CREATE PORTABLE APPS
Installing isn’t the be all and end all of software. Check out http:// portableapps.com— you’ll find a vast range of apps that run comfortably from a USB stick without marking your precious PC even slightly. But what if your favorite app doesn’t offer a portable version? Most programs can be made portable using Cameyo ( www.cameyo.com), a system that uses the concept of a virtual machine to package up all the components of an application into a single executable file, either on your desktop or, excellently, online. We’re not done with installers entirely, however; in order to create a Cameyo package, you need to fire it up, run the installer, and tell it when the installation has finished. It detects the changes made to the filesystem, and swallows them into its own virtual environment. When you then run the app, it finds the files exactly where it expects them to be, not even knowing that it’s running in virtual space.
Cameyo’s commitment to portability extends beyond USB sticks full of apps, though. You can run your stuff entirely online with its cloud hosting service (session time is limited if you’re a free user), or take advantage of its library of portable apps, all of which are ready to go in its online repository. This is especially useful if you’re using a managed PC—at work, for example—where you might be denied access to software you need. Register yourself a Cameyo account, head to the site, and (as long as your network administrator isn’t wise to it) you gain virtual access to some of the best free apps out there. Nothing to install, no trace left behind. It’s like you were never there at all.