Non-Linux FOSS: Portable Apps, in the Cloud!

The concept of PortableApps has been around for a long time. It's a great way to take your Windows apps from computer to computer using a USB drive and never worry about being without your favorite program. Honestly, remembering to carry around a USB drive can be a bit of a pain though. Also, USB drives are generally fairly slow, and working directly from the drive can be cumbersome.

Even with those limitations, the PortableApps.com system is an incredible way to keep the apps you want, with your preferences, exactly how you want them. The recent cloud changes are what sparked this mention. Although PortableApps still work great on USB drives, it's also added support for cloud-based services like Dropbox and Google Drive. If you want your programs to follow you around from computer to computer without needing to grab a Flash drive, the new syncing functionality means having all your apps and all your preferences on any computer running Dropbox!

I'm not sure if that makes them cloud apps, or TeleportingApps, or if it's just a really great idea—regardless of what you call the concept, it means fast and efficient computing on the various Windows machines you use on a daily basis. Download the completely free (beer and speech) installer today at http://portableapps.com.

Shawn is Associate Editor here at Linux Journal, and has been around Linux since the beginning. He has a passion for open source, and he loves to teach. He also drinks too much coffee, which often shows in his writing.

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