14 DAY TRIAL // Virtualization used to be just a simple way to create a safe environment by emulating all the hardware of your computer into a different operating system. Nowadays, its capabilities have extended and portability through virtualization is the new trend. If some time ago you could install on your USB removable device only some software, specially designed to keep all the files in the installation folder, now you can make absolutely any application 100% portable, regardless of how complex it is or how deep it is rooted in the registry.
MojoPac is one way to make any software portable and use it around with no problems. It will emulate the entire Windows XP desktop leaving the impression of carrying an entire operating system on a memory stick. Installing an application would be just as if you were working on a regular XP computer. The downside is that it only works with XP, and Vista gains more and more turf.
Ceedo Personal is built on the same virtualization principle, just like MojoPac, but it eliminates the operating system barrier, being able to run on Vista, XP and Windows 2000. It is a $29.95 solution for letting you carry just about any software on the stick, regardless of their level of registry addiction. For now, the application is in beta stage, so there are some glitches to be fixed, but overall it does a pretty good job. However, for this kind of money you will not be able to include any software in Ceedo virtual environment, as an add-on is necessary: Argo Application Installer. If only Ceedo is used, you'll benefit from a small amount of applications that are downloaded and installed from developer's website.
Installation should not take too long, but it all depends on your Internet connection (some files still need to be downloaded) and the speed of the portable device involved. Once this is completed, a welcome screen will provide links to the basic information about Ceedo. The application consists in a compact bar that places itself in the top part of the desktop, by default. Its position can be changed to any of the desktop edges and, to make it even less intrusive, it can be set to auto-hide.
Customization at this level is possible as the software permits adding shortcuts to the toolbar as easily and effortlessly as right clicking on the desired element and sending it to the toolbar. Also, the items can be dragged and dropped to any position you want, for quicker access. The toolbar can be moved to a different desktop margin with the mouse.
Easy Access menu is actually a launchpad resembling very much Vista's Start menu as the same arranging of the items is available. It will even keep into account the frequently used apps and place their shortcuts into a side list for easier access. Support is integrated in the launchpad giving you access to a quick tour of the application and to support page.
The transition from virtual environment to the host is marked by the color of the sytem tray icon of Ceedo. While in virtual mode it'll turn green and, when working on the host computer, it'll be blue. Regarding the icon placed on the desktop upon installing Ceedo, you need not to worry as safely ejecting the portable device from the toolbar will erase all traces, including the desktop shortcut and the one in QuickLaunch area.
A special section in Easy Access menu (Add Programs) lets you install new software on the stick, but without Argo you can only add apps designed by Ceedo, which include categories like Web Browsers, Fun & Games, Productivity, Instant Messengers, Photo Editors, Media Players or Utilities. Although there is plenty to choose from, some programs may not be readied by Ceedo yet for the virtual environment. The problem is not as thorny as it may seem, since Argo Application Installer is a Ceedo add-on with a price tag of $19.95 that can move any application to Ceedo environment. Using it is a wizard driven operation that guides the user through every step. At the end, any desired application will be included in the Easy Access menu list of software.
Configuration
Setting Ceedo Personal up is a walk in the park, as the app lays out a clear cut menu, with neatly arranged options. Configuration is divided into several sections ranging from General, Appearance and Security to Add-ons, Advanced and Hotkeys.
General tab covers the basics permitting language choice, copying the IE favorites to Ceedo, adding a shortcut to computer's desktop and QuickLaunch area, as well as launching welcome screen when Ceedo starts. Favorites copying to Ceedo went smooth and the process completed successfully, but we encountered trouble when using Internet Explorer. Although IE is included in Ceedo, the app will not preserve the version and start the IE available on the host computer. Our tests showed this behavior on both Vista and XP.
It seems that IE7 adds a new entry in the list of the application's bugs, as it prevents exploring Ceedo drive from Ceedo environment. This means that any application launched through Ceedo's "Explore" will actually be launched in host's environment, not the virtual one. Regarding other applications, Ceedo proved its ability of making them completely portable.
