Portable Applications is the generic name for software that has been customized so that it does not need to be installed on a computers drive to operate. You can simply run it from any portable device such as an USB flash drive, external hard drive or cd-rom. You can carry it around with you in your pocket, run it from any computer with USB access. While you are using it, you have access to your software and personal data, just as you would at home or at the office. When you are done using it, none of your personal information is left behind on the computer you used.
The portable applications platform has gained popularity in recent years, and grown from a few applications to several platforms of portable applications and a variety of software to choose from, the most successful of these being the U3 and Portable Apps platforms. Both have their distinct advantages and disadvantages, but the overall portability factor makes either of them useful tools. Another advantage is that the majority of the software available as portable is freeware which also makes it cost effective for the student or small business looking at controlling costs.
The variety of software available is also impressive, from file managers and file compression tools, such as Portable File Commander and 7Zip, to office productivity tools such as Portable OpenOffice.org, an office suite that includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, and drawing programs. The suite is compatible with Microsoft Office, Word Perfect, Lotus, and other office application.
There are email clients such as the Portable Thunderbird which comes with features such as intelligent spam filters, built-in RSS reader, quick search, and spell checker. Web browsers include Portable FireFox which is a free alternative to Internet Explorer.
There are also applications for audio and video like Portable Xmplay and VLC video player, personal information managers such as EPIM and Task Coach, and even industry specific software such as FreeMind mind mapping software, Scribus a Desktop Publishing software, and Inkscape and GIMP graphics creation and editing software.
There is also the U3 applications platform, which is a commercial product with some of its applications available for sale. (This platform is not as user friendly, and unlike Portable Apps, which makes it easy to create software for its platform, U3 has not been as open to developers and so has been slow to adapt software to its platform)
For more information about the Portable Apps platform you can visit http://www.portableapps.com. For more variety check out Portable Freeware, http://portablefreeware.com, that hosts many contributed applications that were created by other users. For more specific solutions you can visit http://sourceforge.net and search for portable applications.
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