Is there still no way to transparently switch from workplace/domain to
home/workgroup, without changing identities or exploiting goofy workarounds?

What I (and others, I see from adjacent forums) want is to plug in at home
and enjoy genuine local presence as if the machine had been installed at home
alone, then return to the office & sign in as the same user with the same
email accts etc - and enjoy genuine domain presence there, either
automatically or as a selectable option at login (with a single username, to
avoid unsynched email cal task etc.). As a non-techie, it seems to me
astounding that this isn't built in to Vista - I'm still using workarounds
(last XP PC was domain-credentialled & I had to individually log into
resources when at home, but at least the setup lent itself to VPN access to
the office; new Vista Home Premium obviously led to the opposite - so I set
up as home user & log in to file server etc. at work - but will be frozen out
of network applications beyond file/print/internet access, and will tear my
hair out trying to setup some sort of VPN/terminal access to the office.
Perhaps I have the luxury of oversimplifying the issue since workplace ISP
hosts our email - no remote mailserver issues when at home/field - but I
sense that I echo the frustration of many similarly situated users.

The issue I cite is really an element of a broader one: singularity of
identity is sought by many who cannot coherently articulate the need. I'd be
happier with multiple stationary PCs & a dongle (Blackberry/bluetooth?)
carrying my universal identity. Maybe one day there'll be a single, enormous
PC...

I am not sure I understand the issue. I have two laptop. The personal laptop is setup as workgroup, I can logon it using the same username and password, using the same profile at home and work. I can access all resources of the work. My work laptop id domain member computer. Use the domain credentials I can access both home and work network without any issue. This search result may help too.

workgroup networking faqsHow can I use domain laptop to access a peer-to-peer network. My W2K pro laptop is in the work domain and W2K pro home PC is in a workgroup. ...
www.chicagotech.net/workgroupnet.htm


Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on http://www.HowToNetworking.com
"Schooner" wrote in message ...
Is there still no way to transparently switch from workplace/domain to
home/workgroup, without changing identities or exploiting goofy workarounds?

What I (and others, I see from adjacent forums) want is to plug in at home
and enjoy genuine local presence as if the machine had been installed at home
alone, then return to the office & sign in as the same user with the same
email accts etc - and enjoy genuine domain presence there, either
automatically or as a selectable option at login (with a single username, to
avoid unsynched email cal task etc.). As a non-techie, it seems to me
astounding that this isn't built in to Vista - I'm still using workarounds
(last XP PC was domain-credentialled & I had to individually log into
resources when at home, but at least the setup lent itself to VPN access to
the office; new Vista Home Premium obviously led to the opposite - so I set
up as home user & log in to file server etc. at work - but will be frozen out
of network applications beyond file/print/internet access, and will tear my
hair out trying to setup some sort of VPN/terminal access to the office.
Perhaps I have the luxury of oversimplifying the issue since workplace ISP
hosts our email - no remote mailserver issues when at home/field - but I
sense that I echo the frustration of many similarly situated users.

The issue I cite is really an element of a broader one: singularity of
identity is sought by many who cannot coherently articulate the need. I'd be
happier with multiple stationary PCs & a dongle (Blackberry/bluetooth?)
carrying my universal identity. Maybe one day there'll be a single, enormous
PC...