Needs: As operating systems become more powerful and netbooks becoming the closest way to getting a cheap but powerful "enough" modern desktop PC hardware (especially for an ignorant buyer), I'm starting to lean more and more towards portable software that can act like an offline "web app" through syncing on Dropbox.
Especially because for me, I'm still ignorant about Linux and I just can't get past it's learning curve, therefore I rely so much on a guest XP to replace certain programs.
Clarification:The dilemma with "Portable Apps" are that they often fail to separate heavy applications that can be launched via a USB stick from "light" applications that may have a low chance of being installed on another PC - even if the PC is owned by the same person.
Another problem is that, there's often a "loose" distinction between a Portable Operating System and a Portable Set of Applications.
A good example of these are web browsers and Office suites. It's nice for them to be portable but they are rarely "needed" on average to be launched from a stick or a Guest OS and not only that, it can be a pain to monitor and backup those files as then you are doubling up on backing two similar items.
Examples?I think a lot of DC's apps serve as good examples.
If I sync PopUp Wisdom via Dropbox, it's lightweight and specific enough to be opened from Dropbox without the user really needing to eventually say, "damn this, I'd rather install this directly on my current PC"
The Technical Problem:Finally, there's the issue of working well with cloud storage programs.
Main Issue #1 - It may not Sync correctlyQuoted from CintaNotes documentation:
Putting CintaNotes folder inside of DropBox folder is NOT recommended because:
Backup files will constantly be "conflicted";
You won't be able to have separate settings on different PCs.
Main Issue #2 - It may not Sync while openI started by downloading this small 890 KB file from here. The application can be installed locally or to a USB drive. That’s right – it can be used as a portable app! The trick to getting it to sync using DropBox is to install it to a shared DropBox folder. This way the changes will be written back and forth as my wife or I change or add notes. CintaNotes is made so that the application does not need to be closed to copy or overwrite the data file. This means notes from my wife’s machine will show up as soon as DropBox syncs the folder.
Unfortunately this is beyond my knowledge which is why I'm not making a preliminary list here but am instead requesting for you guys to provide most of the applications since I'm really not sure if the programs I'm using are sync proof.
