Just an idea.
Collectively I believe we could compile a list of all the Registry Keys that semi-portable apps leave behind.
I also believe we could compile a list of all the files throughout the computer these apps may leave as well.
This is something i think would be a great interest to alot of people, and i'm not just talking about the portable apps offered here, but a rather long list of apps.
In doing so we could create a bat file and an inf, (or better yet, a portable apps ourselves) that could do the cleanup work for us. Rather than sitting around waiting for all these program developers to get it done, why can't we?
First thing of course, would be to compile a list of applications..
Just a thought, opinions?
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Decided to collaborate on this, not only could you create a community knowledge base, but you would really help out the devs ;), too, especially with requests. Remember, a good number of them have school, family, or work to deal with in addition to the free open source thing.
Ashes
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The apps i would like to create an app/bat/inf for to remove all footprints on the machine, so far are as follows:
7-Zip
Crap Cleaner
CPorts (port scanner)
CyberShredder
Diskmon
Ethereal
Firefox extensions
Filemon
Foobar2000
GiveMeToo Packet sniffer (evaluation version)
HyrdaIRC
OperaUSB
Portable Ad-aware
Portable Spybot
Portable Spyware Blaster
Portable Abiword
Portable ClamWin
PortableFilezilla
Gimp
NVU
Portable Open Office
Portable Scribus
Portable Sunbird
Portable Thunderbird
Portable VLC
Power Defragmenter
Regmon
Restoration
Rootkit Revealer
utool
Winpooch
Avast (scaled down version)
Challenger Encrypt
FlushCode
FoxitReader
GenControl
HijackThis
Angry IP Scanner
Killbox
LockNote
MicroBurner
Notepad2
Portable Firefox
Pstart
Putty
SafeXp
Skype
McAfee Stinger
TightVnc
RealVNC
TrueCrypt
UPXShell
uTorrent
Torpark
Portable Soulseek
A good number of these don't leave footprints (be it files on the local disk or registry entries), but thought i'd address them anyways in case i'm missing something.
If no one wants to jump on this, i'll take it up myself. I'm no programmer, but i've done alot of testing and done some basic things in C, VB, and cobol (outdated i know). If i was to go a route to create an app that would delete the footprints of these apps (maybe even give the user the choice of which footprints to get rid of) which language should i go after?
Start with English and other people can translate. Then the translations are open for all to see (and comment on).
~Lurk~ Email
~Lurk~
I think he meant to ask what programming language would be the best choice for the task. The truth is, there is no "right choice." I use C++ for everything, even if it may not be the best fit for the task at hand, simply because I'm most comfortable using it.
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fatcerberus@yahoo.com [aim: fatcerberus]
"I do know everything, just not all at once. It's a virtual memory problem." ~Anonymous
But don't you get a bit less of the dependancy and user-rights issues with a c++ progie rather than VB and Python...? Or is that a myth? Anyway, if you head over to Portasoft,org, they've got a portable DevC++.
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Of course. If you use VB6, all the required DLLs are included in Win98 SE and higher (I think); the issue only arises if you're using VB.NET, which requires that the .NET Framework be installed locally.
As for Python, I think you can just stick the python DLLs in with the app and it'll run fine. So no user-rights issues there.
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fatcerberus@yahoo.com [aim: fatcerberus]
I have no witty remarks or quotes to share at the moment.
I think it's only Win2K and higher. A base install of Win98 (fully patched via Windows Update) doesn't run VB6 apps.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Odd... I was pretty sure Win98 Second Edition and WinME included the runtimes. You do know that 98SE is actually a separate version of Windows, right? It has a different build number than the first release of Win98.
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fatcerberus@yahoo.com [aim: fatcerberus]
I have no witty remarks or quotes to share at the moment.
I'm running it in a virtual machine within VMWare. I keep all the versions of Windows handy for testing the portable apps to ensure compatibility. I compiled a simple EXE in VB6 and brought it in. Didn't work.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
What I meant to say was C++.
(Dev-C++ is a great program, even better when it is portable.)
~Lurk~ Email
~Lurk~
I'm not a big fan of Dev-C++. I'd much rather use Visual C++ because the IDE is just so much nicer. I just wish MS wouldn't rely on .NET and COM so much. Makes portability next to impossible.
Honestly, .NET would be a great technology if the runtime was portable. Microsoft used to do this with its libraries... good examples would be WinG (DirectX's predecessor) and GDI+. You can just stick the DLLs for those libraries right into the application directory and never have to worry about anything.
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fatcerberus@yahoo.com [aim: fatcerberus]
I have no witty remarks or quotes to share at the moment.
Has anyone considered making a Wiki to do something like this? The first thing I thought of when I joined this forum was... "Wow, a lot of this information would make a lot more sense if it was in a wiki-format." Not to bash this site or this forum - because they are GREAT!
:nod:
I'm actually looking into it for PortableApps.com as it seems the best way to let everyone organize the types of stuff that have been discussed in the forums. I've been looking into Drupal modules that will allow me to use the same login/password and themes as the rest of the site here. The first Drupal wiki module is dead. A new one has promise but is still in alpha release (Liquid module). I'd like to avoid having essentially a separate PortableApps.com wiki site on the same server running on separate wiki software if possible. Two things to manage... no cohesiveness... different logins/passwords, etc etc.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
To integrate Drupal and MediaWiki for use with one users table, check this out.
Rob Loach [Website] [Projects] [Blog]
It'd be another piece of software to manage, but it would integrate the logins/passwords pretty well... and it works the same as wikipedia so I'm guessing most interested folks will be familiar with it.
I've got a little time next week, so I'll give a shot at installing it and linking it with Drupal on PortableApps.com. I'm debating putting it at portableapps.com/wiki rather than wiki.portableapps.com. I could also theme it a little bit to make it consistant with the rest of the site. I think, if the install works, a beta period to let users get their feet wet and start working on tips and how-tos would be in order. If all goes as planned, I'll make an announcement in the forums for beta testers.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Any update on if this wiki project has been dropped or if it is stuck somewhere?
John is having a "power struggle".
~Lurk~ Email
~Lurk~
wow, glad to see the responses and a wiki for this idea is a great idea. I don't know why it didn't cross my mind. I'll actually look into this tonight.
nm.. just read john's comment.. look before you speak. silly me.
Then we devs could just focus on actually doing the work.
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R McCue
PortaBlog Home and My Website
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."