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10.3: Use fast user switching via AppleScipt and Keyboard Shortcuts
Authored by: Frederico on Nov 08, '03 06:42:33PM

Not bad; I'm sure some people will forget who they are and need a list of choices. (;

Seriously, though; I had done one version with a list of users in an attempt to follow the current model, but coming from a lab environment where an extra measure of security is had by not presenting a list of eligible user names, not to mention the lack of fun in scrolling through a long user list, I prefer the blank text login screen.

The real problem I had with yours is that it suffers from taking too long to generate a dynamic list of users when there are more than two or three users present. Your script, attached to Keyboard Maestro, takes nearly three seconds to run and present the login screen with five users, and the better part of half a minute on a machine with more than 40 users, whereas my script pops up almost instantaneously in either case.

I don't need to tell you that the entire point of 'Fast User Switching' is lost with your method. (:

I didn't spend much time on my user list routine, nor did I on yours, but its obvious that your repeat routine is the Achilles Heel. You've got three shell calls for each user. Tedious. You could greatly accelerate it by reformatting the shell calls into a single line for each user, but, you still have a problem with anything more than a typical family computer with five or so accounts, IMHO.

Just a hint: You can get a list of all current user short names and long names much quicker than you have by reading a certain .plist.

Still, for a machine with one or two mouse-centric, forgetful users, yours is a nice implementation, and I'm sure a lot of people will prefer it.

Cheers

Frederico



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