Portable Apps

A few years ago when I was traveling a LOT for work, I needed a way to easily check my personal emails, get my news/RSS feeds, update my personal calendar, and keep my contact list handy. I also wanted a way to do all of that (and more) by using an internet connected computer without having to lug my laptop around, boot it up, get connected. So, I started using portable applications on an USB drive.

What is a portable app? Well, rather than re-write the definition, I am going to quote the definition I got from Portable Apps:

Portable App Definition (permalink)

A portable app is a computer program that you can carry around with you on a portable device and use on any Windows computer. When your USB flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod or other portable device is plugged in, you have access to your software and personal data just as you would on your own PC. And when you unplug the device, none of your personal data is left behind.

• No Special Hardware - Use any USB flash drive, portable hard drive, iPod/MP3 player, etc
• No Additional Software - Just download, run the portable installer & go
• No Kidding - It's that easy

This made life a TON better for me because I could use a computer in whatever office I was visiting, at a local library in the city I was in, in the hotel business center where I was staying, and then when I had a chance, my own laptop. This helped me keep in contact and check everything I needed to do, and instantly kept it all synchronized electronically. Another KEY point made above is that none of your personal data is left behind. When using a public one or borrowing one from a co-worker, this helps insure that none of your personal info is retained on the computer.

I got my PC apps from Portable Apps because they had all the items I wanted (Firefox browser, Thunderbird email, Sunbird organizer, etc.). PLUS they had a lot that I used to entertain myself (VLC video player, Sudoku game, XnView graphic viewer). Okay, that was then, this is now. I switched from a PC to a MacBook, and guess what? There are portable apps for the Mac too. I get them at FreeSMUG. Yeah, there aren't as many public Macs out there, but that is what I use for most of my work now, so I had to switch over to the Mac portable apps.

Fortunately for me, the Portable Apps website [link] explains how you can make an USB drive work on BOTH a PC and a Mac...so I'll be doing it this week. I'll use the PC apps when I need to, the Mac ones at other times, but at least the info will all be on the same drive...happy computing...

WYSIWYG & HTML

Computers and the internet have certainly changed in the last few decades. I reference my experiences with computers on my entry of Computers, but in trying to get my DIY Colored Fireplace Pinecone entry done, it brought something to my attention about blogging.

Image via Wikipedia

Writing a blog entry is a lot easier now than it was in the past, due to the "interface" that you use to compose it. Most blog servers have been kind enough to develop their sites so we can use WYSIWYG interaction to give life to the thoughts and feelings that we have, and I thank them for that. But, occasionally I want to make my entry look a certain way, and there aren't easy ways to use a button or simple "right click" to make that happen. Fortunately, they let a writer use an HTML editing way to make it happen, kind of like a DIY tab.

What prompted this blog entry is that I wanted to put a table on the pinecone entry as a better way to share information in a concise way, but my interface didn't have an "insert table" button to make it happen. I had to switch from the WYSIWYG tab over to the HTML tab, and manually code the information to make it happen using a combination of the '< table >' codes. While my first emotional inclination was to swear ferociously at the blog host for NOT having that option, it struck me that I should be happy that I've still stayed in touch with things to know "how" to make something happen that I desire, and then be able to achieve it.

Fortunately I paid attention to life in the late 70s to get involved with computers. And was inspired to be a writer, later in my life during the 80s. I knew the internet would be a way to touch the world as it evolved. I composed my first website in the late 80s by coding HTML in Windows 1.0 Notepad by typing HTML code and uploading it via a Prodigy account and the telephone. Now, I can use a wireless account on my MacBook INSTANTLY. Progress is a good thing. But knowing the base foundation back story helps.

Bottom line, I recommend that people learn a little HTML code to help them achieve their goals.

Computers

Computers have come a LONG way in the last 40 years. I started playing with computers back in the late 70s. My first experiences were on a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III/IV. That was when we had to use 5.25" floppy disks (and yes, they actually WERE floppy). I learned how to draw the flowchart of the programs I wrote and how to use an hole-punch to use both sides of the disks. I still have my disk carrying case with the old disks in them. Hmm... I wonder if they still work...

I was working as an apprentice to a master carpenter and saved my money to buy my first personal computer. I got a TI 99/4A even though a lot of my friends were going with the Commodore 64. I remember that I had to also purchase a small 13" black and white TV to use as a monitor and used an old Sears & Roebuck cassette tape recorder to store my data on. I actually think I still have that tucked away somewhere and all of the cassettes too. But, I don't have the TI99/4A anymore. It was chucked into the dumpster when I had to move, and didn't feel like carting it with me.

I went to college and actually minored in "computer technology" for a while. So, I lived through the 8086, 8088 and 80286 generations. And all of the chip mutations in between. I coded in PASCAL, COBOL, BASIC, and on the UNIX system. I drank a LOT of coffee back in those days. I relished when a meal consisted of a set of Pop-Tarts and a Jolt with a set of Vivarin in it. I miss Jolt...

Anyway... I spent nearly 20 years with a corporation working on an a PC system, and stuck in Windows. I still have the Windows 3.11 installation disks and several versions of DOS. I've suffered through all of the permutations that they've had, threw my last Toshiba against the wall and stomped on it in the driveway, and got a Mac. I'll never go back to PC.

I got to experience the Apple, the Apple II, the Apple IIc, and the Apple IIe... But they weren't "approved" at the company I was with. I currently own and use an Apple MacBook Pro, and will NEVER go back to PC.