Wednesday, October 6, 2010

PortableApps-My Computer on a Stick!

Menu of PortableApps
Working from home on my own pc is a convenience that I sometimes take for granted. At home I have all the programmes and software that I need and use on a regular basis to work and do college assignments. I also have my own personal preferences when it come to which browser and email client I use. All my files and documents are stored where I can easily access them when needed and everything is how I like it!
But what happens when I go to college? There are hundreds of computers that I could use each with different settings and variations, different versions of Firefox and Microsoft office and most do not have the programmes I need to do work on multimedia projects. This can be quite frustrating when I have to spend long days in college and I must do without the essential programmes I use at home.
But there is a solution! PortableApps is a collection of applications that are installed onto your memory stick, pen drive or external hard drive. You have all of your favourites including Firefox, Thunderbird and the open office suite. There are even applications for editing video, audio and images without the need to install them on the host computer. This is particularly important in the college as I don't have the administrative rights to perform an installation on any machine. So now that I have all of my beloved applications with me, what opportunities arise?
Just Some of the applications available
Well to start with I can now plug my pen drive into any machine and start up my applications and my settings are there waiting for me, exactly how I left them. The text editor I used at home is now the text editor I use in the college, it’s the same version no matter where I plug it in, and it has instantly wiped away the trouble of compatibility with other text editors, because I no longer need to use the host machines programmes. I also leave no traces or “footsteps” behind because the apps do not use the registry.
When using the internet, privacy is an issue, especially in the college. There are a vast amount of students using the computers everyday and if you let Firefox remember your passwords you've just left your personal information at the hands of anyone who uses the computer. But with the portable version of Firefox you carry all of your settings and saved passwords with you. It ensures your privacy no matter where you use it because your settings are saved to the memory stick. So now you have your own personal Firefox that only you use! You can save all the passwords and bookmarks you want and use them wherever you want!
Using the portableApps suite is all about portability, privacy and security. Carrying your work with you and the applications to edit that work makes life allot easier. It allows freedom. I’m no longer confined to the four walls of my apartment, looking at the same computer screen, working in the same environment day after day, hour after hour. I can now plug “my computer” into any other machine that runs a windows operating system and away I go. The future of computing is portability. One of the issues with portability is security. Using portable applications eradicates some security threats such as malware attacks. To avoid them you simply unplug your pen drive! There are applications that allow you to add password protection to your pen drive, which protects your personal information from theft.Of course losing your memory stick is a big problem. Once its gone so are your documents and settings, so its alway advised to keep a back up.
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