Features & Software Continued

There's plenty more software and features to go over, the majority of which I will cover in the next two sections.

n-Act & Applications Management

This section will not only cover the bundled applications found on this flash drive, but also provide info on another unique feature it offers in regards to managing them in general. 

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The n-Tegrity Pro comes with an application called "n-Act".  In short, this is an excellent applications management tool that will allow you to not only define which apps to auto run when you plug it in, but also allows you to configure it with a number of additional third-party portable applications that are fully supported.  If you are unfamiliar with these apps, they provide a link to their own website where they display a high number of them, along with detailed installation instructions of each.  See a screenshot I took here.  You can also define a custom local app to load automatically if you wish.

In this section, I will also cover the four main applications bundled with the product itself and attempt to cover the benefits of each, as well as the drawbacks of running them in this fashion.

My IE

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The first app I would like to cover is one they refer to as "My IE".  Hence its name, it it basically a somewhat secure run of Internet Explorer designed to allow such functionality while ensuring the highest level of security and convenience.  In short, you would use Internet Explorer the same way you would normally but the key difference here is that everything is retained or recorded on the drive itself.  This includes browsing history, favorites and even your cookies.   Now, there is a downside to this kind of functionality and that is load times.  Browsing the web via the drive is significantly slower, as it consistently has to write to the drive to retain all data and/or activity.  As I will show you later in this review, its overall performance certainly is partly to blame here.  However, the whole concept is nonetheless enticing to those seriously concerned about security when away from their main computer.

Mozilla Thunderbird

For email, the n-Trigity Pro bundles none other than a portable version of Mozilla Thunderbird.

For those of you unfamiliar with this free email client, setting up your account/s is no different than other options and the Account Wizard will easily guide you through the process.

While not as robust as other options, you have your essentials and it does work well.  Also, remember that when importing contacts as I discussed previously, you have the ability of exchanging email between any in a completely secure environment.

Miranda IM

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Also bundled is Miranda IM.  For those unfamiliar with it, Miranda is a "light" IM client that is similar to other options on the market such as Trillian, which allows connecting to multiple accounts such as ICQ, Yahoo and MSN.  While I personally prefer Trillian, this was certainly a wise choice on their part.  It is a very light and flexible messaging tool and like all other apps, all data exchanges and history are securely recorded on the drive itself, leaving no personal data on any host machine you connect and use the n-Tegrity Pro on. 

Skype

Last but not least is the infamous Skype client.  Yes, not a great introduction but that is based on a personal level.  Being one who manages a growing network of users, I've had my share of issues with users abusing network bandwidth and excessive use of the application in general.  This resulted in extreme measures to block and prevent all access to this otherwise remarkable and highly convenient communications tool.  Hatred aside, Skype is an excellent communications tool that will provide many benefits.  While it is clear that most are already familiar with this tool, I will briefly comment on its functionality.  While it also doubles as a very suitable IM client, its main benefit is the ability to easily and inexpensively make calls over the internet.  While most consider it as a VoIP solution and it does primarily function this way, the major difference is that this tool uses a somewhat proprietary method (peer-to-peer) over what you would consider standard VoIP solutions.  As a supported application, this means that you can also activate this functionality via a number of areas, including your imported contacts. 

Next: Additional Features

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