PortableApps is a program you run from your flash drive that gives you access to other portable applications that don't require you to install them on the computer you are using. Let's say you are using a friend's computer and they don't have a word processor installed on their computer but you really need to get some work done. Pop in your flash drive with PortableApps installed and start up OpenOffice.

Or maybe you work in an office that doesn't allow you to install certain programs. As long as they let you run things from a usb device, you can use PortableApps. It doesn't install anything on the computer and it doesn't leave garbage behind.

Here's the catch. Some of the programs are somewhat limited and most of the software is open source. So, you're not going to find a PortableApps version of Photoshop, but you are going to find Gimp, which is an open source (free) alternative.

A short list of available programs:

NVU and Komposer portable - a great free WYSIWYG HTML editor
GIMP portable - Photoshop-like program for manipulating images
Filezilla portable- FTP client
Mines portable- Minesweeper clone
Sudoku portable - The wildly popular puzzle game
Audacity portable - A simple audio editor and recorder
VLC Media Player portable - Plays most audio and video formats
OpenOffice portable - Compatible with most MS Office Suite programs
Firefox portable - A web browser
ClamWin portable - Antivirus on the go
Pidgin portable - Allows you to connect to your IM accounts like AOL, Yahoo and MSN at the same time!

(for a more complete list, click here)

It's more of a toy for me right now to use since I don't use other people's computers that much and I don't go to Internet cafe's. One co-worker said he uses it a lot to keep from having to install some of this software on his computer. Granted, the full version of these programs are not going to hurt your system, but as we all know, the more programs you put on your computer, the more your computer is having to work. I can see it as a time saver when I do happen to go to a friends house and am asked to fix something. Instead of downloading antivirus software or something like that, I just whip out my handy flash drive that's always with me.

PortableApps

And in case you are looking for a good deal on a USB flash drive, I found a 4GB one at Office Depot on the clearance table the other day. Or, you can go to newegg.com and find some good deals.