I am currently writing this on Typora installed on Ubuntu, which I am running on a thumbdrive.
Persistent live, to be specific. It isn’t perfect. For example, it will not boot at all on my other computer. And yet, on this one, it seems to work fine.
I had a realization recently. While data is always king, and backing it up is important, I found myself without a computer recently. My computer crashed recently and had to be sent in for repair.
And while the data was all safe, I found myself with a different problem: work is more than just data, it is also workspace, applications, overall setup.
My email was safe, but without my computer, I could not check it. My ebooks were safe, but without my computer, I could not make more. My book covers were safe…
Get the picture?
So I spent that time while I awaited my computer to return setting up my wife’s computer for my use. Now I had a true back up, not just of files, but of function.
And still, the idea that I could have a full Linux install on a thumb drive, set up the way I wanted, to use on any hardware I could find is very appealing. This is a mini computer, just add, well, the computer.
I tried several things, from setting up a live USB drive, attempting a full install. It took a bit, but finally I got it. I used the live USB to set up MKUSB, and use this tutorial to make the drive.
It has a partition set up in FAT32 format, so when I put it in a normal computer, it will work like a thumb drive.
And all of that sounds great… but it still doesn’t boot on my computer, just my wife’s. Which tells me it will be not as clear cut to use.
So while the idea is still appealing, the execution is still wanting. I’ve not given up on this idea.
But think of it for a moment for yourself: what do you need to work other than your data?
(and for you Windows people, consider Portable Apps as well)
