USB thumb drive applications (portable apps)

I wanted to propose a portable OS for my undergrad thesis a couple of years ago. However, for fear of delaying my graduation, my partner and I wisely decided to opt for a simpler and yet potentially useful mobile geo-tagging application.

It was a good thing that we didn't go for the portable OS - it was too much work for too little time. And besides, people were actually working on it and we just didn't know it.

Before we even had our final defense for our Geo-Tagger the portable free OS was already made public, Pendrive Linux: Boot and run Linux from a USB flash memory stick.

Right now, I just downloaded Portable Firefox from PortableApps.com through SourceForge.net.

If you're not logged in as Admin, you have choose on the Portable Firefox installer you downloaded. That means: go to the folder where your saved your installer (default is in the Downloads folder, C:\\Users\[username]\Downloads) and right click on your installer (e.g., FirefoxPortable_3.0.11_English.paf.exe) and choose Run as Administrator. Provide the appropriate username and password then click OK/Run.

Why install Portable Firefox on my non-portable desktop PC, which already has the latest Mozilla Firefox browser version installed? To test our newly updated websites without having to clear my own, very personal, Firefox's cache.

Deleting cookies is just too much of a hassle. Of course it's seriously better if you clear your Firefox cache in order to make sure your websites work in mint condition, but in another point of view: if there's something wrong with the update then it's bound to appear on the Portable Firefox application more that it will on the "regular" Mozilla Firefox PC version.

Aside from that, I also test it on Internet Explorer while InPrivate browsing mode:

Internet Explorer 8 helps prevent your browsing history, temporary Internet files, form data, cookies, and usernames and passwords from being retained by the browser, leaving no evidence of your browsing or search history.

Oh and collegues say that most site bugs now appear in Google Chrome more often or in the same number as they do in Internet Explorer 8.