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RSS Feed Traditionally, we like to “install” software applications onto our computer. This is indeed still the way for most people who are not aware now of the existence of “portable applications”.
The idea of portable applications has been around for a long time, but its only recently started to gain popularity for a lot of computer users.
What are portable applications, you may ask, and why should I care?
The biggest difference between portable applications and normal install applications is that portable apps do not need to install. Yes, this sounds dumb, but believe it or not, this concerns most computer users.
So, how does it affect me if the program installs or not? As long as its functional, its fine, right? Partially….
Installation packages vary widely amongst different software developed by different companies. The main thing of concern is that we as the end-users do not know exactly what the installation is doing when the little progress bar ticks from 0% – 100%, and to be fair, it can be doing anything at all, from installing unnecessary applications/addons to malware and even viruses.
This is off course not the case for most, however what does happen most of the time is that after you “install” an application, then decide you do not need it anymore, and try to “uninstall” it from the control panel, the uninstaller 99% of the time leaves some files or registry values on the computer, despite having the application “uninstalled”.
Over time, the remainders of what the uninstallers leave behind starts to build up, and the result is what we are all familiar with: slow computer.
Normally this will call for the solution of formatting, and “starting fresh” again, however the same thing will happen over and over again as the same applications get installed and uninstalled over time.
Portable applications do not need to be installed, nor uninstalled for that matter, and have an extremely small footprint. They normally run within a folder, even on a memory/usb stick or hard drive (which was the primary reason why “portable applications were created) and will only write to subfolders within the executable where its placed (assuming it has been made properly). To “uninstall”, simply delete the folder which contains the executable along with all the rest of the files within that folder, and viola, you know that you won’t have any rubbish left over “somewhere” on the computer….
If the above is not enough to convince you, portable applications are often faster, and is easily portable (duh), so that you can take your data and program and execute on any computer. Installation time is also saved (try installing the adobe suite and use a stop-watch to see how long that takes) and your system should remain fast and light.
Off course, some applications just CANNOT be portable, and needs to be installed for it to work properly. One of these is Microsoft Outlook, but I’m sure there are many others that require installation. You would be surprised however, when searching through Google to see how many portable applications are available.
Below are some popular sites for your reference:
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Many more, use google!! Go here.
