25 replies to this topic

[snoopyau]

Portable Linux programs for Eee with Xandros Linux , do they exist ?

Windows has a LOT of freeware and opensorce applications
that work portable (No setup/no install needed)

Sorry if this has been asked before . It would be handy to store
linux applications along with Windows apps in portable format
on a USB stick .

This way if anyone needs to reset the EEE you dont lose all the programs
nor have to go thou the hassle of reinstalling everything

[mkrishnan]

I think the fact that you can just install a complete Linux distribution on the USB to begin with, including your desktop, effects settings, documents, and applications... quite easily and without any cost (since you don't need extra Linux licenses) has slowed development of portable apps for Linux. That's usually what people do.

You can quite easily squeeze Ubuntu, for instance and a moderately hefty set of applications onto a four gig USB drive and still have plenty of document space. If you use a *small* linux distribution like DSL or Puppy Linux (e.g. the Breeezy project), then even on a 1GB USB, you could store a number of applications and documents in addition to the OS.

If you're willing to make some sacrifices on boot time, you can do this using a Live / Persistent type of installation (see http://pendrivelinux.com for examples). The advantage is that it will boot successfully from almost any Intel-based computer. Alternatively you can just format the USB as ext2 or ext3 and install a Linux distribution on it just as if it were the internal drive, and it will be significantly faster, but customized to your Eee....

From what I've seen, there isn't currently a working repository of easily installable Linux portable binaries, today.

Is a bootable USB an option?

[PeeeCeee]

Quote

Portable Linux programs for Eee with Xandros Linux , do they exist ?

Windows has a LOT of freeware and opensorce applications
that work portable (No setup/no install needed)

Sorry if this has been asked before . It would be handy to store
linux applications along with Windows apps in portable format
on a USB stick .

This way if anyone needs to reset the EEE you dont lose all the programs
nor have to go thou the hassle of reinstalling everything

Haven't seen any of these sort of programs but like you I think they would be great. Of course you can install on USB as described above but it isn't the same as having apps available on every different O/S you log onto. Portable apps for Linux would be great - I use them all the time under windows on a huge range of XP/Vista machines because you can for example use open office on a machine that doesn't have office installed or browse the web in an internet cafe without leaving too many "tracks" behind.

[PeeeCeee]

Quote

I think the fact that you can just install a complete Linux distribution on the USB to begin with, including your desktop, effects settings, documents, and applications... quite easily and without any cost (since you don't need extra Linux licenses) has slowed development of portable apps for Linux.

.............................

From what I've seen, there isn't currently a working repository of easily installable Linux portable binaries, today.

Is a bootable USB an option?

PS I wasn't trying to rubbish your suggestion I use portable O/Ss all the time too - just putting in my "vote" for true portable apps

[mkrishnan]

Quote

PS I wasn't trying to rubbish your suggestion I use portable O/Ss all the time too - just putting in my "vote" for true portable apps

Not at all. :) I understand the distinction. It's just that, as far as I can see, portable apps solutions for Linux are not available at this time.

[snoopyau]

Thanks but it wasnt what I was after .
I am guessing the way GNU/Linux is setup it doesnt support
running un-istalled apps/games which is a shame , theres a huge
push on Windows for portable apps more and more lately .

Windows still does for me have some good advantages at times
(eg portable apps , certain FREE apps that isnt on Linux/Mac)

Currently using NLITED custom Windows 2003 on my file server
and gaming box and using the default Linux on the EEE .

Ive learn more about Linux after using the EEE but having
portable apps on linux would make using Linux a whole lot better in my view.

[alanbcohen]

Actually, GNU/Linux doesn't have any limitations preventing you from running self-contained applications. It is just that most applications are distributed in packages that are 'dynamically linked' to their precursors. A package, like the Linux distribution of Firefox 3.0beta3, can be 'statically linked' which means everything it needs is contained in a single directory. (Linking is more complex than that, but for the purposes of this discussion, this is adequate.) The difference in Linux, I think, is more to do with the ability to create a separate user on a multi-user system. Since you would normally create a user with the rights to install their specific apps, portable apps were not needed. Well, times change!

[albkwan]

In Linux, there are some statically compiled binaries. They are just one big binary (exe file) for one program with all the required libraries already built into it. If you compile the program from source code yourself, you can always compile it as static binary.

Some softwares also have static binary available for download, e.g. xnview static. They are just not popular because there are too many different Linux distro with different libraries need to run in that distro. So, unless that program require just a few libraries (that does not change very often), then you can compile a static binary.

It would be good if we can establish a download source for such static binaries for the Eeepc.

[albkwan]

To be exact, most Linux programs are compiled to use shared (dynamically linked) libraries. This is for to reduce program size and save disk space.

To compile softwares from source code as static, I remember we add this flag during compiling:

make LDFLAGS=all-static

But I have not been doing this for a few years already (just using software packages other people have compiled), so I am not sure if this is correct for the latest version of gcc compiler. May be some other Linux users can confirm this.

[snoopyau]

would their be a way to re compile the source code of opensource apps from
going from install only to this static/portable run method ?

Using a gui program or script ?

[bfree]

There are a few different projects out there in this area though I'm only going to pimp klik! There's a thread in this very forum with details on how you can butcher klik into working on the eee under xandros or you can wait for klik to release some official debs for "klik2". I've been working on these pretty much since the other post and while they are probably good enough already to let loose for testing they've seen some major cleanups in the last few days and I haven't tested anything on my eee for more then a week! For a few links: screenshots and (afair) the only build issue for the eee though klikd doesn't make any real sense on the eee in simple mode anyway.

I'd be surprised if you don't see me posting links to some klik(2) debs tested on the eee before fosdem, though no promises. I'm leaning towards ignoring the AsusLauncher now and not introducing any code to mess with simpleui.rc unlike in the screenshot.

[alanbcohen]

Here is another link I ran into some months back. I is currently inactive, but there may be something of interest to you:

http://pafl.portools.com/

[oupsemma]

Quote

Here is another link I ran into some months back. I is currently inactive, but there may be something of interest to you:
http://pafl.portools.com/

Now, there are some portable applications, for Linux:
IceWeasel portable, IceDove portable, OpenOffice 3 portable, IceOwl portable, and X Term portable.
VLC and mplayer are to come soon.
http://portools.com/apps

<edit> In fact, there are really more apps to come:
http://portools.com/.../topic.php?id=3

IceWeasel (a.k.a. Firefox) - web browser
IceDove (a.k.a. Thunderbird) - email client
IceOwl (a.k.a. Sunbird) - task management
OpenOffice.Org - office on the go
XEmacs - full-featured text editing
GIMP Image Editor - image editor
Pidgin - instant messaging client
Kompozer - web designing
FileZilla - FTP client
Celestia - space simulator
Audacity - audio editing
Avidemux - video editing
MPlayer - multimedia viewer
VLC - multimedia viewer
Abiword - text editing
GnuCash - finance management
XPDF - pdf viewing
Task Coach - task organizer
Keepass - password safe
Frozen Bubble - fun, arcade based game
SuperTux - exciting Mario-like game
Frets on Fire - game like Guitar Hero

Edited by oupsemma, 04 January 2009 - 07:29 PM.

[iceberg]

I would like to point out that for an application to be truly portable in all senses of the word it needs to be platform independent. This actually requires the application be written in something like java.

This creates the problem that you now need Java installed. Oh but wait you can get Java to be portable, now the only thing you need is to have a different version of Java for each OS you plan to use. Depending on how many applications you would use this might take up less space than having the application installed to your flash drive 5 different times.

The big problem. most things are not written in Java and those that are are badly written and buggy or run incredibly slow. In a perfect world, Java would not take 200M pe install, and more apps would be coded in it.

All this in mind a good OS bootable flash drive really is the best answer, even though not all machines will let you boot off the drive, it's probably going to get you farther than installing the apps on your flash drive several times.

You can contribute this to the lack of hardware standards, big corporations not wanting to play nice with each other nor with the open source community, and Intel's horrid idea of just stacking new features into the x86 instead of just making a new processor that works better and saying tuff to the big OS corps.

But if you have a netbook, you can just about carry it in your pocket and not need to worry about all this.

[brainsys]

Quote

Now, there are some portable applications, for Linux:
IceWeasel portable, IceDove portable, OpenOffice 3 portable, IceOwl portable, and X Term portable.

IceWeasel & OO3 didn't work for me. Tried on both my stock Xandros 701 4Gb and on a desktop Kubuntu 8.10 system. Different errors or just nowt.

Anybody got them working?

[oupsemma]

I've just been trying IceWeasel on my eeepc 701 running Debian-eee. You're right, it doesn't work the way it was described on the site, aka simply unzip it and run the script!

To have it running, I had to go to the following file (after having given me all the necessary permissions on its files and sub-files!):
IceWeaselPortable-3.0.4 / App / usr / lib / iceweasel / iceweasel

it's this 8.4 KB shell script that you have to click on and run. And funnily, it is not labelled as iceweasel.sh. It's the file that is in the 6 files after the xulrunner folder.

On the PortableApps for Linux site's forum, it seems that some fixes will be done for the next release http://portools.com/forums/

Edited by oupsemma, 07 January 2009 - 12:34 PM.

[winotree]

This site seems to be down or MIA tonight. See Fatal error: Call to undefined function drupal_add_css() in /home/.halcyon/dkulchenko/portools.com/dp/modules/iconify/iconify.module on line 17 or is this an error on my device??

[malbry]

Hi,

Quote

I would like to point out that for an application to be truly portable in all senses of the word it needs to be platform independent. This actually requires the application be written in something like java.

This creates the problem that you now need Java installed. Oh but wait you can get Java to be portable, now the only thing you need is to have a different version of Java for each OS you plan to use. Depending on how many applications you would use this might take up less space than having the application installed to your flash drive 5 different times.

The big problem. most things are not written in Java and those that are are badly written and buggy or run incredibly slow. In a perfect world, Java would not take 200M pe install, and more apps would be coded in it.

As I've written in another thread, my freeware personal finance application Jabp can run entirely from a USB drive. It is written in Java 1.1, and so runs on just about any Java-enabled device (even with old versions of Java) including Windows, Mac OS, all Linux distros, Windows Mobile and some high-end smartphones.

Best regards,
Malcolm
www.freepoc.org

[greg.harvey]

I'm looking at the options. Good point, well made, re: Java (Eclipse was easy to get, even with Easy Mode) - but then if you're going to use a framework and take the performance hit, why not use WINE? Then you can help yourself to Windows portable apps (within reason).

I don't want to use a framework, so I think there is a space for native Linux portable apps (semantics aside) because as a technology business owner, and a Linux shop, I want to be able to give new joiners to my business a USB memory stick and say "pick a machine..." Imagine if your staff could carry their work everywhere (settings, apps and all) on a USB stick and sit down at any Linux workstation, anywhere in the world. With Windows they can. I think Linux needs to be able to boast the same.

And I *really* want to be able to swap apps between my laptop and EEE PC like this. =)

[linux_author]

x86 Linux portability? just don't strip your binaries after you build them...

:-)