Portable Applications - best solution to mobility

Having to deal with at least two computers is quite a challenge. Adding to the picture having to use two operating systems (Linux and Windows) and you get chaos.

True portability means having to deal with at least two factors — data and software or programs. I don’t want to deal with all the complexities of having an ideal mobility so I just concentrated on the Windows operating system. Much as I would like to use the more efficient and secure Linux operating system, I don’t think I will ever be ready to stop enjoying a game of Command and Conquer.

Since most Linux development tools (Eclipse, Firefox, Apache, MySQL, PHP, cvs …) are already available in Windows nowadays, I chose to use Windows as a platform for development (I paid for the OS anyways might as well use it).

Even for a non-techie, have you ever gotten into a situation wherein you wish that bookmarks, passwords … so saved in your desktop computer’s copy of firefox is the same as your notebook computer’s copy all the time?

The best answer is to use portable applications like Firefox. Just install it in your usb flash drive and you’re ready to use the application together with your personal setup on any PC with a usb port.

With a little googling, you’ll find out that there’s a lot of portable applications already available for Windows — web browser, email client, ftp software and even office software that is able to read/write MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel spreadsheet files.

To know more about portable applications, you can visit www.portableapps.com or www.u3.com.