Autorun: security and usability -- enabling novice users

You certainly don't need to go away. I think autorun is a big PITA (pain in the ???) but as for the other points. If someone managed to download and install PAM they should know what double-click means. StartPortableApps.exe is in the folder when they open the drive, if they don't know enough to click it, well, how did they get this far?

As for root, that's a bit more obscure, but I believe the "root directory of your drive" is the "root directory of your drive" no matter what OS you're using.

The problem is Windows has been hand holding a whole new generation of computer users who never saw the need to learn "Computing" so don't know, or care to know, how it works, why it works, or how to fix it when it breaks.

Now don't get me wrong, I had to teach, and reteach my wife and be very patient, I empathize with novice users, I was one once. But if they don't take some responsibility to learn about their new toy, then it's just an expensive typewriter and not a computer at all.

Security is an important issue.

"...how many people understand the verb "double-click" or the noun "root" in this context..."
Everyone using Windows should be able to understand Double-Click. And root of the USB Flash Drive is just as expected the first thing that shows up after 'double-clicking' the appropriate 'removable disk'. The filename "StartPortableApps.exe" speaks for itself.

To be honest, I believe that anyone who can use the apps included can master starting the Portable Apps Menu, as that's the easy part. Only people who have little to none computer experience could have problems with it.

Calling the USB Flash Drive a sigarette lighter?? Maybe there's a small problem by confusing things from the get go

* when it does it! Sometimes the auto run doesn't autorun for me.

I think that most users who are using portableapps would know how to run it manually, especially if they are going to plug in a usb first. If they forget where the program is, they learn soon enough. Hell, I forget at times whether I have a program on my usb key or on my harddrive or if I am another computer, I may forget that it doesn't have a particular program, because my usb key plugged at my main computer.

And in regards to programs that install when you put the disk in, to me, that doesn't seem to be an issue since that's the point of an installation disk. The edumacation is to not let them just put whatever in the cd/usb, that they should know who it's from, or why you want to install it.

I can understand though, it may be that portableapps just has a threshold for use.

I just want to say that I like to know how computers run, and that I became geek because of Portable Apps.

I'm using the geek menu, so its now of no use to me. Use OpenOffice, make a pdf, and host it someplace, like esnips or a geocities page.

For security, I just don't plug into a "risky" computer.

My next project is to make linux boot enviroments on a flash- just as soon as I get a new one I'm thinking a sony microvault