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des
des 6 months ago
iPad User Account Management?

Hi All,

I'm getting an iPad.

I see a major scenario / use case in the way I will use my iPad. This is as a replacement for the laptop I have in the living room.
Everyone in the room uses this laptop (including guests) to check their emails and surf the web while watching TV on the couch/sofa. This would of course be amazing on the iPad, and free up the laptop for more heavy duty use.

However the problem with this scenario is, since the iPad is based on the iPhone OS, and the iPhone OS doesn't have the need for user management. Is the iPad going to handle multiple users?

What I mean by this is, when you start the iPad can we pick which use we want to log in with?
If we cannot, then this could mean that the mail application will always be set to the same email account, and that Safari will only have one profile in which to load favourites and preferences.

This would make the scenario above not such a great experience, as noone wants each other looking through each others emails, favourites, preferences etc.

I haven't seen this issue / possible feature mentioned anywhere, it would be good to hear what he gdgt community thinks.

Thanks,
Des
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tuwile
tuwile 5 months ago
Apple wants you to buy two iPads, one for you and one for your wife.

I can't see them implementing this.
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des
des 5 months ago
I'm glad to see more replies on this, its good to know I'm not the only user concerned with this.

Personally I would love a user account feature on this device, it would just make sharing the device with other people that much more convenient.

That being said, I can imagine Apple avoiding an implementation of this, saying in their defence that adding user accounts will give the user(s) unnecessary admin to worry about (or something like that).

Not being an iPhone user, I forgot that Apple are due to release iPhone OS4 sometime soon, and this can and hopefully will add significant software features for the iPad such as user accounts.
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eawortman
eawortman 5 months ago
I would be surprised if they added user account management. This isn't a laptop replacement and they didn't bill it as such. There are people who will use it that way sure, but its more of a toilet/bed/couch appliance than a computer.
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brandonpapworth
brandonpapworth 5 months ago
I think they'll definitely have to add profile support at some point. I do like the idea of user profiles on the iPhone/iPod Touch, but I don't think Apple will add support for that. Those devices are too small to warrant such a feature. Apple might see it as crowding the device.

As for the iPad, in order for it to be a living room device, as they advertise it, it will need to have some sort of multiple user system. A way to queue push notifications for the users and display it as badges on their user image on the unlock page. I would be very very surprised if Apple did not support something like this on the iPad. If it doesn't at launch, it will very soon.
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macca
macca 5 months ago
I'd never thought of that, now that you mention it I think that's be a good feature on iPhone too.

I work with a lot of teenagers and they are forever going through my phone to see what games and music I have. If there was an option to unlock as guest to access the more generic stuff and have a pin code to protect the personal stuff such as email etc that would be nifty.
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Chasingcolor
Chasingcolor 5 months ago
I want to add that Apple does a good job in limiting features for simplicity and ease of use. I do think Apple will address this issue HOWEVER I would not want EVERY bell and whistle.
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Chasingcolor
Chasingcolor 5 months ago
I think it will likely have some type of user management, My wife and I will both use this device. I do not mind using one user account, however some people might want individual accounts

I think this is an issue which apple will address.

I have a feeling OS4 will bring a lot of things to the table.
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des
des 6 months ago
Its been over 24 hours and no further comments.

Do people not see this as a nuisance or an potential problem?
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majipoor
majipoor 6 months ago
I think that iPhoneOS 4 is just around the corner and we should all wait until it is released to think about what can be done and what cannot with the iPad.

The iPad is a brand new category of devices, but it has been demoed with a minor upgrade to the current iPhoneOS: my guess is that iPhoneOS 4 will be the version made for the iPad.
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