Expanding TPFC (to Mac and Linux)

[technicolordreamcoat]

just wanted to "test the water" how the admin staff would feel about expanding the site to portable apps for other major operating systems like Mac Os or Linux flavors

the database has reached an amazing amount of apps for M$ OS,
is TPFC ready to go the next step and extend the database to other major OSs?

i think this would raise TPFC to the next level,
it certainly won't hurt the page hits or popularity of this site

let's welcome our fellow Mac Os and Linux users that share our passion!
how do you feel about raising the bar and setting a new standard in the portable world?

[usdcs]

/pulling up lawn chair... pouring sparkling beverage...
/have copious snacks...
/waiting for the show to begin...

[technicolordreamcoat]

let's hope the staff feels the same way....

[teobromina]

I follow the evolution and continuous improving of three Linux distros that are very small and have portable apps (they say 'optional' or 'modules'):

Puppy (yesterday updated to v 2.14), DSL and Slax (with a v 6.0 testing release last week).

I know that there are some more else, but it is difficult to find other more easy than the mentioned ones.

*JT.

[Andrew Lee]

Based on my limited knowledge of Linux, is there any Linux app that is not portable?

I mean, with the right 'set' or 'setenv', you can point your config anywhere!

I have zero knowledge about Mac, so I am not sure what's the situation over there. Anyone like to comment?

[teobromina]

I think that it could be useful to open a 'folder' in the database on 'lives' Linux. When I say portable Linux I mean live ones.

Historically, the mainstream Linux have been installable OSs. The last years I see a tendency of issuing more live Linux distributions. At present time several Linux offer to you to run in live mode or to install them. In this way you may test if they suit your needs before to fix them. After several trials I concluded that I do not need to install any Linux anymore. This is because the live distributions are designed to test your hardware very efficiently. Nothing to compare to a regular installation process of any MS-Win, and the dayly startup process takes about the same time that to run any installed OS.

Most of Linux come in a bundle with lots of packages that you usually never use. This is not good for user education, because then you do not need to decide what you want, and you waste lots of resources (disk occupation for instance). Amongh the live Linux there are some distributions that have very interesting developements, consisting in modules, extensions or optional packages that you can use on the fly, without any setup process or with a minimum one. For a desktop user, not skilled in programming neither in Operative Systems, like myself, these Linux distributions are perfect because I may burn a disk as a starter, and I may have the extensions ready to use them in a portable way from a pendrive, like as for 'regular' portable apps in MS-Win I do.

The underlying concept is to take profit of the advantages of Linux with respect to MS-Win. We may discuss then on what app has a parallel app in both OSs. This could assure portability between OSs. And wont enter in collision to other pages like the devoted specifically to Linux...

Anyway if we keep the portable concept to Windows, this site will still be very good. I enjoy PFC, and visit the page every day in search of news

[usdcs]

@ teobromina

You can find a web site dedicated to Linux Live CD's here: http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

[AlephX]

@ teobromina

You can find a web site dedicated to Linux Live CD's here: http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

Good link!!!

I think the same than Andrew, but...

what´s this Mk... Nac... Mahch.. ah? Never heard about it!

[teobromina]

@ teobromina

You can find a web site dedicated to Linux Live CD's here: http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php

Good! If I had been able to lead someone through the good way ... until discovering Linux, I am happy. You will find another very good page on Linux (lives or dead) in http://www.distrowatch.com .

Anyway, we have to be a little concerned with the change that come with computers based onto an architecture of 64 bit, and the irruption of Vista and other OS that have such a base. We had a pleasant time the last 5 years that now is changing ...

Practical knowledge of other OSs could be usefull.

*JT.

[FlightGeek]

Based on my limited knowledge of Linux, is there any Linux app that is not portable?

I mean, with the right 'set' or 'setenv', you can point your config anywhere!

I have zero knowledge about Mac, so I am not sure what's the situation over there. Anyone like to comment?

As a long-time Unix user, I can point to two causes of non-portability in Linux/*BSD/Mac OS X/*nix:

1) Dependence on shared libraries which may not be universally installed.

2) Hard-coded path names.

Linux and FreeBSD both have "Live CD" versions where the computer can boot from a CD, leaving no trace on the hard disks. They are a nice way to try out an alternative operating system without disturbing your existing installation.

It is also an effective way to make it hard for the exploit du jour to infect your system.

An example of a Live FreeBSD distribution is FreeSBIE.

Modern versions of Linux, *BSD, etc. have nice GUI's, but Windows users will find that there is a learning curve.

[AlephX]

I think you all already know... but maybe someone can find it useful: it´s a link to:

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/

and http://www.hddsaver.com/content/18/index.html

[teobromina]

I was idle, and I decided to install OpenSuse. It is an impresive distro, with lots of packages (a DVD containing about 4 Gb of compressed software) and full featured. Installation was fine, nothing to complain. It took half an hour. The tunning took a little more, about one hour more.

The folders that I saw and used with Windows were not automatically mounted and I did not remember how could I mount the Windows partitions, therefore I could not use them. When I went to watch one of my favorite films, saved in format of an AVI file, with the multimedia player delivered with Suse, I realized that the codecs necessary to play the film were lacking...

Since I am not expert in finding such codecs, and I do not know how to install them in Linux, I decided to make a simple test: What about Puppy or Slax? Were they able to play an AVI film without any special adjustment?

They did! Though that both are 'live' Linux and do not need any install processs.

So I decided to delete my previous installation of Suse and to install Puppy in its place.

The installation of Puppy took two minutes. The tunning, including the checking of the 'boot launcher' Grub, about five more. I may see (an use) all my files of the Windows partitions. When I want to update the distro it will take 5 minutes...

Portability is a more wide concept, thanks to Small Live Linux like Puppy.

*JT.