Some favorites

These are a few programs from my "must-have" list that I have been carrying around.

Free Commander
K-meleon - "pocket" version - http://www.mc-fadzean.fsnet.co.uk/computing/kmeleon.html
Fractal Explorer
YoGrep
IrfanView
Popcorn
NeoMem (TreePad works too)
EDXOR

There are lots of others that should travel well. Anything that you can just unzip and run...I learned a lot about portability from backing up things for frequent major Windows re-installs when I repartitioned my drive (the chaotic quest for perfect order). I first tried Fractal Explorer as a portable on a CD because of a young friend whose father wouldn't let her install anything. Now I carry a copy around with me to demonstrate fractals for others.

I love how the Portable Apps launcher lets me do pretty much the same thing I've been doing all along and just pops out the list like a good secretary.