Whats your current favorite PF app?

Discuss anything related to portable freeware here.
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jr8rulz
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 2:58 pm
Location: Ohio, US

Whats your current favorite PF app?

#1 Post by jr8rulz »

With all the portable apps out there on this site and others...I have to ask, whats your current favorite app and why?

I like using Thunderbird as it allows me to take my address book with me always, check email on the go, and enter new info right then.

So whats yours?

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Andrew Lee
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Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:19 am
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#2 Post by Andrew Lee »

Only a daily basis, I use:

Portable Firefox
Portable Thunderbird
GreatNews
BitComet
PowerMenu
TrueCrypt
PStart
NetMeter
Skype
Buzzsaw
PhotoFiltre

Others that I use on a less regular basis, but very useful as well:

VirtualDub
Safarp
Putty
Filezilla
CurrPorts
Crazy Browser
LC ISO Creator
BurnCDCC

And not to forget the indispensible Regshot that I use to test portable apps.

alois
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:51 pm
Location: Spain

Top 20 portable apps

#3 Post by alois »

I run about 50 apps on a 1GB USB stick. Most of the apps I found on this site. I constantly use firefox, thunderbird, abilon rss reader, the application launcher Pstart and a german free personal information manager called "Kalenderchen". I don't think there is an english version available.

Next on my top 20 are abiword, spread32 (which I call excel lite), process exlorer, treesize, ICEmirror and PhotoFiltre.

For my work in the financial markets I use "Modern Speculator Junior" - a portable freeware software for calculating options, warrants, bonds, futures and combinations. I found it here: http://www.members.aol.com/ddsoft/

When I need a good english-german-engish dictionary I use lingo4u. which seems to be portable to me. (I think I first installed it, then moved it to my usb stick and finally deinstaled it from the harddrive. It has to be checked whether it is truely portable! Works fine to me. htttp://www.ego4u.de/de/lingo4u-dictionary)

Last but not least Irfan view and media player classic belong to my top 20 portable apps.

I'd like to say thanks to the author of the "Portable Freeware collection". For me this has turned out to be the best software site on the internet.



:)

goodtimetribe
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:44 pm
Location: Dallas, TX
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I use

#4 Post by goodtimetribe »

I regularly use

Foxit PDF Reader
KeePass
FileZilla
PSPad
utorrent (much better than bitcomet)

I'm trying to start using EssentialPIM, but it's so much easier to already use the open browser window and calendar.yahoo.com...plus it notifies my phone!

I am looking for a good Explorer replacement. I want multiple panes and multiple tabs, easy to use with little learning curve.. Ii've been using explorer for 10+ years, I don't want the transition to be a hassle) I'm totally down with MDI so even something like FileMan from Win3x would be ok.

ahoier
Posts: 42
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:15 pm
Location: Florida
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#5 Post by ahoier »

FoxIt PDF
utorrent
PasswordSafe
TorPark v1.0 [2.0 coming soon? :)]
Notepad2

that's about it i think, with daily usage.

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puckchaser
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:11 am

#6 Post by puckchaser »

I like to use

Photofiltre
Torpark
utorrent
cports
Hoversnap

And if there is anything else I need, I usually search here first...

Thanks

PC
Last edited by puckchaser on Tue Feb 07, 2006 7:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sliver
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Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:44 am
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#7 Post by Sliver »

Firefox
PStart
KeePass
EPIM
Portable Filezilla
uTorrent

flatrabbit
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:33 pm
Location: The Land of Kirk

#8 Post by flatrabbit »

As it would be tough to pick a favorite I'll list my "favorites"

web browser: mozilla firefox 1.6.1a
email client: mozilla thunderbird 1.6.1a
bt client: utorrent 1.4.1-beta-418
download manager: wackget 1.2.2
im client: mirandaIM 0.4.3 alpha #46 unicode
rss feed reader: greatnews 1.0 (b 360)
irc client: xchat 2.6.0r2
text editor: metapad 3.51
PIM: essentialPIMfree 1.7.1usb
PDF viewer: Foxit Reader 1.3 #0104
html editor: notepad2 1.0.12
image viewer: xnview 1.82 RC3
video player: media player classic 6.4.8.7
audio player: foobar2000 0.9beta13

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jr8rulz
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 2:58 pm
Location: Ohio, US

#9 Post by jr8rulz »

It amazes me the biggest selection of things people use and enjoy.

I admit to using the XMplay media player for my mp3's i keep on my sticks.

I also use the mcafee stinger whenever i do a support desk job as its fast and good. The basics of Firefox, Thudnerbird, and OOo are givens, so i was more interested in the "little guy" apps you tend to use and by reading some of these replies, its a diverse arrangement.

I'm just glad to have a place like this that posts this great freeware, takes the time to test most all of them, and instructions on how to use them!

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justin
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:07 am
Location: United States
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stuff I use on my 256MB drive

#10 Post by justin »

Internet:
PortableFirefox
miniaim

Office:
PortableAbiWord
Spread32
PStart
Foxit PDF Reader
Win32Pad
100K Zipper
QJot
RPN Calc

Media/Games:
PortableVLC
CoolPlayer
SkiFree

Darkbee
Posts: 291
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:35 am
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#11 Post by Darkbee »

Let's see... to me there are three main categories:

Apps I use on a daily basis:
PStart - For me, this was the find of the century because I hated keeping shortcuts, to programs located on removeable media, on my Start menu. PStart allows me to completely separate out all my portable apps. The only thing that is missing for me is the ability to have a similiar hierarchical list of URL's (favorites if you will), but the notes feature is an added bonus.

