Actually it’s quite a simple thing, although technically, it’s not so simple to deliver. The truth is that you do two distinct things on a PC (or Mac or mobile device for that matter).

1. You use apps to do work of one kind or another. You make stuff happen. It doesn’t matter much whether the apps are local, client/server or run remotely through a browser because all you see is the interface and not the software that lies beneath.
2. You arrange the environment to make it more productive. And that means that you adjust the interface you use as best you can in order to make it “work for you”. And it doesn’t matter whether you know how to do this effectively, if you’re given any ability to tailor the environment to your liking, you will make use of it.

The second of these activities is “personalization” and the extent of it can vary dramatically depending on circumstance. Everyone and his dog sets the desktop wallpaper and chooses a screen saver (if they’re allowed to).  But very few of us use an application like Photoshop in a professional capacity. If we did we would discover that a wide range of personalization is possible, and most likely we’d take advantage of it.

The reality is that the OS (Windows or OS X) comes with a set of user-selectable options. And every application has at least a few settings that can be varied. And these capabilities are provided, usually, because some user take advantage of them.

If you’ve ever experienced a “PC meltdown” where you lost the whole environment you had evolved over time, (and who hasn’t), then you’ll know what it’s like to have to recreate your personalized environment. It’s time consuming and it’s dispiriting, because you never seem to get it back to the way it once was. You just don’t remember where all the settings are hidden in the apps you use.

OK, let’s cut to the chase. I was briefed by AppSense on it’s virtualization technolog. Here’s a diagram which explains what the company is up to:

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