That said, we typically opt for installer-free apps that we can just drop in a single directory to be synced on all of our machines. (I personally currently use SugarSync now.)

A standalone app to burn CDs or DVDs is just one example of what I’m talking about. No clunky installs of Nero (which I think weighs in at about 400mb now) or Sonic or anything similar… just double-click the portable app’s EXE and start burnin’. There are more than a few portable burning suites that we’ve encountered in the past but the following titles are some of the more solid entries.

First up is daBurner. Sure, it’s the youngest of the bunch but you shouldn’t let that fool ya… as it does exactly what you need it to do: burn stuff. Here’s the official description: “No advanced burning options and complicated configuration. No integrated backup-mediacenter-slideshow-virtual drive stuff. It’s just a stupid burner. For smart people.” This one is aces in my book if not only for that beautiful description but also for the fact that the software is genuinely insanely-easy to use… unlike many burning apps.

Next up is Infrarecorder. It’s definitely more feature-packed than DaBurner and offers up dual-layer DVD recording, CD/DVD-RW erasing, ISO & BIN/CUE burning, disc copying, audio track burning and more. Infrarecorder’s been around for a while so there’s definitely something to be gained from its experience.

Finally, we come to DeepBurner. This one isn’t as feature-packed as Infrarecorder but it’s got a pretty polished interface and it provides you with the basic functionality you need: burn audio discs, data discs, ISOs and bootable discs. The premium version of DeepBurner adds a few more options but there’s no portable version available for it.

There are some more (potentially more powerful) standalone burning apps listed on PortableFreeware.com but some of these require a little bit of manipulation to make them “portable.”

If, however, you do prefer the old-school method of running apps like these, i.e., by installing them, you’ll want to check out CDBurnerXP: a great, lightweight burning suite from the makers of Ketarin. In addition, the latest release of IMGBurn added a plethora of new features (no, seriously, go look at the changelog for ImgBurn 2.5) and it could potentially take my title for best free burning app available… period. It is, without a doubt, definitely worth the measly $2 donation that the author is kindly asking for on the app’s homepage. Do it. Be a hero. Donate that $2.

Did we miss any? (I can guarantee we did.) Let us know what your favorite portable burning app is in the comments below.

• Zoundry Raven – having recently gone open-source, Zoundry Raven is definitely the more mature and feature-rich of the three apps mentioned here. Like any good blogging client worth its salt, it supports multiple profiles, WYSIWYG editing, FTP as well as Picasa/Image Shack integration and more. ZR also supports custom fields… that one’s a biggie for you advanced WordPress users.

  

• w.bloggar – Like the Raven above, w.bloggar offers pretty much all of the blogging features you’d come to expect but in a (semi) less attractive package. (How superficial of us.) Still, it works quite well and should meet most all of your blogging needs. [via FreshFreeStuff.net]

  

• Firefox with ScribeFire – Sure, it’s an extension, not an application, but don’t let the fact that it’s dependent upon Portable Firefox sway you away from ScribeFire. It’s not quite as heavy on features as either Zoundry Raven or w.bloggar but it’s got a great interface and offers everything you need to get a quick post on your site… and the fact that it’s integrated into a web browser is both a blessing and a curse.

  

I’ve stumbled across a couple of other blogging clients that can act as portable applications like the ones above, the most notable of which being a portable version of Windows Live Writer, but it takes a bit of work to get them that way and I’ve found that once an update gets published by the author, your portable version goes kaput.

Know of any others we’re leaving out? Give us and our readers a shout in the comments.

NetWorx
Isolate bandwidth hogs, “track down suspicious network activity” or even just calculate your network speed using this standalone bandwidth monitoring tool. From SoftPerfect.com [via PenDriveApps]

JavaRa
In case I haven’t mentioned it before, I loathe Java. All the Java apps I deal with are horrendously bloated and, well, for lack of a better word, “crashy.” Forget the apps, the Java software itself is just as bad, in my opinion. That said, JavaRa aims to make the Java experience a slightly better one. This little gem will seek out and destroy old and redundant versions of the Java Runtime Environment… to make for a less-bloated JRE experience. From RaProducts.com [via PortableFreeware.com]

Plus, remember to read our article on how to sync these portable/standalone apps on all of your PCs using Syncplicity.

Know of a lightweight but powerful portable app we should cover? Let us (and our readers) know by dropping us a comment.

Blendables, a company that provides tools and components for both designers and developers, recently launched “Desklighter” into its labs program. The program essentially creates a portable application from an online Silverlight app.

There are a number of reasons one might want to do so. Perhaps you’ve discovered a Silverlight game or other such app that you’d want to slap on a USB drive for future use. Or, perhaps, you want to share your own Silverlight creation with a client or a friend. Without requiring them to deal with multiple files or with an Internet connection, you can hand them one file and they’d be able to easily explore your creation in all its glory.

If I’ve raised more questions than I’ve answered, check out the official page for Desklighter for some Q&A.

Related Post: “Get Started in Web Development with a Single Installation Package from Microsoft”