folks. I've seen just about every conceivable single/multi user environment possible and what I'm reading about per Apple isn't new nor is it unique. And it certainly shouldn't be patentable.

But, I applaud their effort. Hey, it's their job to try to squeeze as many bucks out of their products as possible.

Unfortunately the guys down the street (I live about a mile from Apple's HQ) just don't have anything that isn't pretty old-hat.

And the minute they try to bully a Sun, an HP, or an IBM with their patent I think they will get it blown away pretty quickly.

Umm.. sudo?

[A55M0NKEY]

That's pretty fast..... I think there's prior art.