I saw an ad for it in a PC magazine, so I realzied, its simple.(in theory)

You should....

Get a small USB key, (16-128 MB).

Install portable Firefox to it

Plug the key into the computer of choice. Essentially, all the cache, cookies, etc. should go to the key.

I could be totally wrong, and oversimplifying something complex

Yeah, Maximum PC did an article on that.

If I saved it, I'll dig it out tonight, but I think the main limitation they found was managing the plugins and the size/speed of the cache.

i use it to get more access to stuff at school...
it works great

I have my own work-arounds but this is nice.

Installation is a bit different than how dkreifus described, you don't "install it" per-say, you just extract it to the thumb drive, and walla! no installation required.

And it's compatable with most extensions too. You can also make it work with Flash and Shockwave simply by copying the files from the plugins folder. You can also take along your profile, so your thumbdrive browsing experience is just like your main machine. I have the following on my USB drive:

Portable Firefox 1.0.7
Portable Thunderbird 1.0.6
Portable OpenOffice.org 1.1.4
Portable Sunbird 0.3
Portable Nvu 1.0


I have everything I need on this drive to have all my customisations with me at all times, because I sync it up every day. I have it just like my home environment. Most of the advantages of a laptop, but it fits in my pocket.

By turning a USB flash drive into a USB smart drive, U3 lets you carry programs and personal preferences, launch software, and access all of your own data on any Windows XP or Windows 2000 PC from a device the size of a pack of gum. Now you can move between multiple locations with ease. We call it smart drive computing. You'll call it convenient.