PortableApps
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Where are the Mac OS X portable applications?
I just bought a 2GB SanDisk Cruzer micro drive from Best Buy (on a killer $45 sale this week, at least in CO by the way), and it offers support for 'portable applications' for Windows (and I'm sure Linux too, though I admittedly don't follow the big penguin that closely). In case you aren't familiar: portable applications, in this context, mean that an app (again, on Windows) can be installed on one of these mobile drives as well as run from it, including preference files and the like (the actual spec is called U3, and SanDisk has a hand in it, in case you're curious). For example: one could install a copy of Firefox on this drive and run it on a public or work PC, with all browser history, preferences and bookmarks saved on the drive - not on the host PC (these applications all have to be custom-built, and the U3 board has to approve them into the fold). Setting aside any obligatory discussion about security, this is an absolutely killer ability for the mobile nerd in many of us.Now I know most Mac OS X applications can run fine from one of these drives; heck, I run a few myself, including utilities for my iPod which I simply store right on the iPod (yes, it can do that, as long as you turn on disk use from iTunes). But why hasn't the second half of this 'portable applications' concept caught on with the Mac OS Xiverse? This concept and these apps could rock everyone's world, from the mobile student to freelancers and even the techies who are supporting Macs for businesses big and small.So where are they?Is the Mac OS X community simply not as worried about leaving their Firefox browsing history lying around on public machines? I doubt it. Are developers just not interested? Not likely. Could this be an example of the Mac community lying down while a truly useful innovation is dangling in our faces? Instead of throwing down my speculation, I'd rather open this up for discussion. What say you, TUAW readers?
