If there's ever been a persistent gripe among families sharing
mobile
devices, it's been the absence of multiple
user profiles -- hand that
iPad or
Nexus 7
to Junior and you may have to play a spot-the-differences game when it
comes back. Some long overdue testing of previously found code
references in
Jelly Bean shows that
Google, at least, has explored ending that anxiety over who uses the family gadgets. Command-
line code in
AOSP-based versions
of Android 4.1 will let you create a separate guest profile, complete
with its own lock screen security,
home screen layout and limited
settings. To say that the code is unpolished would be an understatement,
however. Apps and even some notifications cross over from the main
account, which could prove more than a little embarrassing if the
hardware is left in the wrong hands. At least it's easy to revert back,
as the instructions (and video after the break) show. The real challenge
will be waiting to see when -- or really, if -- Google gets to
finishing
multi-user code and turns that Nexus 7 into the communal
tablet we want it to be.
