cerebral odd jobs

I had a chance to actually try portable computing and some of the mobile apps How to make a Thumbtop PC. Here are my circumstances and here are references to what I learned.

Gear pictures here

• http://cerebraloddjobs.edublogs.org/2007/06/27/illustrated-portable-computing-devices/

On the Roadless Again –

Because I’m on the roadless system and needed to go to the nearest Wal-Mart 400 miles away, I decided not to lug the laptop. Extra weight and it left no room for a change of clothes, much less anything I might find at Wal-Mart if I got that far, and no liquids or gels.

First, all I had was a camera card. The laptop I had was too old for USB ports but did have PCI slots. My camera card reader also read CF cards, which held a lot (256 Mb) and were much cheaper than jump drives or thumb drives. Soooo, transfer data from desktop to card reader to CF card to PCI adaptor to laptop. Or, for roadless travel, simply to CF card and slim card reader (USB). I put Firefox Portable and Roboform 2Go on the card.

The motel had a “business center”, two older PCs with Windows XP but did have Internet connection. I found the USB connections (on the back of the machines) but these were only the slower USB1 ports. Nevertheless, I could access my drivette. Unfortunately, the network was set not to allow an Internet connection (also wouldn’t allow other people access to their corporate E-mail. They are working on a solution).

However, I did find a university library. USB2 ports on the flat monitor! (and on the back of the machines). I was able to get everything to work from the camera card. (With an Internet faster than I could read the screen to decide what to do next. Roboform found me in its database to configure itself properly to allow me access to all my passwords.)

A third situation was the only public “terminal” at the medical center, located near the Emergency Room. It was a PC but configured to only access the Internet. It did have a USB port but I had no way to explore my drivette and run Firefox.

The card reader, CF card, the PCI adaptor (to protect the CF card), and the USB extension cord (protects the USB connection from damage) are smaller than a cigarette package but larger than a thumb.

Enter Wal-mart (I finally had a chance to get away) and look for thumbdrive. Wonder of wonders, a 1 Gb SanDisk was only $20. I chose it because the comparable Lexar drive had an indicator of used space which seemed silly. The SanDisk had U3, a term I had seen but knew nothing of. Plus, there was no protector cap to lose (the connection slid in the casing).

What did I learn?

I had to find out what a U3 was. It is not a yet faster USB. It is a pre-configured way to partition a thumbdrive into an “operating system” partition and one for everything else (files and software). Basically, it makes the thumbdrive emulate a CD-ROM drive for the host computer. It also provides a launch menu of your applications, including an explorer function to find what else is there.

There are several U3-configured applications (see below) including Firefox, Skype, etc. However, it is possible to arrange your drive without U3. SanDisk even makes an uninstaller. The PortableApps suite at PortableApps.com also has just a menu launcher. Then, simply drag your portable application folders into the main directory and they are automatically detected. This is simpler than installing U3-configured applications.

I have not tried any of this on public systems like the three examples above. Although the portable applications are designed to run off the thumbdrives they do make some use of the host computer. (Unless you carry Windows XP on the drive, I think.) I suspect that the U3 partition has a chance to work on the hospital ER machine because the ER machine may just think there is a CD-Rom drive attached. Both menu launchers can be configured to automatically load when the USB is connected, just like a CD is on a desktop computer. (Not together, just one or the other.)

I have settled for now on keeping the U3 partition and default launcher. I also use the PortableApps launcher and placed Firefox and Roboform 2Go there, along with an anti-virus program and the portable version of Abi-Word (so I can retype my resume if needed which is normally processed in MS Word. Gone are the days when nearly all of Word could be put on one truly floppy disk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk) and documents on another for use anywhere.)

One thing overlooked in much of the thumb drive discussions is the reminder that these drives use “flash memory” and after a period of use, the drive is jaded and must be discarded. In comparing jump drives for purchase, no one seems to mention lifespan. I don’t know what happens at the end of life. This is another reason for not adding everything to a portable flash drive and relying on it for a primary computer or storage device (back up!!!).

Another concern I have is security of the drive from the host computer and Internet. I suppose the anti-virus may help, but this is most useful when returning home and plugging in the drive (Don’t transfer files without checking for viruses first.) Getting a portable firewall is evidently challenging because of the host-symbiont relationship necessary to get to the Internet. Encryption and virtual machines are possible, evidently, but make things slow. It’s not yet that big a risk for me to figure out. (Password protect your goodies on the drive.)

Here are references I found most useful in addition to those earlier http://cerebraloddjobs.edublogs.org/2007/06/05/how-to-thumbtop-pc/–

Portal for Portability
http://www.no-install.com/ (news, views, self-help)

U3 - ‘Official’ Portable USB Apps Platform
http://www.everythingusb.com/u3.html also a U3 Newbie Guide with USB Apps Popular Questions Answered

Tools and Utils for your USB Drive
http://usb.SmithTech.us

Portable USB Apps - TheInfoBox.com
http://www.theinfobox.com/index.php/Portable_USB_Apps

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“Gizmo’s top picks of the best tech resources and utilities” Issue 146, 21st June, 2007
http://www.techsupportalert.com/

5.1 How to Improve Your Security When Using a Public Terminal (Part 2 of 3)
There is no 100% safe way to enter passwords from a public terminal. That’s a fact….
So what can you do to improve your security when entering passwords?

USB Flash Drive Security
# 1 Encryption
# 2 Password manager
# 3 Virus Scans
# 4 Key Loggers
# 5 Backups
http://www.theinfobox.com/index.php?title=USB_Flash_Drive_SecurityUSB
Flash Drive Computing: Heaven on a Stick?

USB Flash Drive Computing: Heaven on a Stick?
Support Alert subscriber “Briard” takes a break from his expeditions into Linux-land and wanders instead into the very different realm of portable computing (June 2007)
http://www.techsupportalert.com/briard_in_usbland.htm

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Customize Your Drive’s Autoplay Action, Drive Icon, and Disk Label
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1849712,00.asp

RoboForm2Go-U3 Version and Roboform2Go regular
http://www.roboform.com/
RoboForm, via Fred Langa’s recommendation, really is worth the purchase. So is Roboform2Go to make sure your passwords aren’t left behind. If you need only a few portable passwords then things such as Chris Seaton’s CSPassword (last version, 9.0 is from here http://cspassword.tripod.com/ ) or Oubliette (last version from here: http://www.tranglos.com/free/oubliette.htmll) will work.

« Telecommuting Tools - Pandemic Plan: Preparing for the next flu pandemic.
http://reports.typepad.com/pandemic_plan/2006/04/telecommuting_t_6.html

U3 Software Central
U3 Smart Application Update
http://u3applications.blogharbor.com/blog

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