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Portable Applications

Myself, I haven’t tired this, but it looks cool! Portable applications are just applications that store all your preferences and related files together. It could be on a USB drive, Zip disk or iPod. Perfect for taking your bookmarks, mail and setting with you when you go.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Use portable Thunderbird and you’ll always have your inbox with you. Use portable Firefox and have your bookmarks and your setting with you at all times. At the library, school, hotel or moms house!

The applications just run off your external media and save all program files there too.

There aren’t a whole lot of portable applications just yet, but I think they could be big. So far Firefox, Thunderbird, Cyberduck (ftp), Trillian Anywhere (IM) and Adium (IM) are a few available.

You can get more information at FreeSMUG and the good ol’ Wikipedia.


7 Responses

  1. DistantThunder says:

    Actually, I personally find Portable Sunbird a very useful application.

  2. firecad2006 says:

    i’m using portable firefox thunderbird and Nvu there great and i have your theme on for fox can you make on for thunderbird and Nvu if it not to mush trouble it fine if if you don’t.

  3. iNSANE says:

    Use portable Firefox, portable thunderbird, portable spybot, portable nvu, portable gaim, foxitreader (for opening PDF’s), essential pim (a great protable callender), fusion media player (for playing dvd’s so I don’t have to install codecs on a pc that is not mine) and iftp (a really good ftp program). I work in an ever changing environment and often need apps that are not at my computer. It is real nice having all you stored preferences follow you around.

  4. Ben says:

    I use almost all of these every day because I don’t own a computer, instead I use my friend’s computers when I need to do anything.

  5. Thomas says:

    That’s an excellent example of how awesome portable applications are Ben. 🙂

  6. I use i-flapp, I don’t have to worry about any computer not having my programs, nor do I have to worry about traces of files being left behind. I use MS Office as my email client, and have found that I can log into my Outlook email from any computer! How awesome is that?

  7. tim says:

    Well, I love portable apps! They’ve probably come a long way since this post:) Hit up PortableApps.com for a great app menu and a bundled bunch of apps (check the website for even more apps – I think they take OS programs and develop them into portable apps). Another option that should allow you to install almost any program and use it portably is Mojo. Desktop Portability!

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