Resolved Using multiple accounts simultaneously on the same computer

[raison]

I use different user accounts so I don't mix work and personal stuff. I was wondering if there's a way to use multiple accounts simultaneously on the same computer so I don't have to switch between them?

 

[garirry]

No, but you can enable quick switch or whatever it's called in system preferences, and you can just click on your username on the top-right corner and quickly switch to whatever account you want. It's very fast.

 

[mildocjr]

Outside of consolidating both Internet accounts into the same profile so both your work and personal accounts show up in Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, you might look at downloading another mail application like Thunderbird(free) or Outlook for Mac to handle your other email account so they are not both showing up in Mail. Create another folder in Documents for saving work vs personal stuff. If you want them virtually separated (meaning they can't see each other) while being on the same screen, you might look into Virtual Box and virtual machines, although you will need to ensure that you have adequate space and computing resources to handle running another operating system on top of your running OS.

 

[raison]

Thanks for your replies. I thought about using VirtualBox, but there will always be some latency. I found an article that mention using Screen Sharing and OS X Server which will allow to connect to a different user on the same computer, but I'm not sure if this works and I can't find that article any longer

 

[maflynn]

No, OS X is not a multiuser computer from the perspective that you can have multiple people logged in and using the computer at the same time.

 

[bmac89]

I really wish you could run 2 mac mail apps at once. Being able to separate 2 email accounts (rather than have folders or a different mail app) and still maintain the same setup would be great.

 

[raison]

Some good and bad news!

Good news, I was able to use a different account under the same machine using this ssh method. This worked out of the box, no 3rd party tool needed.

Bad news, it's quite slow, but I was expecting that. At least I don't have to switch users all the time.

In short, I'm happy with the ssh solution and I'm going to use it to monitor a different user's account (ie, check for mail, IMs notifications, etc), nothing graphic intensive.

Hopefully this solution helps others too!

 

[Significant1]

I really wish you could run 2 mac mail apps at once. Being able to separate 2 email accounts (rather than have folders or a different mail app) and still maintain the same setup would be great.

You can have more windows open in Mail (option+cmd+n), but it will have the same accounts and sooner or later you will send a mail from the wrong account, so you it is better to use two separate mail apps. I used Outlook 2011 for work (it also has its own contacts and calendar, but only with exchange connection) and Mac Mail for private.