RSS Feeds: Portable Applications for All Windows-Based Computers, not Just Netbooks
One of the problems with netbooks that have solid-state drives (SSD) installed is that the space on those drives is limited. It's a fact that the Windows operating system uses up most of that space. What happens when you want to use a bunch of applications with it and then find out that the space is nearly gone? A USB drive (preferably a flash drive) can save you hours of grief if you know what to put on it.
Portable Applications
If you're in this position, you should take a look at PortableApps.com. Heck, even if you aren't in this position, I recommend you take a look.
The people developing these versions of popular free Windows applications do it for the greater good. This is completely non-commercial. All of your favorite applications are supported, along with some you may have never heard about. Try these on for size:
- Firefox
- Thunderbird
- Filezilla
- 7-Zip
- OpenOffice.org
…and many, many more.
If you look around enough, you'll also find hacks that will allow other software to become portable. I use one for WinRAR and another for UltraEdit.
Operating Systems on a Stick
This is something that works on newer computers, but not so much on older ones.
If you visit LiLi USB Creator's Official Website or UNetbootin – Homepage and Downloads (among other sites), you'll find software that allows you to create live images of Linux distributions.
With WinToFlash, you can transfer your Windows setup CD or DVD to a USB drive. It's much easier than trying to do installations from optical drives, especially with netbooks.
Just the Beginning
As netbooks become more ubiquitous, more and more software applications will be made into portable applications. I'm taking note of all the locations where I can find the best of the best as I add more netbooks to my collection of computers.
This is something where it really pays off to do the research. Having smaller, portable applications makes using all kinds of computers easier to work with. Software installation, using the old-fashioned methods (in Internet years), inevitably leads to operating system problems requiring clean-up and optimization. I anticipate that all operating systems and applications will eventually be replaced by portable versions, allowing people to use the best tools for their requirements.
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Thanks for the info, problem with portable apps is that too many temp files created slows down the system
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