Let me preface my question by noting that I am a psychotherapist, not a computer guru. I'm married to a PhD in computer science but his area is quantum information theory and that offers little in the way of help.
My question: Is it possible to develop an XP-type operating system that will run truly portable? I.e. leave no traces on the computer when it is shut down? If so, is anyone working on that? Status?
Thanks for any advice you can give.
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A truly Portable XP?
It's Called a laptop
The only thing I know of that does that is Deep Freeze, it's used in libraries and stuff, and it just, basically it just reverts to the original settings every time it shuts down.
It's also used a lot of programming and testing, so you don't leave code or behind, or traces of viruses and that kind of fun stuff.
BTW-I'm pretty sure this isn't what you were hoping it is, but what your looking for doesn't really exist, and won't for a while.
http://www.faronics.com/
Lead, Follow, or get out of the way.
That's a good one, about a laptop.
But seriously, nowadays, the new generation ultra-portable PC's, called netbooks, are gaining in popularity.
Personally, I've been considering to get one in the near future.
Lots of info regarding the compact computing, or liliputing, can be found here:
http://www.liliputing.com/
http://www.liliputing.com/about-liliputing-compact-computing
A truly Portable XP?
It's Called a laptop
I love it. A perfect answer.
And very accurate also.
Ed
I just was explaining to my wife the meaning of RTFM and GIYF... and since she is reading, this is a good example...
RTFM: https://portableapps.com/node/12909
(Just kidding, no intention to offend)
If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
and the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
and the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
then the socket packet pocket has an error to report
Thanks, all, for the replies, even if I didn't hear what I wanted to hear.
Hehe, I've mastered RTFM and suchlike.
But then he goes off into qubits and Hilbert spaces and eigenvectors...
Because I regularly deal with psych files of a forensic nature, and have to work from all sorts of computers (attorneys offices, sheriff's departments, jails) I use an IronKey to schlep around my files. I guess I'd just feel more comfortable if, when I left those borrowed machines, I left not trace at all of my work there.
PLEASE, don't anybody tell me that an IronKey isn't secure...
Thanks again.
The human capacity for self-delusion is nearly boundless.
You really need a laptop for your work
Or, a laptop combined with a USB key...
Knoppix runs from a bootable CD (latest version is on DVD), and boots up without doing ANYTHING to the hard drive.
It does give you Read-only access to the hard drive.
It already includes relatively recent versions of some of the Favorite Apps here, like OOo (so you can work on MS Office files).
You can keep your files on your USB, and you can even run most of the PortableApps.com apps using WINE.
You will need to set your flash drive as Writable after you boot, since Knoppix by default sets them to Read-only.
Of course, as people have suggested, you could just buy a laptop, and subscribe to cellular internet service. You can still run Knoppix on it, and then even if your laptop gets stolen, there won't be a trace...
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
http://www.oqo.com/
"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)
But $1300 is more than I'd be willing to pay!
I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you.
I came accross this website today and remembered this thread.
fit-PC
"Because they stand on a wall and say, 'Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.'" (A Few Good Men)
Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.(Albert Einstein)
You might be interested about the WinBuilder project.