Hi guys!
zdnet just sent me a download promo for a $40 program that "enables you to create a portable virtual desktop comprised of many of your favorite Windows applications"; and they referred to a blog of theirs that says in part:
"Ceedo faces stiff competition from some pretty large companies, such as Citrix XenDesktop and Client-side application streaming, Microsoft Softgrid, HP Consolidated Client Infrastructure and VMware’s ACE and VDI solutions. It also faces competition from ClearCube’s Sentry, Endeavors Technologies’ Application Jukebox, LANDesk’s Application Virtualization, Moka5’s LivePC, RingCube’s MojoPac and a few others."
Well, I don't see PA in there anywhere, and I'm having my own struggles with 64 bit W7... Windows Seven is not my idea!
This program is called Ceedo Personal 3.5.0.37, and their incomprehensible 'review' is at
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/virtualization/ceedo-application-virtualizatio...
I've been perfectly happy with many of the 'finds' here at Portable Apps, until the new w7 lappie started giving me trouble. Can anyone advise from personal experience?
Thanks much, & PA forever!
Visit the Community page
Join our forums
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Subscribe with RSS
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Mastodon
Follow us on BlueSky
First, not to knock your computer, but Windows 7 32-bit works so much better than Windows 7 64-bit on older hardware. I'm running it on a Sempron 2800+ (1.6GHz) with 2GB RAM (DDR1 400MHz PC3200). And it runs like a dream. Not *quite* as snappy as XP, but I'm not going back, Win7 is too nice.
Anyway, Ceedo offers pre-portablized applications on their site, but their real selling point is Argo or Agro or something, a capture utility that turns a regular program -- even one that shouldn't be modified, such as Microsoft Office -- into a portable application. The legality of doing so is questionable, but as long as you're just doing it for your own good, it will probably never be a problem. Ceedo offers a menu like PA, but more like the Windows Start Menu, and apps run through it get a funky orange border. It's kind of a sloppy solution, I thought, and for the $40 price tag, I'd rather just put that toward a good portable hard drive and get PortableApps. But that's just me.
Anyway, Ceedo is nothing special. It's like a paid version of PortableApps. The software is different, but it does the same thing. More or less. No, what's really cool is Xenocode. Look it up -- it's not for consumers, but they have programs that launch, not from a flash drive, but from a website. THAT is COOL. Different purposes, but still very interesting.
Thanks Nathan! The laptop was an 'offer I couldn't refuse'; but I hadn't realized the probs with old (but perfectly useful) software. I have a rhyming program from DOS days, a pricey screenwriting program that came on diskettes, CIVILIZATION III (an excellent pastime), a Library of the Future (4000 books), etc. None are acceptable to the 64 bit OS.
Regarding your great review of Ceedo, just one Q- are all 'portablized' apps standardized, or would each of these systems be proprietary?
what happened to backwards compatibility, xp mode, whatever? (dos mode, even)
I had 32b w7 so didn't experience this stuff, but it seems kind of stupid, no? So, you have to buy 32b w7 just to make your new (old?) computer work?
DAMN!
Surely M$ can offer you a 32b version using same key or something?
;>jamvaru
when I received keys from my college,i was told that I could use the keys interchangeably. But these are RTM images.
Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world
ok, so shrink the windows partition and install linux, using winE
it seems linux mint is nice
(or just do a strait wipe and clean install)
;>jamvaru
Yes, you can shrink the partition. My choice would be clean install and setup the partitions so you can have it the way you want it. I would suggest a data partition so that you can reinstall windows or linux and not trash your data. Just run portable apps off of the drive.
As far as linux, everyone has a preference. My suggestion is use virtual box (if you have the RAM) to play with the different discs and see which you like.
Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world
try different live cd's
I appreciate a distro that has options to run from a cd, with installs to both the hard drive of the computer and a USB device
funny thing, i can't remember the name of the one I am thinking of. I thought ubuntu, but now i'm not sure...
? - which distro's install to both the hd and usb devices?
I'm pretty sure one is Puppy
;>jamvaru
There's lots of them, in fact just about any distro worth it's salt runs as a live CD these days from what I know.
DistroWatch is probably a good place to start.
If you want to dance with joy then try DiscoWatch.com.
lots can run from usb. I suggestion running vb because the access rate for hard drives is faster then disc
Too many lonely hearts in the real world
Too many bridges you can burn
Too many tables you can't turn
Don't wanna live my life in the real world
Myeah, Ceedo's real attraction is indeed Argo. If that can deliver what it promises, then $40 is really worth it. I'd rather spend $40 than spend one whole week learning how to master portabilization for PortableApps. I personally will be giving Ceedo a long hard look. That isn't to say that I'll be abandoning PA anytime soon though.
The issue with Ceedo is that Argo doesn't work with the stuff that most people really want on it. Things like Microsoft Office that lock themselves to a specific PC do not work. That plus the fact that the apps that can be automatically downloaded from Ceedo's directory are usually months outdated.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
...I think Ceedo are just trying to offer a software resource for their virtualization product. If it had been me, I'd have simply included a link to www.filehippo.com and told users to download their binaries from there. So yes, their software library is constantly on the backfoot, but the software can be got from either the source or from a more up to date site like filehippo.
I've had every version of Office installed under Ceedo and they work without problems on any machine I've connected a Ceedo hard drive to.
Cambridge, UK
Ceedo only works with 'Enterprise' editions of Office since it does not lock to a specific machine via activation. This can only be obtained by large companies via packs of thousands of licenses.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
really no big deal, go for it, give pa a try
;>jamvaru
Resurrecting an old post, but the previous comments are factually incorrect.
(b) Argo is not some kind of portablization program. It was Ceedo's installer. That's now changed and installations are done directly from an Explorer window and simply clicking on the installation binary. It doesn't modify programs, so there is no 'legality' issues.
(c) The 'funky orange border' can be switched off, but it's a useful feature to know whether an app is running through Ceedo or through the Windows OS directly.
(d) I don't think it's a 'sloppy solution'. I think its pretty smart and I'm talking as a confirmed PA user! Ceedo has some definitely positives: (1) You can install pretty much any standard Windows installation binary (legally); (2) this means you can update as soon as the new app / version is released. PA do a good job, but there can be delays.
I think PA is good enough to stand on its own merits. I just felt that the previous comment was factually incorrect and smacked of a bit of PA brown-nosing.
Cambridge, UK
As I understand your comments, you're saying it simply downloads and unpacks zip files. So, what does it do about the binary mess left all over AppData, My Documents and the Windows Registries of the computers you use your 'portable' software on?
MJA