With more and more applications becoming deployable without the use of an installer (i.e. PortableApps and the like), you may wonder which option is best. After all, why install it if you don’t have to as this will surely clutter your system, right? As with just about any computer question, the answer is “it depends”.

Take 7-Zip for example which is available as a traditional installable application or a portable executable. Personally, I make extensive use of the shell integration (right-click menu options) 7-Zip offers, so I would go with the installable version. While this is personal preference, I would not want a program which is not “installed” making shell action entries in my registry for the simple reason that if I remove the program I would expect the uninstaller to clean up these entries. Notepad++ is another example which I would drop into this category.

On the other hand, a relatively flat program such as KeePass I would have no problem running the portable version. To my knowledge, this program does not modify any system settings other than an association with its data files (which I can live without). Also by running the portable version, you would not have the Start Menu entries and if the program supports auto updating, this may not work.

Again, it really boils down to personal preference. If you have any rules or factors which determine the deployment model you prefer, please share.

For those of you who carry USB drives with utilities to help diagnose and clean other people’s machines, a utility you might want to take a look at is Dr. Web CureIt.

This is a FREE anti-virus and anti-spyware utility based on Dr.Web Anti-virus scanner, which will help you quickly scan and cure, if necessary, a computer operated by MS Windows 95OSR2/ 98/Me/NT 4.0/2000/XP/2003/2008/Vista/7 without installation of the Dr.Web Anti-virus.

Since the utility does not require installation, you could have it on your flash drive and run it as needed. This can be an ideal suppliment/alternate scanner to run in the event the machine already has anti-virus present.

A handy utility to have on your flash drive is a screen capture program. This can be especially useful if you are troubleshooting an issue and want to get a snapshot of the data or error messages you are working with. A program which offers this functionality is FastStone Screen Capture.

FastStone Capture  is a powerful, lightweight, yet full-featured screen capture tool that allows you to easily capture and annotate anything on the screen including windows, objects, menus, full screen, rectangular/freehand regions and even scrolling windows/web pages. You can choose to send captures to editor, file, clipboard, printer, email, Word/PowerPoint document or upload them to your website.

FastStone Screen Captures boasts a pretty impressive list of features as well which would make it ideal for use as your primary screenshot utility as well. This utility is shareware which means if you like it and continue to use it, you should pay the author the one-time fee.

Often times I run across system utilities which I will post a tip about. Many of these utilities are portable and ideal for a flash drive because they do not require an installer and are “zero footprint”.

So for those of you who care a utility flash drive, what do you have on it?

On mine, I currently have:

• Process Explorer
• Process Monitor
• WinPatrolToGo
• Notepad++ (portable)
• 7-Zip (portable)

When using your computer you’re obviously sitting down at a place dedicated to it. You most likely have a computer desk (or one that acts as such) and that’s where you do all your computer stuff.

Periodically there will be times when you’ll want to access internet stuff elsewhere in the house or maybe even outside. Maybe you’re working in the basement and want to do a quick email check without having to go back upstairs. Maybe someone else in the family is using the computer and you’re stuck without until they’re finished. There could be any number of reasons to want some type of computer access off the desk.

Buying a laptop for minor computer duties like this would most likely be a waste of cash and possibly too large. You need something small and easy to use. And cheap.

This is where a Sony Mylo or an Apple iPod Touch becomes an attractive option.

Both the Mylo and the Touch have wi-fi with web browser, are small and slide easy into the pocket.

Neither of them are blazing fast by any means, but it’s a cheap way of using your local wi-fi off the desk and without breaking the bank.

The Touch is obviously the more expensive of the two (it is Apple, after all) and has some snazzier features, but the Mylo is cheaper has an actual keyboard (called a "thumb pad" on it.

Here’s the Mylo in action:

Here’s the iPhone/iPod Touch being used as a TiVo remote control (yes, for real):

To note, there are other handheld wi-fi devices besides the Touch and Mylo. But the point is if you were looking for a cheap way to browse on wi-fi internet in your house off the desk, this is the way to do it.

What would you recommend?

What other handheld wi-fi devices would you check out and why?

In a few short months it’s going to be 2009, and a ton of stuff has changed in the world of computing over the past almost-ten years. Some of the modern advancements have proven to be a notable improvement while others still produce the same crapola they did nearly ten years ago.

In this installment we’ll be taking a look at portable media.

Portable media

Everyone knows what a hard disk drive is, abbreviated HDD. However this is what’s termed as a “fixed disk”, i.e. one that stays within the computer that is not designed to be moved from place to place.

In the portable media arena there are four types that most people remember:

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

When the first consumer-grade portable video recording systems were introduced they were humongous and had extremely poor battery life. In addition to that they were heavy and gave you "camcorder shoulder" in short order.

As camcorders progressed in technology they started to become smaller but suffered from the same fate as their predecessors – they were stuck using linear recording mediums (VHS, Hi8, VHS-C, miniDV, etc.)

Further down the line, optical media was introduced in the form of direct-to-disc DVD both full-sized and 8cm-size.

For professional videographers, you still can’t escape tape. Not cost effectively anyway.

For everyone else, you can ditch your tapes and discs now by using a camcorder with built-in flash memory. No tapes. No discs.

Most people have seen the Pure Digital Flip camcorder. I have used one of these myself and can honestly say that yes, you will instantly love this thing compared to a traditional tape or optical media camcorder. First of all, it’s cheap (just over 100 bucks). Second, it’s stupidly easy to use. There is zero learning curve with one of these things. Third, everyone has USB and fourth (the best part), it runs on just 2 AA batteries. No need to hunt around for expensive proprietary camcorder battery nonsense.

For those interested it records up to 1 hour of video and yes it does have a zoom feature.

I know what you’re saying.

"I want HD in the palm of my hand!"

Ask and ye shall receive:

Above is the Sony Xacti HDTV tapeless camcorder. And yes it’s true-blue HD. The cost of this unit was last known to be $468. Yes, it’s a good coin for this but it is HD in the palm of your hand. Rock on, flash memory.