In some forum posts I've seen here, it seems that some people overlook the value of having a portable version of an app that you only run from the hard drive. So far, I haven't run any portable app from a USB stick, only from the hard drive. I prefer portable apps because of
- They don't slow down the computer by insisting on loading on startup.
- They don't contribute to WinRot or Registry Rot.
- I can try them and if I don't like them, deleting them means they're gone from the system. Non portable apps usually don't uninstall themselves properly, leaving bits and pieces behind that clog up the system.
- If the Windows installation gets corrupted and I have to reinstall, I don't have to reinstall every single program and go through all their settings (it's usually the latter that takes forever).
Today the immense value of running portable apps from the hard disk, became even more evident. I just set up a new Windows laptop. Installing the apps was just a question of copying the "Portable Apps" directory from the old computer and voila - it was ready to go after just one single operation! OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird etc were up and running with all settings and customizations in one go, and lots and lots of hours of work was saved.
Thanks to all who have made this possible!