my flash drive crashed and burned the other night. lost 1GB of info.
i bought a u3 enabled flashdrive. i realize u3 has some free apps but does charges mostly for theirs. i support open source free software such as portableapps. my question is this.1 should i just leave u3 enabled on my flash and download free stuff. 2. or should i disable it? and if so, how do i do that? do i need to go buy another flashdrive? 3.can i use portable apps on a u3 enabled sandisk?
pros/cons/opinions solicited. thanks.
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u3 vs portable apps
May 15, 2009 - 7:00pm
#1
u3 vs portable apps
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U3 is in the past now and not worth using. Find out how to delete it here.
Yes, with U3 gone, it's just like any other USB stick, and you can install PortableApps (actually you could have both at the same time if you wanted.)
Congratulations on your now super-powered drive (with PortableApps)!!
U3 was bought by Microsoft and while they don't have their version out yet I don't think Microsoft is going to go away. They are a professional business with millions of shareholders and billions in the bank. They are not a small group of people working in their off time to pull the work of others into a menu. And yes I know there is a little more to it than that.
Yes, you can use U3 and Portable apps together. There is even an app somewhere that adds a menu item on U3 for PortableApps' menu. I'm not sure anyone ever did the reverse for PortableApps.
Ed
M.S. (I shall never say M!cr@s^ft*) bought u3!!!
I only knew they're just making a platform that'll crush u3...
What's wrong with saying Microsoft? Just saying it isn't an endorsement, and refusing to say it shows, and can inspire in some cases, fear. One of Harry Potter's little friends makes a great point about this at the end of one of the books (first or second one). They have a reason to fear the name Voldemort. Is the name "Microsoft" really that bad?
I recommend everyone who fears/hates Microsoft take a look at Triumph of the Nerds, a 3-part PBS documentary on the rise of Apple and Microsoft, as well as the film Pirates of Silicon Valley. I think most geeks have seen one or both or know the history through other means. Watching either/both will give you a bit of respect for Microsoft, at least where they're coming from. And it helps to have grown up through the 80s when "DOS" was just one platform of personal computer, and not all IBM-Compatibles were 100% compatible (e.g. Packard Bell). Microsoft's been slipping lately, and they're nowhere near as revolutionary as they aimed to be at the start, but I find it really hard to dislike them outright.
Open source, Linux, Firefox... these are good options, but in being good, they don't make Microsoft's equivalents necessarily bad.
Yes, I understand this, but still, PortableApps is the way of the future IMHO.
WithOut All The Hype
You can use our apps on your U3 drive.
You can use the U3 Launch Pad and the PortableApps Platform/Menu at the same time.
You can use any of our apps w/o any menu.
Your U3 drive/LaunchPad will continue to work the same tomorrow, next week, or next month as it does today on Windows XP and Vista (We won't know about Win7 till someone tests it).
I use my U3 drive for the password protection feature and for a few U3 Only programs that require the LaunchPad.
All my other apps are from this site.
If you want to remove the U3 LaunchPad that is up to you, a link to the tool was provided above. I tell folks to consider it one way street, do not remove the LaunchPad unless you are 100% sure you will never want it back, restoration has been known to fail.
There is no reason we need to think of our competitors or their products as Evil, use what works for you.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
1. Microsoft did not buy U3. It is still owned by SanDisk. What is referred to here is the new StartKey project CO-produced by MS and SD.
2. As long as your U3 drive works on Vista, it works on 7. There were issues with certain firmware versions being completely incompatible with Vista, but I use my U3 drive on the 7 Beta and RC (64 bit) no problems.
I won't argue over which platform is better, but what I can say is that one way that PortableApps beats U3 any day is in the group of people it has behind it. Take a look at the U3 forums and there are months without a single post. I think it's telling that it's called the PortableApps.COM Platform. It's the site that makes the platform what it is
Quamquam omniam nescio, nec nihil scio.
1. I never said that Microsoft brought U3, that was the Other guy
2. I never said that U3 would not work on Win 7, I said we would have to wait till someone tests it, which it seems you have, Thanks for the information, Good to hear
I won't argue over which platform is better, and did not above, as that was not the point of my reply. I merely stated that the user could use both and did not have to choose. That's all I said, and meant to say. And of course PortableApps ROCKS, I would never say other wise.
Tim
Things have got to get better, they can't get worse, or can they?
Sorry, just clicked on the wrong reply link, I was replying to the higher up posts, not you
Quamquam omniam nescio, nec nihil scio.