I have tried various apps especially those OpenOffice ones. They were very slow to the extent they were frozen or not really usable. I tried on one laptop running Windows 7 Pro 64-bit with 4GB memory. I also tried on a desktop running Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit with 4GB memory.
Can somebody tell me what else I can do to improve the responsiveness? Does it matter if I run them on a standard user account, not an administrator account? Has it got anything to do with the size of the USB stick? Please advise!
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The email reader is not too bad though.
It is very much dependant on the quality of the USB flash drive. Not all drives are made equal and cheap eBay knock-offs may well prove almost unusable.
In addition, make sure you're using a USB 2.0 port and not USB 1.1, as that will hamper performance significantly too.
In addition, third party software such as resident virus scanners can interfere with an application's performance. So there are all kinds of reason why you might not be having the best experience with portable apps.
You should also note that OpenOffice in particular is one of the larger apps and it is slow, period. Or perhaps more accurately, it is slower. It's a huge app so don't expect it to load in seconds, even on a standard hard disk drive. Likewise VLC is know to be slow starting up because it is a pretty substantial app.
Try some of the smaller apps like Coolplayer and seem if performance is still unacceptable. If so, then there may we be something wrong with your flash drive.
When we buy a USB stick, how do we determine the quality?
Pretty much like everything else in life, stick with trusted name brands (in this case Corsair, Kingston, OCZ, sandisk etc etc.) and remember that you get what you pay for. So, don't try to skimp on price otherwise you may end up with junk.
If you look in the off-topic forum, there was a thread there not too long ago from somebody asking for suggestions for quality flash drives.
For apps you want to look for HIGH read/write speeds. DO NOT just go to the store and buy one like the average end user, you will get a horrible drive. For a good drive look for good brands(PNY, OCZ), fast read/write speed, long life of drive, Tech in the drive, no software included with the drive.
all your inputs.
As suggested,in the Off Topic forum I started a thread looking for a better USB drive. The ones I initially was most interested in did not seem to be available. Now I think I am going to buy a Patriot Xporter XT Boost.
In general I do not think USB drives are intended for this use case... running software. I went looking for the best read/write speeds I could afford. My Sandisk micro Cruzer (8gb)is a dog. Slow loads, bad latency, that is maybe a 5 second delay between clicking on something and the action. My 4gb micro Cruzer runs acceptably. I have come to believe the 8gb drive was defective in some manner.
What about the portable hard discs which are not too bulky to carry around? They seem to be more responsive and a good candidate for the job. Certainly USB stick is the best in terms of the size and the cost. In view of the efficiency we might have to consider the second best.
Portable hard drives have better performance than any flash drive I've ever tried. All of them max out the USB 2.0 pipe, and they don't get as bogged down with small files as flash drives.
Of course, most hard drives don't fit well in a pocket or survive a fall, but I suppose you can't have everything.
Are you talking about 3.5" hard drives because yes, they don't fit too well in a shirt pocket. However the 2.5" (laptop) hard drives fit just fine. My main concern with them, as you mentioned is the general wear and tear of carrying them around, and the possibility of damage. Having said that, USB Disk Drive typically don't thrive on a cycle through the washing machine if you forget them leave them in your clothing.
You can't have everything I suppose. 
Where can we go on the web to see test results for various brands and such when shopping for a USB stick?
;>jamvaru
I am not too sure if we can classify those Solid State drives 2.5" or 3.5". Whatever we do I carry my mobile phone (or your may call it cell phone) with great care. Most electronic components takes great care to handle. As you say we just can't have everything. I am sure when we overcome one obstacle, another might come up with new expectation.
SSDs (and any solid state electronic component) are quite sturdy. Intel's X-18 and X-25M, for example, have a shock tolerance of 1000 G/0.5 msec, operating or not.
Even an HDD turned off reaches only 250 G/0.5 msec (give or take).
"Save us, Porta-Jesus!"
(because "Porta-John" was already taken)
So many gigabits per millesecond? Really that fast?
hahahahahaha!!!!
whatever ;P
;>jamvaru
My Supertalent pico-c really did survive that with its head held high, even spin-drying.
And it's fast (enough) as ever, lost its sparkle though...
That's for everyday use.
Lately I more often use a 1.8" portable hard drive that I consider the best compromise of speed, capacity/price-ratio and portability.
do you have a recommendation, or best link for this?
i also have a supertalent 8gb i got on newegg for 12.99, works good, but not great
;>jamvaru
I have found the solid state drive pretty small, the size of which easily fits a shirt pocket. I think they are quite shock-resistant. I understand they have no moving parts.
I have a Western Digital Elements mini HD. Dimensions are about 5 by 3 by .75 inches. Best purchase I've made in a long time. The only thing I run that isn't run off of this drive is BOINC.
SWAG
You can turn on write caching. The drive will perform much better, but you'll have to make sure you don't unplug the drive without safely removing it first.
SWAG
the write caching setting is ignored for removeable FAT media in all cases, and never activates.
The only way to turn it on would be to format the drive NTFS, which adds a whole extra set of potential problems and issues.