Software Review--Floppy Office

I've talked in the past about mobile computing, wireless connections and such. But connections don't mean much without having the proper tools. Nowadays it's no issue at all for a tech or on-the-go professional to carry a USB drive loaded with programs for running diagnostics, or doing their daily work. For a communicator like me, it's great to have that freedom - plug into any PC, and instantly have your favorite apps at the ready.

That said, I'd like to introduce one of my favorite apps. It's called Floppy Office, and it's an incredibly tiny piece of software. Like the name says, it will fit on one floppy (but who uses those nowadays?). Yes, it IS a complete office suite less than 2 MB in size. What does it include? I'm glad you asked.

• A word processor that reads DOC/RTF/TXT/HTML, and writes RTF/TXT/HTML.


• A spreadsheet program


• A zip utility


• A graphical FTP client


• A Windows Notepad replacement


• A file shredder (secure)


• An encryption program


• A full-fledged POP email client, close to Outlook Express


• An HTTP web server


• A tree-style outliner, like Keynote, all text-based


• A vector graphics editor


• A PDF creator. Yes, you read right, a CREATOR.

Here's a screenshot with most (if not all) the applications loaded.

What does this mean for writers, like myself? Writers deal in text. HTML, DOC formatting, everything like that is layered on top of text. The day-to-day words (like the stuff I'm writing right now) can be done more easily in Notepad than it can in Word. So if you've got tools at your fingertips to write in text, no matter what kind of system you're on, no matter where you are, you can still do your job.

Plus, there's something cool about sticking an entire office suite on a USB drive, with room to spare. Must be the techie in me.