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I recently started working in a new company, and I was not satisfied with the given laptop/OS. So I bought myself a Mac, since I was using them before, during my PhD.

As PhD takes 100% of ones time, I had a single account that I used both at Uni and at home. The upside of such approach is that there is no hassle, the downside was that the work went with me home...

Now, I would like to change the things a bit. I'm contemplating about creating 3 partitions -- 2 for System (work/home), and one shared (music and other large, unimportant files). Also, all 3 need to be encrypted. I don't know will encryption will pose a problem, if shared partition needs to be unlocked in each setup?

Other option is to have a single system, with two accounts. Then, I won't need to hassle with switching between two OS images, only between two accounts.

Are there any other options? If you used any of the setups, what were the annoyances you experienced?

Thanks, Nikola

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"the downside was that the work went with me home" I'd say that is your problem, not the laptop's setup. The setup doesn't force you to continue working at home :] – stijn Jul 14 '12 at 13:17
"I was not satisfied with the given laptop/OS" - would assume that your workplace uses windows or linux. Does your workplace have any AD/other central authentication? Is there any specific workplace policy on bringing in your own systems? If i was running a well regulated IT system, i'd be shitting kittens if people started wanting to bring in their own systems into the network. The best solution takes into the needs of your employer, the IT staff and you. This might include putting up with a system you consider sub-optimal. – Journeyman Geek Jul 14 '12 at 14:41
Journeyman Geek put it in quite a nice way. :) If I was admin ar work and you wanted to use your own laptop then I (as admin) want to control your laptop. I want to select which anti virus. I want to make sure the AV gets updated. I want configure the firewall. I want to forat the whole system if you leave this work place... I doubt many people would agree to that with their own laptop. – Hennes Jul 14 '12 at 15:00
@JourneymanGeek, my workplace has BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy, for those who don't want to put up with Windows. Majority of people in my group uses Linux on company's laptops, which is not supported by the IT department. However, our IT people are reasonable, and there is a well defined security-policy: one needs to change passwords every so-often, use antivirus, have firewall rules in place (again, reasonable rules). – Nikola Knezevic Jul 14 '12 at 16:25

closed as not constructive by Journeyman Geek, Dennis, Mokubai, Luke, Diogo Jul 19 '12 at 17:20

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1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

I would say having two accounts and one OS is the best approach.

Just some quick Pros off the top of my head:

  • No need to waste a lot of time on rebooting. Switching users takes less than a minute on most systems
  • No software licensing issues. Some software does not allow you to install the same copy again in a dual-boot system.
  • It easy to make sure commonly used software and security updates are install for both work and home environments.

However, companies all have different IT policies, you may need to ask your company's IT people about having your own computer at work.

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