FREE “must have” portable software programs

Through societal programming, we all at one time or another have subscribed to the belief that nothing in life is
free. As I contemplated this article, I discussed with a friend, my intent to write an article that would talk about some of the outstanding, "must-have", "money-saving" and FREE application programs (portable applications) that anyone including businesses could benefit from if only they knew about them. My friend’s question to me was: “What financial reward is in it for you to share or write such an article?” He further stated that most people will not read the article because according to him “they know that nothing in life is free.” His statement and belief was so far from the truth because there is a whole community out there that is promoting free software. Most people, for example, are against Bill Gates and Microsoft because of their dominance in the market and problems with licensing. My friend also does not realize that from a business perspective, investing in relationships, building strong connections with other individuals, companies and prospective customers requires a willingness to shift your emphasis on helping others connect. By doing so, you build stronger connections for your business and develop more sales prospects down the road. In Addition, I subscribe to the principle that opportunity in this country is like having a large elephant for dinner; there is a lot to go around.

One of my graduate degrees is in Management Information Systems. At the conclusion of that program, I chose not to do a thesis but instead completed a project on LAMP (Linux Apache MySql and PHP). The acronym LAMP refers to a stack of open source or free software used to run dynamic websites or web servers. Linux is the operating system; Apache is the web server; MySQL is the database management server or database server; PHP (or Pearl or Python) is the programming languages.My project in LAMP exposed me to hundreds of very powerful and useful free software available that must be share with the general public.

As more and more companies are starting to choose LAMP as an alternative to expensive proprietary software (mainly because it lower cost and provide freedom from lock-in) I strongly suggest that small businesses also consider looking into using open source and portable applications simply because of their scalability and cost saving benefits.

Portable Applications (portableapps)

Portable applications (portableapps) are application programs that you can carry around with you on a portable device and use on any Windows computer. Portable devices are any hardware such as USB flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod, CD or other portable devices. When you plug any of the portable devices into your computer, you immediately have access to the applications. When you unplug the device, none of your personal data is left behind. Portableapps are compressed and fully functional version of mostly open source programs built around an open format that any hardware vendor, software developer or person can use. It enables you to carry your favorite application programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you by using them on any Windows computer without leaving any personal data behind.

Somethings in Life are Free

Some of the great thing about portableapps is – one doesn't have to purchase additional hardware or software. Portable applications are 100% free to use, free to copy and free to share. There are no advertisements. It is not a limited or trial version. For starters, I will suggest that you start by visiting http://www.portableapps.com.

Some of My Favorite Portableapps

Below are few of the FREE protableapps that I have on my 2 GB USB flash drive and iPod:

On-screen key board – easily access an on-screen keyboard
GIMP Portable – photo and Image Editor
Notepad++ Portable – a full-featured text editor with syntax highlighting
Miranda IM Portable – chat with AOL, MSN and Yahoo users in a customizable interface
Sudoku Portable - the wildly popular and addictive puzzle game
WinSCP – SFTP, FTP and SCP client
Audacity Portable – a simple audio editor and recorder
Mplayer Portable – full-featured movie player with support for most video formats
Morzilla Thunderbird Portable – calendar and task management with a familiar interface
Lightning Portable – (for Thunderbird) – A lightweight extension for your calendar and tasks
OpenOffice Portable – word processor, spreadsheet, presentations with Microsoft compatibility (a must have!! – if you don't have MS Word, Excel, Access etc.)
Sumatra PDF Portable – a lightweight PDF viewer
Mac-on-stick – run Mac OS Classic 7 portably
7-Zip Portable – file archiver and compressor
ClamWin Portable – antivirus on the go
Virtual Magnifying Glass portable – handy Virtual Magnifying Glass
Mozilla Firefox Portable – an award-winning web browser that's safe and secure

I use OpenOffice portable on a daily basis. Just in case you are not familiar with OpenOffice; in my opinion, it is a clone of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access plus more. For example, once you start OpenOffice equivalent of the Excel spreadsheet; you will not be able to determine if it is MS Excel or not, they look the same. The only difference is that OpenOffice is FREE.

