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Even the lightest laptops on the market won't fit in your pocket, but these days you don't need to lug around an entire computer to get some work done. If you're looking to travel light, but still want access to your favorite applications and websites no matter what computer you sit down in front of, you need to get on the portable apps bandwagon.
To take advantage of portable apps you'll need to have some sort of portable device, whether an iPod, a SD card or USB flash drive. With USB flash drives frequently given away as promotional offerings, it shouldn't be to hard to find something with ample space for under $20.
The definition of a portable app will vary a little depending on who you talk to, but the basic requirement is the once installed on the removable media it will plug in and work on any compatible machine.
Keep in mind that portable apps are not cross platform, don't expect your Windows XP portable apps to run on a Mac.
Wikipedia has one of the most extensive lists of "standalone portable apps"<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_portable_software>.
For greater ease of use there are a number of portable app launchers available which can auto-launch when you plug your media into the host computer. Two of the more popular options are the portable apps suite from "Portableapps.com"<http://portableapps.com/> and "MojoPac"<http://www.mojopac.com/>.
Both function in a similar manner, once installed on your portable device and connected to a host machine they will auto-launch with menus allowing you to select which programs to use.
MojoPac is a little more full-featured in that it create a virtual desktop which you can set up to mimic your home machine. Both will read and write from the portable media so don't expect amazing performance, but so long as you aren't editing large photoshop files you should be okay.
Mac users can turn the Free Open Source Software Mac User Group (FreeSMUG), which offers a complete listing of individul "portable applications"<http://www.freesmug.org/portableapps/> for your Mac-compatible storage device. Keep in mind though that passwords and other information stored in the Keychain application are not portable.
What applications should you install? Well that depends on what you think you'll need, it's possible to pretty much replicate your home computer, but most people can probably get by with a web browser, an e-mail client, a multi-protocol chat app and perhaps an office suite.
#A word about security
One of the advantages of using portable apps is that you can avoid insecure application (say that unpatched, six-year-old install of IE 6 running in the internet cafe next to your hotel). However, if the host machine is infected or compromised you could be in trouble.
To get around this you can either put your USB flash drive in read-only mode or carry some sort of anti-virus application. Read-only mode can be a bit limiting, depending on your needs so we would recommend using some sort of anti-virus software.
Also, keep in mind that spyware tools like keystroke loggers will still capture your keystrokes. Unfortunately it's increasingly common for internet cafes around the world to become compromised with keystroke loggers. Painful though it may be, we suggest typing passwords backwards or otherwise out of order to foil the potential snoops. It isn't foolproof of course, but it may slow them down enough that they move on to easier prey.
#Advanced portable Apps
Linux is an ideal candidate for a portable drive. "Puppy Linux"<http://www.puppylinux.org/> and "Damn Small Linux"<http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/> are two distributions designed to be lightweight and can be installed on most storage devices. Using a virtual machine like "QEMU"<http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/qemu/> you can create a cross platform virtual machine that will allow you to plug your USB device into any computer and run Linux, regardless of whether the host is a Mac or PC.
The process is not too difficult, but recommended primarily for those that are already familiar with Linux. Hackszine has a "tutorial"<http://www.hackszine.com/blog/archive/2007/10/running_puppy_linux_inside_os.html> on how to set up Puppy Linux with a QEMU virtual machine that will run on a Mac.
From there you just need to add Windows and Linux QEMU executables to the your storage drive and your portable cross-platform dreams will come true -- provided you can get by with Puppy Linux or the equivalent.
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