Computing platforms | Technology Tales

A portable software repository comparison: PortableApps versus Portapps for Windows users

17^th September 2025

Moving between computers remains a fact of life for many people, whether working across office desktops and home laptops, studying in shared facilities or visiting clients and public spaces. Installing the same software repeatedly, then recreating familiar settings, can become a routine that wastes time and raises permission hurdles. Portable software aims to sidestep that friction by running without traditional installation, carrying preferences along for the ride, and leaving little behind on host machines.

Two notable projects occupy this space for Windows users: PortableApps.com and Portapps. Each offers a different route to a similar destination, and together they show how far the idea has progressed since the early days of USB sticks and limited storage. Both platforms enable users to create self-contained software environments that can travel between machines whilst maintaining settings and data integrity.

PortableApps.com: The Established Platform

PortableApps.com is often the first name people encounter, and with good reason. It has grown into a platform as much as a collection, providing a launcher that helps manage the entire portable environment. The project began in the early 2000s, created by John T. Haller, and has remained free and open source since then.

Core Architecture

The premise is straightforward. Applications are repackaged so they can live within a self-contained folder structure that can sit on removable storage or inside a cloud-synchronised folder. When launched from that location, they behave as if they were installed locally, only their configuration and data reside in the portable directory rather than the Windows registry or system folders. As a result, moving the folder to another machine brings the software and its settings along, keeping the host computer cleaner and reducing the need for elevated privileges.

The Platform Ecosystem

Much of the appeal lies in the PortableApps.com Platform, a menu and suite that acts as a hub. Rather than scattering shortcuts across the desktop, the platform collects everything in one place with a menu that can sit on a USB drive or a cloud drive. From here, users can run applications, group them in folders, mark favourites and initiate updates, all with a consistent interface.

The catalogue has grown substantially, now featuring over 1,400 portable packages spanning multiple categories: Accessibility, Development, Education, Games, Graphics & Pictures, Internet, Music & Video, Office, Security and Utilities. This includes major applications like LibreOffice, Firefox, GIMP, VLC media player, and hundreds of specialised tools across every computing category. That breadth helps the platform function as a complete environment rather than a one-off fix for a particular program. A person could keep a preferred browser with extensions and bookmarks, a document editor for quick edits, an image viewer for photos and a handful of diagnostic tools, all launched from the same menu.

Because the platform is designed to operate from cloud-synchronised locations as well, some forgo physical drives and keep their PortableApps directory inside providers like Dropbox or Google Drive. That way, the same set of tools appears on every machine where the cloud client is installed, with settings following through the sync client.

Portapps: The Modular Approach

Running alongside PortableApps is Portapps, an independent collection that also repackages Windows software to run portably, albeit with a different structure. Portapps distributes applications either as portable set-up files or as 7-Zip archives. Each title typically includes a small wrapper executable, named with a "-portable.exe" suffix, that orchestrates the portability layer.

Technical Implementation

That wrapper is written in Go and handles redirection of paths, environment configuration and other adjustments required to run the original application without leaving permanent traces on the host. The project is open source under the MIT licence, and many of its components live on GitHub, where users can watch releases and inspect how builds are constructed.

Usage and Transparency

Running a Portapps package is uncomplicated. After downloading the portable version of a supported application from the Portapps site or the relevant GitHub repository, the user extracts the files and launches the wrapper executable. The wrapper ensures that configuration and data reside in the portable directory and that the program operates without installing into Windows.

Portapps emphasises transparency around its build process. Properties and scripts are published, so observers can see how original sources are obtained and how wrappers are applied. Releases are versioned and binaries are provided, with wrappers scanned on VirusTotal to provide added confidence. The maintainers acknowledge that heuristic scanning can sometimes trigger false positives because of how the wrappers work, a reality that users should weigh against their own antivirus alerts and verification habits.

Application Focus and Updates

Portapps maintains a more selective catalogue of 54 applications, focusing primarily on modern software and developer tools. The collection includes popular applications like Discord, Visual Studio Code, Brave browser, VLC media player, Postman, IntelliJ IDEA, and various communication tools. The project targets contemporary software, particularly applications built with frameworks like Electron, and emphasises quality over quantity in its selections.

Recent releases continue actively, with regular updates to maintained applications. However, some applications are discontinued when the original projects become abandoned or when maintenance becomes unfeasible, demonstrating the project's pragmatic approach to software curation.