Why would you run OpenOffice from a portable device? Let's assume that you have a problem with your computer at home and you decided to go to the library to work on your Excel spread but the only available machine at the library does not have Excel because it is reserved for library search. This is when you pull up your USB flash drive or iPod with OpenOffice portable and click the OpenOffice.org Calc (Excel clone) and work on your spreadsheet. After you are done, save and close your application, nothing is left on the library computer. Another neat thing about portableapps is the On-screen key board. Let’s say you have a paper that is due in the morning. Late at night when the stores are already closed; you spilled some coffee on the keyboard. There is no need to panic at this point. Just put in your USB flash drive or iPod and click on the On-screen key board portable icon and a virtual keyboard will appear on your computer screen. You can continue typing your paper by using the mouse to type the words into the virtual keyboard on the screen.

Types of Portable Application Menus (PAM)

There are several versions of portableapps menus out there; but they basically use the same applications. Most of the menus are basically cosmetic changes in appearance to the main Portableapps Menu. You want to note that the acronym PAM (portableapps menu) is at times referring to as the main PortableApps Menu and at other times to any other portableapps menus. Below are few of the popular portableapps menus:

PortableApps Menu
PortableApps Menu MOD R3x
SmithTech Portable Menu
Asuite
Geek.Menu
PStart
Toucan

I have used and tested both PortableApps Menu and Geek.Menu. For beginners, I will recommend PortableApps Menu. The PortableApps Menu site is not only user friendly but well documented with excellent support system. I run both menus on two separate portable devices (iPod and USB drive). I used the Geek.Menu PAM on my USB. The Geek.Menu version of PAM has an integrated TrueCrypt. The Geek.Menu is an offshoot of the main PortableApps.com Menu (PAM).

Geek.Menu has features not available in current release of PAM. Geek.Menu have some major improvements over the PortableApps Menu or other portableapps menus. Some major features of Geek.Menu are:

search bar supports searching the Internet and executing local files and folders
category Support
supports an encrypted TrueCrypt profile, as well as an unsecured profile
theme switching
custom location buttons
autorun applications on startup
a resizable menu
Geek.Menu maintains a list of "authorized" computers which means that if you run the menu you have some options as to what you want to do, including displaying contact info, not mounting the TrueCrypt volume, etc.

If you are using the authorized computers list, Geek.Menu can run applications from the unencrypted drive on unauthorized computers, so you can maintain a separate set of applications and settings for use on unknown computers, thus bypassing issues with Truecrypt's requirement for administrative privileges.

Installation

Avoid any flash drive from eBay shipped from China, I have had terrible experiences with them. Some people are comfortably running portableapps from small size USB flash drive, but I will recommend that you at least purchase a 2 GB or larger flash drive. Portableapps works on all Windows operating systems from Windows 95 through Vista as well as Wine under Linux/Unix. Individual portableapps have differing system requirements. For a quick rundown of what applications work with your operating systems, please see http://portableapps.com/apps/compatibility .

Once you click on the respective portableapps, the installer will ask where you would like to install it. It is best to select the "root directory" of your portable device. So, if you were installing to your USB flash drive and it was plugged in and shows up as drive E in Windows Explorer, you will select the path E:\. You can easily just click the browse button next to the Install and then select your drive and click OK to fill this in. Once you are sure you have picked the right drive to install to, just click OK. The installation will take a while. There might be times where the progress bar is not moving. Be patient. It is installing. If your portable device has a little light on it that lights up when it's being used, you'll see it flickering. Once the install window goes away, it is installed. You can use the suite by browsing to your portable device and double clicking on the startportableapps executable file.

Security

With regards to security, a lot of work still needs to be done in this area. From testing portableapps, I am attempted to say that Portableapps does not have any real security. However, there are lots of preventive measures one can take to safeguard their data on their portable devices (iPod, USB or CD). Whenever, I use my portable device to get on the Internet from someone else's computer, I launched the Mozilla Firefox Portable from my portable device. Mozilla Firefox Portable is an award-winning web browser that's safe and secure as oppose to Internet Explorer 6. When I am done using someone else's computer, I run ClamWin Portable which is already on my portable device; ClamWin is an antivirus on the go.

If security is really a major concern of yours, then a Portable Application Menu (PAM) using TrueCrypt is your best bet. TrueCrypt creates an encrypted file or a mounted volume of space that is password-encrypted by your choice of algorithm and password. I have not tested or used Toucan, but it is recommended as a security means. Toucan is a small utility allowing you to synchronize, backup and secure your data with more options than the built in suite utilities.

For users that have multiple logonid and passwords for different password, you might want to consider KeePass. KeePass is a free and open-source password manager or safe which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key-disk. So you only have to remember one single master password or insert the key-disk to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish).