Hmmm, perhaps PFC could have a "last reviewed" date to indicate when an app was last checked. We double-check PA.c apps on a regular basis (and hear about it quickly when something changes in a new release and leaves something). A last reviewed date on PFC could let folks know when it's been a while since an app was double-checked. You could even setup a queue of apps that haven't been checked in a long time. It would also help keep listings fresh. And lots of members who otherwise would only being using PFC could contribute something back if you give them a guide on how to check.SYSTEM wrote:Correct, that may happen when portability is lost slowly.
I figuredSYSTEM wrote:I'd like to clarify that I prefer those choices as well.
Once I got a feel for PFC preferences, I only started making the suggestion when something within the app is broken or it really hurts portability (like rebuilding font cache on every PC).SYSTEM wrote:VLC was a "kinda, sorta, a little bit portable listing" and its entry should have been switched earlier. In most of the other cases where you've suggested switching an entry, the natively portable option hasn't been that bad.
You'd be surprised. We regularly get users who think portable software is supposed to leave no trace at all and have to explain things like prefetch and certain registry entries in Explorer and the like.SYSTEM wrote:I don't think so. To begin with, most people don't even notice if something is left behind. (On the other hand, if an application leaves files to a visible location such as the desktop, it's not portable in my opinion.)
True. But perhaps when there are instructions for a given app that differ from "download and unzip" or "download and run the portable installer" a quick messagebox warning could be shown to remind them. It could be on by default and disable-able in preferences by members.SYSTEM wrote:Won't work. We can't force anyone to read the instructions.
Being accurate (and fair) is more important than glossy when describing technical things. Your description would actually downplay the issue of actual features besides most recent files breaking with some apps. But definitely point taken on some new users not understanding what 'things' are in relation to breakage and left behind. I'll be sure to be more accurate in the future.SYSTEM wrote:Being inaccurate is better than giving a very bad impression.
True. And when there are listings like that, I try to hit a couple points about what works in the PA.c Format version. With apps like Opera where multiple small things break, additional minor things are left out and left to the user to discover when they break, of course.SYSTEM wrote:PFC folks, including me, dislike wrappers and that's why the natively portable version is usually listed as the main option. Note that we give the visitor choice. If a visitor considers something core functionality, he/she is free to download the PortableApps.com or winPenPack version.
I'm a bit confused by that view. The PortableApps.com Platform supports apps in any portable format including Zip files and standalone EXEs and lists them in the menu as first class citizens right alongside PortableApps.com Format apps, so users are free to use our menu, backup/restore utility and our other apps and utilities with any portable software they like. Our installer and launcher are both 100% open source, built entirely using open source tools, and completely free for both open source and closed source freeware vendors to use. Neither require the PortableApps.com Platform to function.SYSTEM wrote:To me, the whole PortableApps.com Platform looks like a vendor lock-in, even though it's open source.
Publishers can distribute their PA.c Format apps directly to their users, with our assistance or have us do it ourselves with their permission. And all our apps are similarly open to use with other menus, within the Windows Start Menu, or directly from Windows Explorer or the command line. Even our entire base platform is 100% open source. An interested developer can custom build their own version if they so desire (provided they follow the open source licenses and don't use our trademarks/trade dress, of course).
All that together is more open than any other portable software project and about as unlocked-in as you can get.