Computing From Your Thumb

For techies (read: Geeks) like me, there is a certain comfort in the thought that I always have my data with me. So I often go around with my PDA (currently a Palm Tungsten|T) around and that means I'm travelling light. I usually have my notebook with me (an Apple iBook), an iPod, and my PDA. Whenever I need to wait for something or someone, I prefer to wait in a wi-fi hotspot -- usually a coffee shop -- and I surf the web (my one true addiction) to while away my time.

However, its not always practical to bring around a year's salary's worth of gadgets and I'm starting to experiment on alternative ways to go around with my data without having to lug around a small fortune in my bag. The answer: The USB Flash Drive.

There are websites devoted to creating a "computer-in-a-USB Drive". This allows a geek like me to go around with my data while not lugging my computers around. This is done by specially compiled programs that will run off the USB drive. As of this writing, I have tried using an application called "Portable Abiword", an MS Word clone that can run off a USB drive. The sucess of this trial is leading me to try a pre-packaged "Portable Application Suite" found at http://www.theinfobox.com/index.php/Portable_USB_Apps but I'll need at least a 512 MB USB drive.

If I'm sucessful in this experiment, it will also help me at work since I often shuttle between offices and it gets a bit tiring to lug my gear between two offices.