Comparison: Platform vs Modular

The distinction between the two projects emerges in how they are structured and managed, rather than in their core aim. This creates different advantages for different use cases.

PortableApps.com Advantages

PortableApps offers a full platform anchored by a launcher. It provides centralised update notifications and the ability to upgrade installed portable applications whilst preserving data. It integrates back-up functions and a customisable interface that collects everything into a single, recognisable menu. This arrangement suits anyone who wants a managed, coherent environment that travels intact from one machine to another, whether on a drive or inside a cloud-synchronised folder.

The platform's maturity shows in its comprehensive feature set: automatic updates, integrated back-up systems, theme customisation and extensive language support. The sheer size of its catalogue (over 1,400 applications across 10 categories) means users can often find portable versions of most common applications they need, from basic utilities to professional software suites.

Portapps Advantages

Portapps takes a per-application approach centred on wrappers. It does not bundle a unified menu or a site-wide update mechanism. Instead, it focuses on packaging individual programs so that each can run on its own from a portable directory. For some, that modularity is appealing because it keeps each application independent and allows for granular control over what gets updated and when.

The transparency of Portapps is particularly notable. All source code, build scripts and packaging processes are openly available on GitHub. This makes it easier for technically inclined users to understand exactly how applications are made portable and to contribute improvements or fixes. The project's focused approach means its 54 applications are typically modern, well-maintained packages that target contemporary software needs, particularly in development and communication tools.

Trade-offs and Limitations

Both approaches share similar constraints. Performance can lag when running from slow USB flash drives, especially with applications that read and write frequently. A modern external SSD or high-quality USB 3.x drive mitigates this, but older media can make the difference noticeable.

Compatibility relies in part on the host Windows installation. Some portable programs require certain components to be present or struggle if the operating system is very old or tightly locked down by policy. Security considerations apply to both: a portable device can be lost or stolen, so using encryption or secure storage matters if sensitive data are involved.

Another constraint is access to system-level features. Programs that need drivers, system services or administrative rights may not function as expected in portable form. Updates in Portapps require more manual intervention compared to PortableApps' centralised update system.

Which to Choose

The choice often comes down to preferences and requirements. Those who want a curated catalogue with a central launcher, integrated updates and back-up features will likely benefit from the PortableApps.com Platform. It reduces administrative overhead by keeping everything in one place and by handling upgrades whilst leaving settings untouched.

Those who prefer to choose individual portable packages, appreciate the transparency of wrapper-based builds, or focus on a subset of modern applications may lean towards Portapps. Both coexist comfortably because their aims overlap, yet their methods differ, and nothing stops a user from mixing them if that suits a particular workflow, though running two separate structures does introduce more to manage.

Practical Implementation

Setting up a portable environment generally begins with choosing where it will live. A fast USB 3.x flash drive or an external SSD keeps load times brisk and reduces frustration. If removable media is not desirable, a folder inside a cloud synchronisation service provides similar flexibility, just without the need to carry hardware.

PortableApps Setup

In the case of PortableApps, installing the platform to the chosen location yields a menu that can then be populated with software drawn from the catalogue. Updates can be triggered from within the platform and back-ups made as snapshots of the entire environment. The integrated app store makes discovering and installing new portable applications straightforward.

Portapps Setup

For Portapps, the process is more manual. Individual applications are selected from the website or GitHub, downloaded either as portable set-ups or archives, unpacked to a chosen directory, then started using the "-portable.exe" wrapper. Keeping track of updates often means revisiting the releases page for each application or subscribing to notifications.

Security Considerations

Security merits attention at the outset. Losing a drive can mean losing data, so encrypting the portable directory is wise, whether by encrypting the entire device with tools like BitLocker To Go or by placing the portable environment inside a container created with software such as VeraCrypt. Public or shared machines can carry malware risks, so scanning hosts when possible and treating sensitive actions with caution remains sensible.

Verifying downloads by checking hashes or signatures when provided, and scanning portable applications with antivirus software, adds another layer of reassurance. It is also useful to remember that even well-designed portable applications may leave temporary traces because Windows itself writes certain entries as part of normal operation. The objective is to limit permanent change, not to circumvent the operating system's behaviour entirely.

Performance Optimisation

Performance can be improved with a few choices. Using faster storage makes the largest difference, particularly for larger applications that read and write many files. Keeping the portable directory in a location that remains consistently available to a cloud client avoids sync stalls, and selecting a machine's local drive rather than a slow network path reduces latency. Ensuring that the portable environment is not subject to aggressive antivirus scanning on every read can sometimes help, though that has to be balanced against security policies.

Final Remarks

Portable software has matured from a niche convenience into a practical way of working that respects the realities of shared and changing environments. By focusing on containment, reducing dependency on installation and making updates and back-ups straightforward, projects like PortableApps and Portapps make it easier to carry a personal toolkit across diverse Windows machines.

The two platforms serve overlapping but distinct needs. PortableApps.com excels as a comprehensive, managed environment suitable for users who want everything integrated and maintained through a single interface. Its extensive catalogue and automated features make it particularly attractive for those building complete portable computing environments.

Portapps appeals to users who prefer transparency, modularity and direct control over individual applications. Its open development model and focused approach to specific modern applications make it valuable for technically minded users or those with specific software requirements.

Use cases abound for both approaches. Students and professionals who switch between school, work and home can keep a consistent environment without altering each machine. Technicians often carry diagnostic and repair tools that run without installation so they can assist on any PC they encounter. Travellers value having a browser and email client with their own preferences ready to use on shared computers.

With thought given to security, performance and management, both PortableApps and Portapps can add consistency to a computing life that is increasingly spread across locations and devices, all without imposing on the host systems that make it possible. The choice between them depends on whether one prioritises integrated management or modular control, but both represent mature approaches to an enduring challenge in modern computing.

Turn off display of popular highlights in Kindle apps for Windows and Android

19^th August 2024

When I read books on a PC, I often make use of the Amazon Kindle web app. However, I do use its Android and iOS apps on mobile devices, and the Windows app remains available. On these, I never have taken to using annotations, though the facility does have its uses for many. Another feature that I rarely relish is the display of popular highlights, since I find this a little intrusive. Usually, I go about turning it off for that very reason.

On the Windows app, this is straightforward enough. Go to Tools > Options through the menu bar. On the dialogue box that produces, pick the Annotations screen and remove the tick mark in the Popular Highlights section. Then, click on the Save button to close the settings box and return to the main application screen.

Doing the same on Android is much less obvious. First, you need to open a book. Then, tap on the text size icon (Aa) followed by doing the same on the More menu item in the pane that appears. Scroll downward until you find Popular Highlights and toggle the setting to its off position. Lastly, swipe down the pane to close it. Though you have done this with one book open, it applies to all.

While some have commented that touchscreen devices can feel more intuitive to use, that has not been born out by what Amazon has done. It fits into the same category as how they responded when Google changed the rules for in-app purchases. Then, Amazon decided to remove this from their app. While that was a financial and business decision, their approach to user experience on their Android app does need another look.

Making the LanguageTool embedded HTTP Server work on Windows 11

11^th August 2024

My choice of Markdown editor is VS Code or VSCodium, the latter being a fork of the former with Microsoft telemetry removed. In either case, I use the LanguageTool Linter extension for the required grammar and spelling checks. Pointing that to the remote web service offered by LanguageTool could get punitive, even if I am a subscriber. Thus, I use a locally installed equivalent instead.

In my usual Linux system, that is how I work. However, I have replicated the set-up on a Windows laptop for added flexibility. The needed the JRE, so that was downloaded from the Oracle website and then installed. The next step is to download the LanguageTool embedded HTTP Server zip file and decompress it to a chosen location. To run the server, the command like the following is issued from the Windows Terminal (the single line may break over two here):

java -cp "[Chosen Location]\LanguageTool-stable\LanguageTool-6.4\languagetool-server.jar" org.languagetool.server.HTTPServer --port 8081 --allow-origin

That is enough to get things going because it fulfils the default settings of the LanguageTool Linter extension in VS Code or VSCodium. The fastText application is unavailable for Windows, so I did without it. So far, things are operating acceptably, even if there is a way to address more memory should that be required.

Trying out a new way to upgrade Linux Mint in situ while going from 17.3 to 18.1

19^th March 2017

There was a time when the only recommended way to upgrade Linux Mint from one version to another was to do a fresh installation with back-ups of data and a list of the installed applications created from a special tool.

Even so, it never stopped me doing my own style of in situ upgrade, though some might see that as a risky option. More often than not, that actually worked without causing major problems in a time when Linux Mint releases were more tightly tied to Ubuntu's own six-monthly cycle.

Linux Mint releases now align with Ubuntu's Long Term Support (LTS) editions. This means major changes occur only every two years, with minor releases in between. These minor updates are delivered through Linux Mint's Update Manager, making the process simple. Upgrades are not forced, so you can decide when to upgrade, as all main and interim versions receive the same extended support. The recommendation is to avoid upgrading unless something is broken on your installation.

For a number of reasons, I stuck with that advice by sticking on my main machine with Linux Mint 17.3 instead of upgrading to Linux Mint 18. The fact that I broke things on another machine using an older method of upgrading provided even more encouragement.

However, I subsequently discovered another means of upgrading between major versions of Linux Mint that had some endorsement from the project. There still are warnings about testing a live DVD version of Linux Mint on your PC first and backing up your data beforehand. Another task is ensuring that you are upgraded from a fully up-to-date Linux Mint 17.3 installation.

When you are ready, you can install mintupgrade using the following command:

sudo apt-get install mintupgrade

When that is installed, there is a sequence of tasks that you need to do. The first of these is to simulate an upgrade to test for the appearance of untoward messages and resolve them. Repeating any checking, until all is well, gets a recommendation. The command is as follows:

mintupgrade check

Once you are happy that the system is ready, the next step is to download the updated packages so they are on your machine ahead of their installation. Only then should you begin the upgrade process. The two commands that you need to execute are below:

mintupgrade download mintupgrade upgrade

After these complete, restart your system. In my case, the process worked well, with only my PHP installation requiring attention. I resolved a clash between different versions of the scripting interpreter by removing the older one, as PHP 7 is best kept for testing. Apart from reinstalling VMware Player and upgrading from version 18 to 18.1, I had almost nothing else to do and experienced minimal disruption. This is fortunate as I rely heavily on my main PC. The alternative of a full installation would have left me sorting things out for several days afterwards because I use a customised selection of software.

Thoughts on eBooks

20^th August 2016

Recently, I have been doing a clear out of paper books in case the recent European Union referendum result in the U.K. affects my ability to stay there, since I am an Irish citizen. In my two decades here, I have not felt as much uncertainty and lack of belonging as I do now. It is as if life wants to become difficult for a while.

What made the clearance easier was that there was of making sure that the books were re-used and eBooks replaced anything that I would want to keep. However, what I had not realised is that demand for eBooks has flat lined, something that only became apparent in a recent article in PC Pro article penned by Stuart Turton. He had all sorts of suggestions about how to liven up the medium, but I have some of my own.

Niall Benvie also broached the subject from the point of view of photographic display in an article featured in Outdoor Photography because most are looking at photos on their smartphones and that often reduces the quality of what they see. Having a partiality to photo books, it remains the one class of books that I am more likely to have in paper form, even I have an Apple iPad Pro (the original 12.9 inch version) and I am using it to write these very words. There also is the six-year-old 24-inch Iiyama screen that I use with my home PC.

The two apps with which I have had experience are Google Play Books and Amazon Kindle, both of which I have used on both iOS and Android, while I use the Windows app for the latter too. Both apps are simple and work effectively until you end up with something of a collection. Then, shortcomings become apparent.

Search functionality is something that can be hidden away in menus, and that is why I missed it for so long. For example, Amazon's Kindle supports puts the search box in a prominent place on iOS but hides the same function in menus on its Android or Windows incarnations. Google Play Books consistently does the latter from what I have seen, and it would do no harm to have a search box on the library screen since menus and touchscreen devices do not mix as well. The ability to search within a book is similarly afflicted, so this also needs moving to a more prominent place and is really handy for guidebooks or other more technical textbooks.

The ability to organise a collection appears to be another missed opportunity. The closest that I have seen so far are the Cloud and Device screens on Amazon's Kindle app, but even this is not ideal. Having the ability to select some books as favourites would help, as would hiding others from the library screen would be an improvement. Having the ability to re-sell unwanted eBooks would be another worthwhile addition because you do just that with paper books.

When I started on this piece, I reached the conclusion the eBooks too closely mimicked libraries of paper books. Now, I am not so sure. It appears to me that the format is failing to take full advantage of its digital form, and that might have been what Turton was trying to evoke, but the examples that he used did not appeal to me. Also, we could do with more organisation functionality in apps, and the ability to resell could be another opportunity. Instead, we appear to be getting digital libraries and there are times when a personal collection is best.

All the while, paper books are being packaged in ever more attractive ways and there always will be some that look better in paper form than in digital formats, and that still applies to those with glossy appealing photos. Paper books almost feel like gift items these days, and you cannot fault the ability to browse them by flicking through the pages with your hands.

Killing Windows processes from the command line

26^th September 2015

During my days at work, I often hear about the need to restart a server because something has gone awry with it. This makes me wonder if you can kill processes from the command line, like you do in Linux and UNIX. A recent need to reset Windows Update on a Windows 10 machine gave me enough reason to answer the question.

Because I already knew the names of the services, I had no need to look at the Services tab in the Task Manager like you otherwise would. Then, it was a matter of opening up a command line session with Administrator privileges and issuing a command like the following (replacing [service name] with the name of the service):

sc queryex [service name]

From the output of the above command, you can find the process identifier, or PID. With that information, you can execute a command like the following in the same command line session (replacing [PID] with the actual numeric value of the PID):

taskkill /f /pid [PID]

After the above, the process no longer exists and the service can be restarted. With any system, you need to find the service that is stuck to kill it, but that would be the subject of another posting. What I have not got to testing is whether these work in PowerShell, since I used them with the legacy command line instead. Along with processes belonging to software applications (think Word, Excel, Firefox, etc.), that may be something else to try should the occasion arise.

Dropping back to a full screen terminal session from a desktop one in Linux

29^th May 2014

There are times when you might need to access a full screen terminal from a Linux graphical desktop. For example, I have needed this when installing Nvidia's graphics drivers on Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Another instance occurred on Arch Linux when a Cinnamon desktop update prevented me from opening a terminal window. The full screen command let me install an alternative terminal emulator, with Tech Drive-in's list proving helpful. Similar issues might need fixing on FreeBSD installations. These latter examples happened within VirtualBox, which has special requirements for accessing full screen command line sessions, which I'll explain later.

When running Linux on a physical PC, press CTRL + ALT + F1 to enter a full screen terminal and CTRL + ALT + F7 to return to the graphical desktop. In a Linux VirtualBox guest with a Linux host, these shortcuts affect the host instead. For the guest OS, use [Host Key] + F1 to enter a full screen terminal and [Host Key] + F7 to return to the graphical desktop. The default Host Key is the right CTRL key, unless you've changed it.

X sessions in GNOME and Cinnamon desktop environments support this functionality, but I can't confirm it works with alternatives like Wayland. Hopefully, this feature extends to other setups, as terminal sessions are occasionally needed for system recovery. Such mishaps are thankfully rare and should be virtually non-existent for most users.

Installing FreeBSD in a VirtualBox Virtual Machine

2^nd March 2014

With UNIX being the basis of Linux, I have a soft spot for trying out any UNIX that can be installed on a PC. For a while, I had OpenSolaris on the go and even vaguely recall having a look at one of the BSD's. However, any recent attempt to install one of the latter, and there are quite a few around now, got stymied by some sort of kernel panic caused by using AMD CPU's. With the return to the Intel fold arising from the upgrade of my main home PC last year, it perhaps was time to try again.

The recent release of FreeBSD 10.0 was the cue and I downloaded a DVD image for a test installation in a VirtualBox virtual machine with 4 GB of memory and a 32 GB virtual hard drive attached (expanding storage was chosen so not all the allocated space has been taken so far). The variant of FreeBSD chosen was the 64-bit x86 one, and I set to installing it in there. Though not as pretty in appearance as those in various Linux distros, the installer was not that user unfriendly to me. Mind you, I have experience of installing Arch Linux, which might have acclimatised me somewhat.

Those installation screens ask about the keyboard mapping that you want, and I successfully chose one of the UK options. There was limited opportunity for adding extras, though there was a short list of a few from which I made some selections. Given that user account set up also was on offer, I would have been better off knowing what groups to assign for my personal user account to have to avoid needing to log in as root so often following system start up later. Otherwise, all the default options were sufficient.

When the installation process was complete, it was time to boot into the new system and all that was on offer was a command line log in session. After logging in as root, it was time to press pkg into service to get a desktop environment in place. The first step was to install X:

pkg install xorg

Then, it was time to install a desktop environment. While using XFCE or KDE were alternatives, I chose GNOME 2 due to familiarity and more extensive instructions on the corresponding FreeBSD handbook page. Issuing the following command added GNOME and all its helper applications:

pkg install gnome2

So that GNOME starts up at the next reboot, some extra steps are needed. The first of these is to add the following line into /etc/fstab:

proc /proc procfs rw 0 0

Then, two lines were needed in /etc/rc.conf:

gdm_enable="YES" gnome_enable="YES"

The first enables the GNOME display manager, while the second activates other GNOME programs that are needed for a desktop session to start. With each of these in place, I got a graphical login screen at the next boot time.

With FreeBSD being a VirtualBox Guest, it was time to consult the relevant FreeBSD manual page. Here, there are sections for a number of virtual machine tools, so a search was needed to find the one for VirtualBox. VirtualBox support for FreeBSD is incomplete in that there is no installation media for BSD systems, while Linux and Solaris are supported along with Windows. Therefore, it is over to the FreeBSD repositories for the required software:

pkg install virtualbox-ose-additions

Aside from the virtual machine session not capturing and releasing the mouse pointer automatically, that did everything that was needed, even if it was the open source edition of the drivers and their proprietary equivalents. To resolve the mouse pointer issue, I needed to temporarily disable the GNOME desktop session in /etc/rc.conf to drop to a console only session where xorg.conf could be generated using the following commands:

Xorg -configure cp xorg.conf.new /etc/xorg.conf

In the new xorg.conf file, the mouse section needs to be as follows:

Section "InputDevice" Identifier "Mouse0" Driver "vboxmouse" EndSection

If it doesn't look like the above, and it wasn't the case for me, then it needs changing. Also, any extra lines from the default set up also need removing, or the mouse will not function as it should. The ALT+F1 (for accessing GNOME menus) and ALT+F2 (for running commands) keyboard shortcuts then become crucial when your mouse is not working as it should and could avert a panic too; knowing that adjusting a single configuration file will resolve a problem when doing so is less accessible is not a good feeling as I discovered to my own cost. The graphics settings were fine by default, but here's what you should have in case it isn't for you:

Section "Device" ### Available Driver options are:- ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False", ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz" ### [arg]: arg optional Identifier "Card0" Driver "vboxvideo" VendorName "InnoTek Systemberatung GmbH" BoardName "VirtualBox Graphics Adapter" BusID "PCI:0:2:0" EndSection

The next step is to ensure that your HAL settings are as they should. I needed to create a file in /usr/local/etc/hal/fdi/policy called 90-vboxguest.fdi that contains the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  <deviceinfo version="0.2"> <device> <match key="info.subsystem" string="pci"> <match key="info.product" string="VirtualBox guest Service"> <append key="info.capabilities" type="strlist">input</append> <append key="info.capabilities" type="strlist">input.mouse</append> <merge key="input.x11_driver" type="string">vboxmouse</merge> <merge key="input.device" type="string">/dev/vboxguest</merge> </match> </match> </device> </deviceinfo>

With all that set, it is time to ensure that the custom user account is added to the wheel and operator groups using this command:

pw user mod [user name] -G wheel operator

Executing the above as root means that the custom account can run the su command so that logging in as root at the start of a desktop session no longer is needed. That is what being in the wheel group allows, so anyone in the operator group can shut down or restart the system. Since both are facilities readily available on Linux, so I fancied having them in FreeBSD too.

Being able to switch to root in a terminal session meant that I could go on to add software like Firefox, LibreOffice, GIMP, EMACS, Geany, NetBeans, Banshee and so on. Though there may be a line of opinion that FreeBSD is a server operating system, all of these make it more than passable for serving as a desktop one too. There may be no package management GUI as such and the ones that come with GNOME do not work either, yet anyone familiar with command line working will get around that.

While FreeBSD may be conservative, that has its place too, and being able to build up a system one item at a time teaches far more than getting everything already sorted in one hit. So far, there is enough documentation to get me going, leaving me to see where else things go too. So far, the OS hasn't been that intimidating, which is good to see.

Uninstalling VirtualBox Guest Additions on a Linux Guest OS

8^th April 2012

Within the last few days, I updated my Linux Mint Debian Edition virtual machine installation to Update 4. Between not following the instructions so closely and problems with the update server, a re-installation preceded the update itself. When all was done, no desktop environment appeared, and issuing the startx command revealed that it was one of the VirtualBox drivers that was the cause of the problem. With my being unable to see any files on the VirtualBox virtual CD, something else needed doing and the executing following command (replacing [VboxAddonsFolder] with VBoxGuestAdditions-4.1.12 in my case, but it is different for each VirtualBox version) resolved the situation:

/opt/[VboxAddonsFolder]/uninstall.sh

When it was complete, a scrambled desktop began to appear, so a reboot was to set things to rights. Then, I could set to looking at what Update 4 had brought to Linux Mint Debian Edition.

All Change?

19^th September 2011

Could 2011 be remembered as the year when the desktop computing interface got a major overhaul? One part of this, Windows 8, won't be with us until next year, but there has been enough happening so far this year that has resulted in a lot of comment. With many if not all the changes, it is possible to detect the influence of interfaces used on smartphones. After all, the carry-over from Windows Phone 7 to the new Metro interface is unmistakeable.

Two developments in the Linux world have spawned a hell of an amount of comment: Canonical's decision to develop Unity for Ubuntu and the arrival of GNOME 3. While there have been many complaints about the changes made in both, there must be a fair few folk who are just getting on with using them without complaint. Maybe there are many who even quietly like the new interfaces. While I am not so sure about Unity, I surprised myself by taking to GNOME Shell so much that I installed it on Linux Mint. It remains a work in progress, as does Unity, but it'll be very interesting to see it mature. Perhaps a good number of the growing collection of GNOME Shell plugins could make it into the main codebase. If that were to happen, I could see it being welcomed by a good few folk.

There was little doubt that the changes in GNOME 3 looked daunting, so Ubuntu's taking a different approach is understandable until you come to realise how change that involves anyway. With GNOME 3 working so well for me, I feel disinclined to dally very much with Unity at all. In fact, I am writing these words on a Toshiba laptop running UGR, effectively Ubuntu running GNOME 3, and that could become my main home computing operating system in time.

For those who find these changes not to their taste, there are alternatives. Some Linux distributions are sticking with GNOME 2 as long as they can, and there apparently has been some mention of a fork to keep a GNOME 2 interface available indefinitely. However, there are other possibilities such as LXDE and XFCE out there too. In fact, until GNOME 3 won me over, LXDE was coming to mind as a place of safety until I learned that Linux Mint was retaining its desktop identity. As always, there's KDE too, but I have never warmed to that for some reason.

The latest version of OS X, Lion, also included some changes inspired by iOS, the operating system that powers both the iPhone and iPad. However, while the current edition of PC Pro highlights some disgruntlement in professional circles regarding Apple's direction, this does not seem to have aroused the kind of ire that has been abroad in the world of Linux. Is it because Linux users want to feel that they are in charge and that iMac and MacBook users are content to have decisions made for them so long as everything just works? Speaking for myself, the former description seems to fit me, though having choices means that I can reject decisions that I do not like so much.

At the time of writing, the release of a developer preview of the next version of Windows has been generating a lot of attention. It also appears that changes are headed for Windows users too. However, I get the sense that a more conservative interface option will be retained and that could be essential for avoiding the alienation of corporate users. After all, I cannot see the Metro interface gaining much favour in the working environment when so many of us have so much to do. Nevertheless, I plan to get my hands on the developer preview to have a look (the weekend proved too short for this). It will be very interesting to see how the next version of Windows develops, and I plan to keep an eye on it as it does so.

It now looks as if many will have their work cut out if they are to avoid where desktop computing interfaces are going. Established paradigms are being questioned, particularly as a result of touch interfaces on smartphones and tablets. Wii and Kinect have involved other ways of interacting with computers, too, so there's a lot of mileage in rethinking how we work with computers. So far, I have been able to deal with the changes in the world of Linux, but I am left wondering about the changes that Microsoft is making. After Vista, they need to be careful and they know that. Maybe, they'll be better at getting users through changes in computing interfaces than others, but it'll be very interesting to see what happens. Unlike open source community projects, they have the survival of a massive multinational at stake.

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