Take it all with you

Write and create
Having access to the web and email is great but what if you need to work? Fortunately it’s possible to install a full copy of Openoffice, which has features similar to those found in Microsoft Office, on to a memory key – and it is free. Openoffice is a big program and takes up about 190MB of space on a memory key, but it’s also powerful. It can be downloaded from the Portable Apps website.

Installing Openoffice is even easier than Firefox and Thunderbird, as there’s no licence to accept ­ simply select the memory key when asked for the destination folder. Once this is selected, wait a few minutes for all the program to be copied to the memory key ­ the process takes a while. Sadly you’ll notice the same kind of sluggishness when using the portable version of Openoffice.

In particular there’s a noticeable lag between clicking on a menu and watching it open. It’s still a very useful way to carry a complete word processor and spreadsheet in your pocket but we wouldn’t recommend using it for day-to-day work.

Edit photos
The Gimp may be peculiarly named, but it is highly thought of and, unlike most photo-editing programs, a free and portable version is available. It can be downloaded here and requires just 18MB of free space on the memory key. After downloading, double-click on the file and select Extract. This will create a folder called GIMPportable.

Simply copy this folder, in its entirety, to the memory key to install it, then double-click on the GIMPportable icon inside to run the program. Like Firefox, Thunderbird and Openoffice, the Gimp runs happily on Windows XP and Vista computers, and it includes all the tools needed to fix photographs or create original artwork. It can open and save all of the most common types of image file.

Tracking appointments
The ‘PIM’ in Essential PIM stands for Personal Information Manager, and this program is a great way to keep track of contact details and appointments when hopping between computers. It can be downloaded here and uses just 6MB of space on the memory key, ­ although adding hundreds of contacts will, of course, require a little more room. Once downloaded, right-click on the ZIP file and select Extract All.

Click Next twice, and a folder called essentialpimport2 will be created. Copy this entire folder to the memory key to install it, then run the program inside called Essential PIM to use it. Essential PIM includes daily, weekly and monthly calendars that support multi-day events, alarms and categories, as well as a task list, notepad and contacts manager.

It’s also possible to password-protect appointments, tasks and notes, so if the memory key is lost or stolen these details are given protection from prying eyes.

VLC
Not every PC is set up to play back audio and video properly, and that makes VLC a very handy application to carry around. It takes up about 17MB of space on a memory key and can be downloaded here – select the latest version at the top of the list. To install it, double-click the downloaded file, select Next, click Browse and choose your memory key, then finally select Install.

VLC can play dozens of types of music and video files including MP3, WMA, and DivX videos; it’s also handily able to play back shop-bought DVDs.

And there’s more...
We’ve explained how to install some of the best-known and most useful portable applications but there are dozens of others available free on the web. Portable programs that might be useful for some people include 7-Zip, which makes it possible to open dozens of compressed archive files, and Clamwin Portable. ­

This free anti-virus tool isn’t a substitute for having proper virus protection installed on each PC, but it does allow you to scan a suspicious file for any nasties that may lurk inside. Finally, Sumatra PDF Portable is a simple way to view documents and brochures stored as a PDF file.

It doesn’t have all the fancy features of Foxit Reader, but is much more straightforward to install and takes up a lot less space. Sometimes technology take its time to become useful. Twenty years ago the American company Tandon introduced a product called the Datapac, ­ a hard disk about the size of a house brick that stored 20MB of files.

This made it possible to carry files and programs from computer to computer, ­ but not comfortably. Today, USB memory keys that hold 200 times as much information can be carried in a pocket, so there’s no need to leave those useful programs and documents at home. With a few portable applications in your pocket, computing from anywhere is easier than ever.