I’m thinking of buying an iMac. One of the main things I want out of it is the seamless integration with my iPhone and iPad. I have no doubt it will work fine for that purpose. My question is whether or not I can set up the computer to work that way for my wife also. I’m thinking we’d each have to have our own login or something. Is this possible with the iMac or is it more of an individual machine?
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Two users on an iMac?
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Yes, macOS is a grown up big boy operating system, of course it supports multiple users.
Of course, here's how to do it: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/add-a-user-or-group-mchl3e281fc9/mac
Be sure to make your wife an administrator. She won't be able to download apps or change settings unless you put in your password otherwise.
Be sure to make your wife an administrator. She won't be able to download apps or change settings unless you put in your password otherwise.
macOS supports multiple users beautifully; I've long done that with my family of four. Everyone's stuff is kept separate and organized the way they like.
At least one user must be an "admin" user, the rest can be "standard" users. One thing to know is that an admin user can, with some effort and technical knowledge, see and open the files owned by other users. So that's a possibility to keep in mind regarding privacy. But in everyday, normal use, no one would see others' stuff.
Of course, only one person can use the display and keyboard at a time. However, you can use "Fast User Switching" to leave user A logged in while (relatively) quickly switching over to user B. And then you can switch back to A, etc.
EDIT: I'd recommend each of you have their own Apple ID. Your Mac account would be signed into your Apple ID, and her Mac account to hers.
At least one user must be an "admin" user, the rest can be "standard" users. One thing to know is that an admin user can, with some effort and technical knowledge, see and open the files owned by other users. So that's a possibility to keep in mind regarding privacy. But in everyday, normal use, no one would see others' stuff.
Of course, only one person can use the display and keyboard at a time. However, you can use "Fast User Switching" to leave user A logged in while (relatively) quickly switching over to user B. And then you can switch back to A, etc.
EDIT: I'd recommend each of you have their own Apple ID. Your Mac account would be signed into your Apple ID, and her Mac account to hers.
Yes, we both have our on Apple ID.
Thanks for the insight on fast switching. That sounds perfect.