Tunes - Tuneflow

Hexxeh, creator of the easiest way to test out Google's Chrome OS, has updated his unofficial ChromiumOS build to automatically update, support more video and Wi-Fi hardware, use webcams, and offer menu customization. All it needs is a 2 GB USB stick.

Chromium OS, the open source build of Google's upcoming web-focused netbook system, was made into a thumb-drive-friendly build early on by a helpful hacker named Hexxeh. His latest build, ChromiumOS Zero, adds Chrome extension support, speed boosts, and other goodies.

Whether your important data lives in the cloud, on your laptop, or on a different operating system, you shouldn't have to use sub-par tools to get at it. These downloads work with every major operating system, along with some not-so-major (mobile) ones. Photo by Mykl Roventine.

Last week's Hive Five vote was a heated one and involved all the high-noon drama of a dusty street shootout. PortableApps started with a strong lead, followed by LiberKey with a very respectable second place position. Both groups had noted on their forums that their respective portable suites were up for a vote. Early this morning LiberKey shot to first place with a sudden surge of votes, and by the time the polls closed they had squeezed out a small lead over PortableApps.

Once upon a time, easy remote computing was a pipe dream, now people routinely carry gigs of data around on flash drives smaller than a modest pack of chewing gum. Manage your apps and data with these portable application suites. Photo by basheertome.

Portable applications are quite handy; it's great being able to take a piece of software you use at home with you anywhere you go, settings and all. So what could be better? A whole suite of portable apps, packaged neatly together. Photo by Team Dalog.

After reporting on how thieves used Windows malware to steal sizable sums from small banks and businesses, a Washington Post reporter recommends a fairly air-tight solution for net banking: boot up Linux from a live CD or USB drive.

Windows only: Portable application NirLauncher bundles 100+ of the best NirSoft utilities into a single launcher window, and even allows you to add your own utilities to make a killer flash drive toolkit.