PenDrive Linux vs full install?

[Mark Widdicombe]

On 21 July 2011 14:30, Gilles Gravier <ggravier at fsfe.org> wrote:
>
> Hi!
>
> I am looking at having a Ubuntu (11.04) system on a USB stick. I have a
> 16GB stick available for that.
>
> If I take the Ubuntu Live CD and the USB installer, I can get something
> easily, working nicely, with some persistance... the Universal USB
> Installer lets me define 4 GB of on-stick storage. Nice. Inconvenient :
> no updates to Ubuntu on this system. It's always what was put on the
> stick when I installed 11.04 Live CD. Advantage : very easy to do. In
> fact, by the time I finish typing this mail, it will be done.
>
> Other option : put the USB stick in a machine. A CD in same machine...
> and perform a full installation of Ubuntu on that USB stick...
> Advantages, I can then run full updates. The whole stick is a disk with
> Ubuntu and data on it. Complete persistance of state. But... what are
> the inconvenients? Anybody try that? What do you think?
>
It works very well.  I have 10.04 on a stick which I thrust into my
employer's PC.  I haven't used their Windows (what's that?) for over a
year.  It is perhaps s bit slower than running from an internal hard
drive.