A new US Patent numbered 7,120,785 which is described as a "Method and apparatus rendering user accounts portable".
The abstract describes the patent as follows;
Improved approaches for enabling user accounts to be portable across different multi-user computer systems are disclosed. A user account created at a multi-user computer can be stored to an external, portable data store, thereby rendering the user account portable. The multi-user computer system, e.g., through its operating system, locates user accounts on not only in local storage of the multi-user computer system, but also in any removable data storage attached to the multi-user computer system. Hence, by coupling the external, portable data store to another multi-user computer, a user is able to login to any supporting multi-user computer and be presented with their user configuration and user directory. Since the data store that stores the user account is not only external but also portable, a user can simply tote the data store to the location of different multi-user computers. In one embodiment, the external, portable data store can not only store the user account but can also provide general data storage. In another embodiment, the external, portable data store can be a portion of a portable computing device (e.g., media player) that provides other functionality besides data storage.
The Figure linked is described as follows;
FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a multi-user computer system 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. The multi-user computer system 100 includes a multi-user computer 102 and an external data storage device 104. The external data storage device 104 is typically a portable storage device that can couple to the local computer 102 over a temporary link 106. The temporary link 106 can be a peripheral bus (e.g., FIREWIRE, Universal Serial Bus (USB)). A cable can be used to provide the electrical connections for the temporary link 106. Although not specifically illustrated in FIG. 1, the multi-user computer 102 includes conventional hardware associated with a computer, namely, a microprocessor, semiconductor memory storage, peripheral bus controller, peripheral ports, disk drives, display device, etc. As the simplified illustration in FIG. 1 indicates, the multi-user computer 102 also includes an operating system 108. The operating system is typically executed by the microprocessor to control basic operations of the multi-user computer 102. The operating system 108, besides various conventional modules, includes an account creation module 110 and a login module 112. The account creation module 110 allows users to create accounts for use of the multi-user computer 102. According to the invention, these user accounts can reside either internal to (or within) the multi-user computer 102 or external to the multi-user computer 102. In one embodiment, the internal (or local) user accounts reside within a local database 114 hosted by the multi-user computer 102. In one embodiment, the external user accounts reside on the external data storage device 106, such as within an account file 116. The login module 112 allows a user to log into any of the previously created user accounts, regardless of whether such accounts are stored locally within the multi-user computer 102 (e.g., stored within the local database 114) or externally in the external data storage device 104 (e.g., stored in the account file 116).
2003 Reference to 'Home on iPod'
Back in 2003, just before the release of Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, Apple leaked what looked like a feature of Panther. The page was very quickly removed and the feature never saw the light of day.
From Apple's website in 2003;
Home away from home
Ever thought you could carry your home in the palm of your hands or in your pocket? You can. Panther's Home on iPod feature lets you store your home directory - files, folders, apps - on your iPod (or any FireWire hard drive) and take it with you wherever you go. When you find yourself near a Panther-equipped Mac, just plug in the iPod, log in, and you're "home," no matter where you happen to be. And when you return to your home computer, you can synchronize any changes you've made to your files by using File Sync, which automatically updates offline changes to your home directory.