I need some thinking-tools that can be run from a USB key. I'm a government lawyer with a need to gather and store documents and then draw on them for complex legal briefs and memoranda. Unfortunately, I can't add software to my office computer, and it has little besides the MS Office suite--without OneNote--on it. So I'm looking for applications like those discussed here that can be run from a USB key. There must be others here in the same boat, or who just want the portability of an application that can go from home to office on a key chain.

So far, my list includes:
Ultra Recall
EverNote
Essential PIM

What else is there? I have heard about some efforts to make USB keys work for more applications that ordinarily would not be portable. There is U3 technology, for instance, though I don't quite know what it is. And over at the Zoot forum, someone wrote triumphantly that he made Zoot work from a USB key by using "MojoPac, a new USB portable platform." Unfortunately, it appears that MojoPac works only if you have administrator's rights on the underlying PC, so that's no help. At EverNote, I read that "EverNote is shipped pre-loaded on all Lexar® USB flash drives that come with the PowerToGo™ portable software platform." So I looked up this PowerToGo software, but I can't tell whether it works for much more than a few select programs they have listed at their site. A site called www.everythingusb.com had a review of some of these technologies, but I didn't see one that thrilled them.

So I summon the braintrust here. Anything I left out? Any other ideas?

Gary

A few other PIM/outliner related programs that run from a USB drive, though I don't think any of them has the functionality you're looking for:

ConnectedText (www.connectedtext.com) - Powerful wiki
Notebook (http://notebook.wjduquette.com - Lightweight, but very useful wiki. It is just a single executable file, which can be run from anywhere. I use this to carry basic information around with me.
The Journal (www.davidrm.com)
Brainstorm (www.brainstormsw.com)
Notebox Disogranizer (www.geocities.com/goosnargh37/)

As I said, I don't think any of these provide the document management you seem to be looking for, but I wanted to provide a thorough list.

Steve Z.

Gary,

Visit the site www.treepad.com.

TreePad Business can run on a USB drive. I quote (from www.treepad.com/treepadbiz/)

"Portability
"TreePad Business Edition can also run directly from external disk (such as: USB disk, pen drive, thumb drive, flash drive, memory stick, etc.) without the need for any installation. Just copy the TreePad Business Edition program files folder from your harddisk to the external disk and plug this disk into another computer. That's all!"

-c

Whizfolders will run from a USB stick, but the developer doesn't publicise how to do this because that information could potentially be misused. If you're a registered user, he'll probably tell you.

Graham

Hi!

There are two sites with portable software collections. Maybe you can find something that suits your needs.

http://portableapps.com/

http://www.portablefreeware.com/

W.

Thanks everybody for all the excelllent ideas. I'm going to use some of these, certainly including Brainstorm and WhizFolders, which I had not known about. I have never checked out Treepad before, but it is such a standard that I probably will now. I can add another piece of software that goes on a USB:

Notezilla Portable

Someone mentioned Notezilla recently in this forum. I use it and like it, but had not realized they have a version for the USB key. For anyone who thinks they might like post-it software, NoteZilla is great. If you want to buy it at a good price, check out their discount page, where you are sure to qualify for a 30 - 50% discount:

http://www.conceptworld.com/NoteZilla/nz_offers.asp

I have also read good reviews of a free post-it software called Stickies, which some people think is almost as good as NoteZilla. It is at:

http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/

Thanks,
Gary

Hi Gary,

This is quite an old post, but just wanted to let you know that we have a new version of Notezilla - version 8 - http://www.conceptworld.com/Notezilla .

You might want to have a look at the new exciting features that I added to Notezilla 8: http://www.conceptworld.com/Notezilla/WhatsNew

Thanks for your positive words on Notezilla.

Regards,
Gautam Jain