Portable Apps
Alvar Liddell
froma USB drive and hasn't come across the portable applications
website then go to www.portableapps.com. I find pstart.exe very
good.
James UK
typing in alt.comp.freeware:
http://www.portablefreeware.com/ is also worth a look too.
HTH
--
James UK
Dave -Turner
LordMax
Dave -Turner ha scritto:
> Define "portable"?
No need to install
Dave -Turner
news:1152879329.2...@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
So in other words, a ****LOAD of programs.
Even the majority of programs that come with installers don't need to be
installed - they only come with installers for the ease-of-setup factor, but
once they're installed you can simply copy their installed directory + files
to any other computer and run it as as a "portable" program, assuming they
don't need anything else to be installed like DirectX (which most ppl have
anyway).
The vast majority of programs are portable (although they may not be small
enough to fit on a USB stick) - they just have installers to make their
setup easier, even if it's not necessary for the more advanced users.
In other words, people shouldn't discount software as being "non-portable"
simply because it's accompanied by a setup/installation program which makes
the initiation of that software easier - chances are it IS portable, and
that it's just accompanied by a setup program to make the life of the user
easier.
Mike S.
In article <44b7...@quokka.wn.com.au>, Dave -Turner <x@z.y> wrote:
>"LordMax" <lor...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:1152879329.2...@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
>> HI
>>
>> Dave -Turner ha scritto:
>>
>>> Define "portable"?
>>
>> No need to install
>
>So in other words, a ****LOAD of programs.
Really, there's more to it. To be truly portable, an app should leave as
small a "footprint" on the host machine as possible. That means no (or
minimal) storage of settings in the registry, to writing of files do
directories other than the one on which it resides, etc.
Susan Bugher
> Really, there's more to it. To be truly portable, an app should leave as
> small a "footprint" on the host machine as possible. That means no (or
> minimal) storage of settings in the registry, to writing of files do
> directories other than the one on which it resides, etc.
Yup :) and the portable apps sites show info about apps that authors
often don't furnish on their web sites (info about what you need to do
to make an app portable).
FYI there's a list of portable app sites here:
http://acfwiki.pbwiki.com/NoInstallFreeware
Susan
--
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Craig
> "LordMax" <lor...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1152879329.2...@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...
>
>>HI
>>
>>Dave -Turner ha scritto:
>>
>>
>>>Define "portable"?
>>
>>No need to install
>
>
> So in other words, a ****LOAD of programs.
>
...
> The vast majority of programs are portable (although they may not be small
> enough to fit on a USB stick) - they just have installers to make their
> setup easier...
It depends on your definition of "install." When talking about
"portables," a lot of people use all or some of what's below to describe
a "no-install."
- no need to write to directories other than the app's
- no dependencies on system libraries
- no need for speciall dll's
- no writing to winderz registries
In other words, it's not /just/ the existence an installation script.
It has more to do with dependencies & file creation/modification behavior.
hth,
-Craig
Ian Jackson
<nom...@nomailthanks.com> writes
The 'Scanner' program on Page 3 of this website (on
http://www.steffengerlach.de/freeware/index.html)
is brilliant. It shows the contents of your disks in the form of a
pie-chart. Not quite as comprehensive as WinDirStat
(www.sourceforge.net/projects/windirstat)
but at least I can run it on my works laptop.
Ian.
--
thoss
I consider an application to be portable if I can burn it to a CD,
insert that CD in any computer with a CD ROM, click on the application
and it will run.
--
Thoss
Craig
> I consider an application to be portable if I can burn it to a CD,
> insert that CD in any computer with a CD ROM, click on the application
> and it will run.
Quaint.
-Craig
Ian Jackson
<netbu...@REMOVEgmail.com> writes
CD? Luxury! I have to make do with a 360k 5.25" floppy!
Ian.
--
James UK
in alt.comp.freeware:
> The 'Scanner' program on Page 3 of this website (on
> http://www.steffengerlach.de/freeware/index.html)
> is brilliant.
Thanks for the tip. I've been looking at that myself and wondering what
it was like.
Regards.
--
James UK
thoss
Quaint, maybe. Sure, anything that will run from a CD will also run
from a memory stick - or a floppy, if small enough. But I deliberately
said CD because that can't be written to afterwards. If an application
will not run unless something is written to the medium it's on, then I'm
not sure that it can be described as portable.
--
Thoss
Roger Johansson
thoss wrote:
> >> I consider an application to be portable if I can burn it to a CD,
> >> insert that CD in any computer with a CD ROM, click on the application
> >> and it will run.
> Quaint, maybe. Sure, anything that will run from a CD will also run
> from a memory stick - or a floppy, if small enough. But I deliberately
> said CD because that can't be written to afterwards. If an application
> will not run unless something is written to the medium it's on, then I'm
> not sure that it can be described as portable.
Very few programs are portable in that sense of the word.
Then it cannot do any writing anywhere except to screen and sound, and
it cannot have any settings outside its own exe file.
Maybe a program that monitors the network traffic and displays a graph
on screen, with no settings could be portable in that sense.
--
Roger J.
thoss
I disagree. It can have settings in its own ini file. And it can write
to hard disk. Do you save your documents in the directory where the
application resides, or in My Documents?
--
Thoss
Craig
Thoss;
I apologize for my "quaint" remark. Leave it to my ignorance that I
thought you were kidding. Fwiw, your definition of "portable" diverges
from all that I've seen in two ways.
1) portables /should not/ have to write anything to the host system
other than in volatile memory and
2) portables /should/ be able to write back to someplace on the
removable media.
Granted, "portable" is a fungible expression but, the expression is
congealing and does contain the two elements above.
fwiw,
-Craig
thoss
I don't disagree with what you say.
1) A portable app on CD is precisely one which can write to volatile
memory but does not need to write to anything else.
2) If your portable app is on a writable medium, you have the option of
saving anything you wish to save there or on hard disk. If it's on a
non-writable medium and you wish to save, then you have to save on hard
disk. If you don't want to save anything, you don't need to.
--
Thoss
Jon Splane
Please look up fungible in a good dictionary. An expression can't be
fungible. Let's not destroy another good and useful english word that
has a clear and specific meaning.
Craig
> Craig wrote:
>
...
>
> Please look up fungible in a good dictionary. An expression can't be
> fungible. Let's not destroy another good and useful english word that
> has a clear and specific meaning.
Try Merriam-Webster. Anything else you need Jon?
regards,
-Craig
Klaatu
> Please look up fungible in a good dictionary. An expression can't be
> fungible. Let's not destroy another good and useful english word that
> has a clear and specific meaning.
That's not a very fungable thing to say. Perhaps if you were in a more
fungable mood you're comment would not be so fungable.
--
Why be politically correct, when you can be right?