Multiple Users in Mac OSX w/ same prefs?

[TheDrumschlag]

My music studio is currently developing new security protocol and one of the requirements we need to comply with is separate logins for each user of the computers. However if we use the proprietary Users function in OSX, we lose all of our preferences and apps and complicate the file structure of the computer. Is there a 3rd party app that allows for separate logins for the same preferences and applications, without creating a separate User file structure for each user?

Basically, what I'm looking for is to have one user as far as the computer is concerned (let's call it "StudioMac" for the sake of argument). Then say I have three different sound engineers, Jimmy, Manuel, and Esmerelda. Jimmy logs in with his user name and password, opens Logic, and works for 5 hours. Jimmy then logs out. Manuel comes in to finish up what Jimmy was working on, and signs in with his own separate user name and password, which still logs him into StudioMac with all of the same files, audio samples, preferences, etc as Jimmy was using. Then, when Esmerelda goes to do payroll and checks the log within whatever app/utility lets us do this on StudioMac, she can see that Jimmy is a lazy bum who only worked 5 hours while Manuel was here until 4am cranking out the project.

Is there anything along these lines I can use?

Thanks!

 

[Kaveman]

I think you are trying to miss use User Accounts.

A User Account is designed to give the user their secure space, own Prefs, Files and Folders. If these need to be shared then you need to be using the same Account. It sounds like you want to add a time billing system to your Apps, this could be set to Auto Run.

User Logs into "StudioMac" with a standard Password then Time Billing App asks for Name and Password and the jobs get logged to that.

 

[TheDrumschlag]

That's exactly what I'm looking for, provided that the user MUST log in to the Time Billing app in order to use the computer (otherwise the computer is locked). Do you know of an app that does this? I've been unable to find one.

 

[Kaveman]

provided that the user MUST log in to the Time Billing app

I doubt you will find any software that locks out the User until they log in.

Sharing the Files and Apps are not a problem. It's the Prefs. The normal way to do this is to add the "Default" Prefs to the Library at the Boot Drive level, but as soon as the local User makes a change to their Prefs they would be just local to the user.

The other option to explore would be Network Booting, and getting the Time info from the Server.