My understanding is that OSX VNC and other, lesser () VNC applications exploit a sort of loophole in OS X's Fast User Switching, which makes it possible for two different users to be logged-in and using Aqua applications at the same time on the same computer. That's where I got the idea for this -- I'm sure you've been programming with a single-user paradigm, but would it be possible to hook two keyboards and two mice up to one Mac and reserve one of each for direct access to a VM? For instance, say that my wife and I are painfully broke (ha ha.... ha.... ha ) and we just sold her PC, but we kept her LCD because Dell customers flooded the market and it's impossible to sell one for over $100. We'll just imagine. So I'm sitting there, minding my own business, when my wife wants to use the computer. Instead of me having to give up my seat, she can sit down next to me, jiggle her mouse, and her Windows XP VM will stir to life. Now, this isn't just motivated by my personal greed. It can be motivated by your personal greed as well. Modern proprietary OSes don't like to be multiseat. That diminishes their profits, especially when the vast majority of consumers and children don't need a dual-2GHz Core Duo for their day-to-day activities. Let alone libraries in public schools and universities, that never do anything more demanding than word-processing and web browsing. But with this multiseat capability in Parallels, well, one computer can serve multiple people. You have an iMac for the librarian and a little Windows or Linux kiosk adjacent to it that operates at full speed, can be backed up and restored, and is fairly locked-down. Imagine the possibilities! Of course, I don't know whether or not this is actually possible. Multiple human interface devices seem mostly redundant in OS X, judging from my brief experimentation with it, although I would assume that, at the very least, the OS is aware which events come from which device -- it'd be ridiculous not to. Well, I hope that you can get some use from this suggestion. If it can't be implemented, well, I guess I'm going to be sitting on the couch a lot until my wife buys her Macbook. If it can, then I hope to see it soon. If it is already possible, well, thanks Take care!
