I've used the portable apps menu for some years, always been a fan of the simplicity and the fact that it does what it says on the tin, as it were. Been using the same version of the platform (menu ?) for some years, as it just works, with no unnecessary bells and whistles. However, got a new flash drive today, so thought I'd download and install the latest one, 10.1.2. Didn't want the music so went for the 'basic' one. Oh dear. What's happened to the simple, uncomplicated menu I knew and loved ? Program firing off unasked, window grabbing the focus offering me stuff. I've deleted it from the drive, I just don't want that fancy autonomous behaviour thanks, and I don't want it romping off across the internet by itself just to offer me more stuff (as it appears to be doing, but then it doesn't tell me what its doing so I've lost trust in it..) Sorry, but I just want a simple menu that I can populate with the programs I want, so I'm going back to my old version, this is far too clever for its own good imho.
New: DesktopSnowOK (Jan 6, 2025), Platform 29.5.3 (Jun 27, 2024)
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If you upgraded from the old version, all it was doing was automatically checking for updates. It checks your apps, lets you know when they're out of date, and easily updates them all with a single click from you (or you can choose not to if you don't have time/bandwidth at the moment). By default, it's configured to automatically check for updates each time you start the platform as nearly all apps are these days (Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, Pidgin, etc).
If you prefer it not to automatically check and to only do so when you want to, just click Options, select the Advanced Tab and then untick the box for automatically check for updates.
If you installed a fresh install, it was just offering to let you easily grab any apps you want from our app store (just as if you clicked Manage Apps - Get More Apps in the platform). The PortableApps.com Suite is now 'build your own' as it makes more sense than offering pre-packaged suites (you get exactly what you want) and the Portable App Directory is how you can do it. The platform only does this when it's empty (no apps installed at all... for example, on a brand new install) for convenience. If you prefer not to have this behavior, you can disable it using the same process as above. Or just have a single app installed, since that's what triggers it. In later releases, we're going to have an 'intro' screen offering users to build their own suites, pick some recommended ones or do nothing, but we have not yet done translations for this. In earlier releases, lots of users were confused by a blank menu with no apps coming up after they installed, which is why it brings up the app store by default for now.
You can still pick and choose exactly the apps you want (both PortableApps.com Format and not) and only choose what you want. It's just far easier now as you can bring up a full list of all apps at this site and install what you want with just a few clicks (no need to manually download and install, though you still can if you'd like).
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Wow. I just installed the new suite a couple of days ago, after having not used the platform at all for quite some time and I have to say I have the exact opposite opinion. I love the new setup and the automatic update checks. It makes thing a lot easier and faster than checking and updating manually. The suite has definitely taken many steps in the right direction.