Now, I’m the kind of guy that like the idea of being able to take my work with me wherever I go. Many of us that work on computers do, it’s a fact. However, there are many occasions where a laptop just won’t do. For example, if I’m visiting relatives and I know that the younger family members are quite boisterous, then I won’t really be happy on bringing my Macbook with me, lest they suddenly want to play World of Warcraft. In real life. Using my computer as a shield. Online versions of software are perfectly fine, but generally they function in a way that I find lacking. I want pretty much all of the functionality of a proper install of the software, not a heavily cut-down version.
PortableApps.com seems to be a good compromise. You download an installer (or a suite if you can spare the space and bandwidth to get it) and put it onto a USB thumbdrive. The next time you plug that flash memory into a computer (Windows), it’s own version of the Start menu appears, containing the list of applications you have got installed. And all of these programs run from the memory, without installing them onto the PC itself.
Sure, they’re a bit slow to initially load, but once each program is running they go pretty damn fast. And by default for most software in it, the saved files go onto the flash drive itself. And they have a good list of software, from the obvious Firefox to OpenOffice.org, and even the Gimp. I therefore have my favourite browser with the plugins I want and all of my favourites list intact wherever I go. There’s even an antivirus, making it even more useful if you have to clean a PC for someone in an emergency.
If you have a flash drive big enough (and you probably do. I own a few including a cheap 8 Gig drive), I would suggest at least trying PortableApps. It’s near enough a replacement of a laptop, and my last resort.