Appearance options refer to defining a username for Ceedo, as well as choosing a representative icon. If in the case of the name you get to type whatever you want, with icons the choice is restricted only to what the software has to offer: one of the 16 items.
Toolbar can be customized from the way it looks to the icons it contains, for quick access. It can be docked hidden or permanently visible and on top of all applications. As insignificant as it may seem, the toolbar plays an important role, especially if you need quick access to some of the frequently used applications.
As for security, Ceedo provides password protected access to the application, but this does not cover accessing the portable device using a file manager and snooping around through the files, or even launching programs. The password will only prevent access to Ceedo interface as everything else on the portable device is under no protection.
Temporary files can be saved either on Ceedo drive or on the host computer. In both cases, temporaries can be cleared upon exiting the software, only in the latter the operation is carried out automatically. Clearing these ensures more space on Ceedo drive as well as privacy of your computer session.
In Advanced setting, there is the possibility of renaming the portable device, as well as customizing the action to be taken when Ceedo drive icon is double-clicked: show Action Window, explore or start Ceedo.
Add-ons
In order to extend functionality, Ceedo makes available the use of add-ons. Unfortunately only two of them are available for now, one for making portable just about any software you want (Argus Application Installer) and the other for creating backups of Ceedo environment on any computer you plug it in (Backup and Restore). Both of them come at a price, the first one for $19.95 while the second has a tag of $9.95.
Ceedo is extremely simple to use and behaved quite well during our testing. However, it is still at the beginning of the road and the beta stage is really showing. In our case, the version of IE included in Ceedo was always the same with the one on host computer. Security is enforced only on easy access menu, as every file could be easily launched directly from Ceedo drive. It seems that there is no guarantee for Argo, as the developer published a very brief list of supported programs that could be made portable with the help of this add-on (only 13 of them).
On the bright side, on all our tests Ceedo Argo Application Installer succeeded in making portable a great deal of software and including them in the virtualized environment. The procedure is easy and requires no effort from the user. You may encounter, however, some problems with automatically updating virtualized software, that is why we recommend always uninstalling the previous version and re-installing the latest. It is a bit of effort, but this way you will avoid all mishaps.
The Good
Ceedo provides speed and a very nice launchpad to start your programs. The toolbar makes for a good storage location for the shortcuts to the most frequently used programs.
Easy Access menu is user friendly as it resembles Windows Start menu very much and offers users a neat perspective over installed software. Uninstalling applications can be done from the All Programs menu and choosing Remove Programs option (it will list all apps currently installed on Ceedo).
The application offers portability for all of your software and ensures that all traces are removed from the host computer once Ceedo drive is ejected (safely or not).
The Bad
There are issues to be solved, such as the automatic update function of some applications which right now is a complete screw up, so you have to manually update them by uninstalling the previous version and adding the latest one.
Explore option in Easy Access menu does not work in virtual mode if IE7 is installed on the host computer. Also, security does not extend over the entire Ceedo drive, but only over Easy Access menu, as everything else is easily accessible.
The price for having unrestrictedly run software portably is a bit high if you take into consideration that, to the $29.95 price for Ceedo, you should add the $19.95 Argo Application Installer.
On Vista, apps running from Ceedo drive were not appended the Ceedo logo, but there was no problem with this on XP (the red margin is also a sign of the program running in virtual environment).
The Truth
Ceedo Personal is still in beta stage so there is plenty of time for the developer to fix issues and lower the price. There are various aspects to consider, and the looks are not one of them. Working with it is child's play and the fact that it works on both Vista and XP only adds to its value.
The application does a wonderful job, but still needs brushing up and tying of loose ends in order to make it to the top. On the overall, Ceedo moves quite fast and working with it is done with great ease. Its price could be cut off with a few bucks as well as for Argo, but there are more important issues to be taken care of in order to make it to a completely functional, beautifully working final version.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
