vincentkong.com » Portable Software

Virtual Deskops for Windows

Vincent Kong — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:19:27 +0000

My computer desktop in the office is always clutter with many windows of open applications, and since I couldn’t get a second monitor I decided to go for an alternative solution: virtual desktops. The concept of virtual desktops is not new, it’s available on many operating systems such as Mac OS, and Ubuntu, but for some reason Windows doesn’t have this feature.

VirtuaWin is a virtual desktop manager for the Windows operating system. After installing VirtuaWin, I configured it with the settings displayed in the screen shots below.

To navigate between virtual desktops (also called ‘workspace’), I simply drag the mouse to the edge of the screen.

Upgrading Portable-VirtualBox

Vincent Kong — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:59:06 +0000

Backup the current Portable-VirtualBox installation on your USB drive. e.g. G:\PortableApps\Portable-VirtualBox
Download the latest version of Portable-VirtualBox and copy it into G:\PortableApps.
Executing the downloaded file Portable-VirtualBox_v3.0.8-Starter_v4.0.0-Win_all.exe will bring up the dialog box below.
Click on the “Download Installation file of VirtualBox” button to download the VirtualBox installation file.
When the download has completed the path of the VirtualBox installation should be filled in. Check the “Extract the files for a 32-Bit/64-Bit system” checkbox based on your system and click on the “OK” button.
A new directory should be created in G:\PortableApps\Portable-VirtualBox. Inside the directory execute Portable-VirtualBox.exe and the VirtualBox installation will be extracted in G:\PortableApps\Portable-VirtualBox\app32.
From your backup Portable-VirtualBox copy all the files inside \data\.VirtualBox into the new directory G:\PortableApps\Portable-VirtualBox\data\.VirtualBox
When the copying has been completed you can run the newly upgraded version G:\PortableApps\Portable-VirtualBox\Portable-VirtualBox.exe

Configuring Pidgin to work with Google Talk

Vincent Kong — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:18:34 +0000

A while back the security department at work started to monitor our PCs more tightly which meant that I had to be more caution of what software I installed (including Google Talk…I probably shouldn’t be using Google Talk at all, but old habits are hard to break. ). Google Talk doesn’t have a portable version available for USB storage, so I decided to go with a portable version of Pidgin (a multi-protocol instant messaging client that supports Google Talks, MSN, Yahoo!,etc…).

Configuring Pidgin to work with Google Talk

Download and install the latest version of Pidgin
Open Pidgin and click on ” Add…”
From the drop-down box choose XMPP as the Protocol.
For Username enter your GMail username only (NOT the full email address).
For Domain enter gmail.com
For Password enter your GMail password.

Pidgin Add Account

In the “Advanced” tab:

Check “Require SSL/TLS”
Check “Force old (port 5223) SSL”
Enter for 443 for “Connect port”
Enter talk.google.com for “Connect server”
Click on “Save” and you are done.

Pidgin Advanced Settings

Running Skype on USB Drive

Vincent Kong — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:04:47 +0000

Skype is a software that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet (VoIP). A monthly subscription for unlimited calls inside Canada or the United States cost $2.95USD/month. Unfortunately, incoming calls can’t be received in Canada because it doesn’t support phone numbers for VoIP.

I use Skype a lot at home (helps me reduce my mobile phone bill) and at work (since I have many conference calls without any headset). At work I opted to use an unofficial portable version that can run on an USB drive.

Setting up Portable Skype

UPDATE: Skype Portable has been released!

To begin, an already installed version of Skype on the desktop computer is required. Please note that Portable Skype only works with version 3.8 and lower. Archive versions of Skype can be found at FileHippo.com.

Download PortableSkype.zip, a launcher program that help runs the actually Skype application.
Extract the zip file into your portable apps directory. e.g. G:\PortableApps\PortableSkype
From the desktop installation copy C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe to the Portable Skype directory G:\PortableApps\PortableSkype\skype

Skype can now be run from the USB drive by executing G:\PortableApps\PortableSkype\PortableSkype.exe

Running Windows Within Windows

Vincent Kong — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:10:50 +0000

A while back my workplace’s information security department decided to increase the security of our PCs. The increase in security meant my computer was more locked down with some administration privileges removed, and was being very heavily monitored. Not wanting to through to all the approval process to install free/open source software which aren’t company standards, I decided to create a virtual machine so I can still have my sandbox to play with.

VirtualBox is an open source software from Sun Microsystems that allows a “guest” operating system to run on top of an existing “host” operating system. A portable version is available at http://vbox.me, giving you the ability to create a virtual machine on a portable drive.

Creating a Virtual Machine

Creating a virtual machine with VirtualBox is very intuitive, just click on the “New” icon and go through the “New Virtual Machine Wizard”

Sun VirtualBox

New Virtual Machine Wizard

After you have completed the wizard you will be presented a screen with all the details of the virtual machine you just created. I’ve created a Windows XP virtual machine.

Windows XP Virtual Machine

To install the operating system onto your virtual machine. In the “Details” tab, click on the “CD/DVD-ROM” settings and check off the “Mount CD/DVD Drive” check box.

CD/DVD-ROM Settings

Insert the installation disc of the operating system in your ROM drive and click on the “Start” icon to being the installation.

Installing Windows XP

After the installation has completed un-mount your CD/DVD drive or change the boot sequence in VirtualBox before starting your virtual machine again, and you are done.

Running Windows XP Within Windows XP

Portable Remote Desktop Client for Windows

Vincent Kong — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 02:37:14 +0000

So far I haven’t managed to find a Remote Desktop client for Windows which can be installed on a portable drive. This might be a bit of inconvenience if you are trying to remote desktop from a public terminal that is locked down. After doing a bit of searching, I have a easy way to have Remote Desktop working on your portable drive.

For Windows XP:

Go to the directory C:\Windows\System32
Look for the files: mstsc.exe, and mstscax.dll
Copy the 2 files to your portable drive.

That’s it! To run the Remote Desktop client just execute mstsc.exe on your portable drive. If you have a U3 portable drive you can add a shortcut to your launchpad menu refer to the blog U3 and PortableApp.

This solution is not perfect as it leaves behind a file and some registry information in the client’s computer.

The file could be found at

%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\Default.rdp

The registry entries can be found in

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\

U3 and PortableApp

Vincent Kong — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 03:52:26 +0000

USB flash drives are very common nowadays and their size has increased from just being 64MB to as much as 4GB currently.

I am currently a owner of a 2GB Cruzer Micro drive which is power by U3 Smart Technology also known as the U3 smart drive. With this I can install any U3 compatible software on my USB drive, there are many U3 software that already exist: Firefox, Thunderbird, Putty, and FileZilla to name a few. Once you plug in your the USB drive to any Windows operating system computer, you can run all the programs installed, and as well have all your bookmarks, and personal settings, etc. available. When you unplug the USB drive none of your personal data is left behind the computer which is what I like the most. For more information about U3 visit http://www.u3.com, as well you can download many U3 software from here http://software.u3.com

If you do not have a U3 Smart Drive, it doesn’t mean you are out of luck The Portable App Suite a free software offers the same functionality and can work on any portable drive. U3 Smart Drive owners can also install PortableApp software onto their USB drive and can add a shortcut to the Launchpad menu by using the Shortcut Create 4U3 software