You can take OpenOffice (an MS Office rival) on the road with a USB key.
The open source Office suite OpenOffice now has a portable version, something that MS Office does NOT have.
Portable, in this context, means having the programs and data stored on a portable drive (most likely a USB ‘key’ drive). You plug the drive into a computer and run your programs from the drive without leaving any ‘footprint’ of your data on the host computer. With USB keys of 1GB and more this is a viable option (we have a section on USB memory sticks in our Office Extras Handbook)
This is a great option for people on the move, you can use programs you’re familiar with, not whatever happens to be available on the host computer. In addition your data including web favorites, settings and documents all stay with you.
It’s not for everyone but worth considering if you travel but don’t need to carry a laptop. Or you’re in some place that has Internet terminals but no way to connect your computer (such as a cruise ship or remote locations). It’s also an alternative to some type of terminal service (like Windows Remote Desktop) which requires a reasonably speedy net connection and some expensive setup.
http://portableapps.com/apps has a list of available ‘portable’ programs.
Aside from Portable OpenOffice there is also portable versions of the Firefox browser, Thunderbird email client and Gaim, a multi-service IM client.
OpenOffice supports the current Microsoft Office document formats (DOC, XLS, PPT) and hopefully will also support the new formats too, though there are some licensing issues to be sorted out.
That means you can use Microsoft Office on your regular computers, copy documents to a USB key to work on them while on the road.
