There is a "fork" of the portable apps platform called geek.menu (on sourceforge). I used it for some time now, but it is not so actively developted like here.
but
It has some features really nice to have.
1. simple eject command (if I want a automatic incremental backup of the dokuments e.g.)
2. integration of TrueCrypt (with seperate behavior on "unknown" computers)
- automount TC volume
- able to show owner info
- run different menus
other features are already integrated but differently.
Oh and one more thing, is it posible to add parameters to apps starting automatically?
thanks