Popman - This program has an essential role in my email handling strategy. It is a pop3 checker and I use it as a first line of defence against bogus or pointless emails (i.e. forward this to ten of your mates type emails). I am fortunate enough not to get tons of spam so I can use this to quickly delete out those emails that don't even warrant being loaded into my main email client. It allows me to check multiple accounts and I like how you can group those accounts into custom tabs. Great app.

KeePass - I used to use Pirem TopSecret but it isn't strictly portable and is no longer being developed so I'm in the process of switching to KeePass. With the myriad of forums I belong to I definately need something to keep track of all the logins and passwords I have!

ClipX - I used to use Clipomatic from Mike Lin but I don't think this is portable and it only supports text. ClipX not only supports text but also images as well. For the most part the functionality of each program is the same and, in general, is a utility that I wouldn't be without. I mainly use the "Stickies" feature rather than a clipboard history (although that can be handy when working on any sort of code). The stickies feature allows me to store frequently used strings of text such as HTML tags, signitures, usernames or anything else that I might want to paste frequently.

DM2 - I discovered this program on PF.com when I was looking for a portable folder bookmarking utility. I had previously used DirKey but this is not a portable app. DM2 has the added bonus of having other functions like altering window transparency and minimizing windows to desktop icons. The great thing about this app is that it kills two birds with one stone and does it without becoming bloated and overly slow. I was looking for a window state manipulation tool (like altering transparency, always on top etc) and the fact that DM2 had it, plus the folder bookmarking is great.

Irfan View - Probably one of the most well known pieces of freeware on the planet, this is a truly awesome and useful program. I love it and seem to use it all the time, even if it is just to view images (since it is really fast). The image manipulation features are great and I frequently use them when working with images, thus avoiding the need to load a full on image editing program.

Apps that I use on a weekly basis:

YAMC - Yet Another Mail Client is a lightweight, yet comprehensive email client. I have become increasingly disillusioned with bloated and slow email clients that have tons of useless features that I don't need. YAMC seems to do the job and while it is not without its bugs (it's still under development), it does its thing without taking an age to do it.

HFS - I find this program infinitely useful to transfer files, over the internet, from one computer to another, without having to use unreliable messaging clients, slow email attachments, or other protocols that could potentially be blocked over some network. Since this program uses the HTTP protocol, it works pretty much all of the time. It is very quick and easy to set up and I can have files shared within seconds of loading it up.

FreeCommander - I like this Windows Explorer replacement not just because it has the dual pane feature but because of the small features built in to it. I commonly use the wipe feature to securely delete files and much prefer using it to copy/move files over the standard Windows Explorer. All in all it's just a better experience when doing some laborious tasks with large numbers of files.

FoxIt Reader - Why download Adobe's Acrobat Reader which is a 20MB+ download, when you can download a program <2MB to do exactly the same job? I'm almost offended by Adobe's inability to produce a small, simple program to view PDF files. FoxIt Reader does exactly what I need it to, without; taking days to load, installing plugins that I blatently don't need and having a stupid internet updater that never works properly.

Apps that I use infrequently but consider essential:

FileZilla - I used to use CuteFTP as my FTP client but it was not free and sometimes seemed a bit clumsy to use. FileZilla is intuitive, efficient and a joy to use. My only complaint is that it seems to be a tad big but it does its job and it does it extremely well.

DiskCleaner - There are tons of junk/temp file cleaners out there and I have settled on this one for some time. I have never had any problems with it and it has never caused my system to become unstable. I love the selective cookie deleting feature so that I can maintain cookies that keep me logged into forums while deleting those cookies that I don't need anymore. The program is expandable via plugins and is a must.

OrphansRemover - Great program for deleting dead shortcuts from your Start Menu and desktop. Being that I frequently try out new software and constantly install and uninstall stuff, this program comes in handy in keeping everything tidy.

SIW - This is an amazing tool, that has so many features that I'm still discovering new ones now, a month after first using the program! Granted this isn't a program that I use on a regular basis but it has so many important system tools and generates so much useful information that I know one day I will be thankful for this program when the obligatory bi-annual Windows failure occurs. :wink:

I have other apps that I use on my portable HD but this, I would say, is probably the pick of the bunch... besides which, this post must be huge by now! :shock:

Spiceskull
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:07 am

My favourites

#12 Post by Spiceskull »

Porta Firefox 105 - with about 30 extensions (especially scrapbook, reminderfox and calculator)
Porta Thunderbird 107 - again, with lots of extensions
Porta Open Office 201
Porta NVU 102

I'm boring and I use it all for work, but hey...I do play some games when no-one is looking...

alois
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:51 pm
Location: Spain

#13 Post by alois »

@ darkbee

Thank you for mentioning HFS. Just tried ist out. Very handy little app :!:

goodtimetribe
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:44 pm
Location: Dallas, TX
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#14 Post by goodtimetribe »

alois wrote:@ darkbee

Thank you for mentioning HFS. Just tried ist out. Very handy little app :!:
I totally agree. I think that's one of the best recommendations I've seen this week.

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gp_hbk
Posts: 73
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 5:21 am
Location: India

#15 Post by gp_hbk »

I use very few applications because of size limit at 128 MB.
OperaPortable(Not OperaUSB)
Portable Gaim
Mplayer with MPUI
HTTP File Server (HFS)
µTorrent
Portable ClamWin AntiVirus
Foxit Reader
Notepad++
PowerMenu
My favorite Application is OperaPortable as it has a lot of features and performs only one read-write cycle from startup to exit.
I'm looking for a stable file browser which has the functionality of Xplorer^2 and looks as good as Windows XP Explorer.I'm also looking for a way to run 7-zip's File Manager portably. It's supposed to be the most efficient free Archive Manager.

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