Re: Sharing the Family PC is Patent-Pending

[Barry Margolin]

In article <409bd25d@news.peakpeak.com>,
 Bruce Hayden <nospam-bhayden@ieee.org> wrote:

> theodp wrote:
> 
> > While Mainframe and Unix users are unlikely to find it novel that
> > Windows XP allows several family members to share a PC while enabling
> > each to have personalized settings and folders, that's not stopping
> > Microsoft from seeking a patent for 'Methods and arrangements for
> > providing multiple concurrent desktops and workspaces in a shared
> > computing environment,' the USPTO disclosed Thursday.
> > 
> > --> Link to Microsoft's Patent Application
> > 
> > http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=
> > 1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220040088709%22.PGNR.
> > &OS=DN/20040088709&RS=DN/20040088709
> 
> Haven't looked at the application, but I would be surprised that
> if just that much was new and nonobvious.  Seems like Mac
> and UNIX have had such for awhile.

The part about fast switching between users has been in MacOS for a 
couple of years, but I don't think Unix has it at all (su changes the 
userid, but it doesn't bring up the new user's desktop environment).

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA