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What's the dfference between using portable installaions vs PortableApps?
superboyac:
I don't quite understand the purpose of something like PortableApps, so maybe we can discuss that here.
I want to setup a USB stick to carry a bunch of programs around with me for convenience. Now, a lot of programs these days come with portable installations. So, that means I can just run it fine off the stick. In that case, what's the point of something like PortableApps? Is it just a tool to launch these things? Because if that's the case, I'd rather use something like portable FARR or another program like that.
Also, there's been a lot of talk lately of portable file associations in programs like Total Commander and XYplorer. I can also see myself using the file manager as my portable OS. meaning, I insert the stick in the computer, then I open the file manager, and using the portable file associations configured there, i run things off my stick as if the file manager was the central OS.
Essentially, i want to create a situation where once I stick my stick in, the computer I'm using is centered around whatever I have on the stick, not on the original computer.
Ehtyar:
PortableApps has several apps available that are not portable by nature. The apps you see there that available as portable by the original authors are there for their integration with the PortableApps menu system.
Personally, I get any portable apps I can from the author, and go to PortableApps where they aren't available. You'll often find that the modifications made by John Haller in his PortableApps can be made without the use of the PortableApps loader, except where the registry is used without option.
Ehtyar.
kartal:
I always have hardtime understanding the logic behind a "portable app" "installer". Why cannot they provide a simple zip file containing what is needed to run the damn thing?
If someone wants to provide a menu application that is fine but however an installer does not make life easier. I think that the best way would be a menu builder that scans the pointed drive for exe, bat, jar etc then it creates the menu based on those apps on a drive or in folders.
Josh:
All of the portable app "installers" I have seen do simply one thing, extract the files to a user defined path. This makes it easier for your average user as they do not have to rely on extracting a zip file and then wondering "Where did I put that?". Simply put, most of these installers DO NOT require admin rights and are designed for ease of use rather than just running in the portableapps shell application. The .paf.exe function just provides an easy way for the menu system to use and install the file into it's shell.
superboyac:
Ehtyar, thanks for the explanation. That cleared things up for me. So it sounds like i would probably use a combination of my regular portable programs, and for ones that aren't portable, hopefully they are on portableApp...like Firefox.
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