Patent ID: 7178032

Claim:
An information processing system having a server for holding information to manage and authenticate the users who can use a network environment in which a plurality of peripheral apparatuses and a plurality of computers are connected via a network, wherein said server comprises: communicating means for communicating with another terminal of said network environment; user information managing means for managing user information for user authentication; program information managing means, provided for each user, for holding program information which has been held by said user information managing means and can be used every user; and operating environment managing means, provided for each user, for holding an operating environment of each user held by said user information managing means, and said peripheral apparatus comprises: user interface means for operating an apparatus; communicating means for performing a log-in to said server; information obtaining means for obtaining operating environment information of the log-in user from said operating environment managing means of each user of said server when the user is authenticated in said server; user interface constructing means for constructing a user interface in accordance with the operating environment information of said user; program downloading means for, when execution of a predetermined program held by said program information managing means of each user on said server is instructed by said user interface means, downloading said program whose execution has been instructed from said server; data managing means for holding said downloaded program; and program executing means for executing said downloaded program.