The Anatomy of a Desktop
Desktop construction should be structured. In fact, Resolutions,
the firm we work with, has been touting a system construction model for over ten years: the Point of Access to Secure Services (PASS) model (see Figure 1). This model builds a desktop in lay- ers, layers that address the needs of various classes of users, from basic to complex. As you can see, this model treats each layer of desktop construction.
But, when it comes right down to it, a desktop should have
three core components (see Figure 2):
I The Core OS Layer which includes the OS itself as well as any patches and utilities it requires.
I The Application Layer which is designed to provide added functionality to the end user. This includes the productivity application layer, role-based applications required by groups of users with the same functions and any ad hoc applications certain users may require on a one-by-one basis.
I The User Data Layer which contains all of the user's data including user-produced documents, presentations and more as well as application configuration settings and desk- top personalizations.