What is fast user switching?
This is a new feature included in Windows XP. “Based on the Windows 2000 profiles, user accounts are created for all users during installation. As the default, passwords are not required, although users can create them if desired. A friendly new welcome screen featuring user names and pictures or icons rather than code names or aliases replaces the logon dialog box. Further, a new control panel applet makes it easy to add and edit user accounts. Each user has their own settings, including wallpaper, music, pictures, favorites, and so forth. In fast user switching, multiple users do not have to not log off when using a single computer. Instead, their accounts are always logged on, and they can switch quickly between all open accounts.
Modern operating sys- tems like Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.3 allow multiple user accounts on one computer. Instead of requiring a user to close all of the programs and log out of the computer before someone else can log on, fast user switching makes it easy for the machine to jump back and forth among different users. For example, if you are writing a paper in your word- processing program and your brother wants to check the e-mail in his own user account on the computer, fast user switching allows him to log on, read his mail and log out. When you log back on to your own user account, your word-processing program and open document will be just as you left them.
