Gizmodo: readyboost

Twisted ReadyBoost Drives From Apacer

msparkes — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:29:53 EDT

Vista's ReadyBoost feature is a great way to cheaply upgrade your computer, but for laptop users it's not so convenient. Having a flash drive constantly plugged in is awkward because they stick out at a right angle to the case. These new drives from Apacer can twist to lay flat against the laptop, which is far tidier. They come in different sizes, but the 4GB model will cost you $84. [SciFi.com]

Toshiba to Release 32GB "Limited Edition" ReadyBoost-enabled Flash Drive by December

kthompson — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:50:00 EDT

Diving further into the Windows ReadyBoost market, Toshiba is planning a new line of its TransMemory USB flash drives. The line, called U2K, will consist of 1GB-8GB models due out in October and a massive limited edition (which probably means producing them is so expensive that they need to test the market with a small initial batch) 32GB model that should drop in December. What would you do with an extra 32 gigs of system memory? Putting your plans into action will cost you a small bundle this winter: $200 for the 8GB model or a whopping $665 for the 32GB version. [Press Release via Fareastgizmos]

Vista's SuperFetch and ReadyBoost: How Does it Affect You?

Jason Chen — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 19:00:13 EST

Since you're all up to speed on Vista's SideShow feature, it may be time to check out Vista's other new introductions—SuperFetch and ReadyBoost.

SuperFetch tracks what kind of apps you use and loads them into RAM so they can be launched faster. ReadyBoost uses a USB 2.0 flash drive as cache in order to speed up some virtual memory transactions.

But how does this help you?

SuperFetch is a sort of super-cache. If you start and close a certain application multiple times a day, the regular Windows XP cache will make that faster upon subsequent launches. However, if you reboot and if you launch other apps, this caching data is lost. SuperFetch analyzes your behavior over multiple sessions, and if you open, say, your email, browser, and chat in the morning, SuperFetch will load those apps into memory as soon as you start up your PC.

Sure, loading more data into the faster RAM from the slower hard drive helps a lot, but the problem with this is that you'll need more "free" RAM in order to take advantage of SuperFetch. Tom's found that 2GB and up gave the best results in caching.

ReadyBoost, on the other hand, puts seeks to help out the slow hard drive by caching some data into USB 2.0 flash. By using a ReadyBoost-capable memory stick, you can take advantage of the near-instantaneous seek times on flash drives to get you your data quicker.

In Tom's Hardware tests, ReadyBoost decreased application launch times dramatically on a low-RAM system when partnered with SuperFetch. SuperFetch knew which apps to load onto the faster USB 2.0 flash drive, which then provided quicker access.

The gains when you have a machine with 1GB of RAM diminish, and diminish further when you have 2GB of RAM. However, if you've still got a ReadyBoost-capable drive, you'll still see benefits even on a 2GB machine.

Both of these features tell you that Vista works a lot better when you throw more RAM at it, and Tom's recommends at least 2GB if you're going to take advantage of the caching benefits of SuperFetch. – Jason Chen

SuperFetch and ReadyBoost [Tom's Hardware]

Save That Flash Drive: Vista Speedup or Tax-Deductable Gift

Charlie White — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 12:25:09 EST

Are you accumulating flash drives in a bottom drawer somewhere? Don't throw them away just yet because you can use them with Microsoft Windows Vista. Plug any USB 2.0 flash memory drive that holds at least 256MB but no more than 4GB into your PC and Autoplay gives you a choice to invoke ReadyBoost, where Vista will use the drive's memory as an additional disk cache to speed things up. Just click Speed up My System and you're off and running.

If you're skipping Vista or you're a Mac user, why not just donate your old thumb drive to charity? But hey, what the fuck do kids in Africa need with thumbdrives? How about food, education, computers, stable government.... – Charlie White

Faster Vista [Shiny Shiny]
Thumb Drive Drive [Inveneo, via boingboing]

Samsung 4GB Flash Disk: Windows Vista Performance Booster

Charlie White — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 10:39:08 EDT

Samsung is beginning production of a special 4GB solid-state disk (SSD) it says will dramatically speed up notebooks and PCs when using Microsoft Windows Vista. Using a Vista feature called Windows ReadyBoost, Samsung says this little flash disk will eliminate hundreds of exasperating multi-second delays when working with the operating system. According to Samsung:

"The Windows ReadyBoost feature of the Windows Vista operating system will intelligently populate the SSD with the data a user needs before they ask for it. It readies a user's favorite applications and data in the background, accelerating everyday actions such as starting applications and switching users. When a user requests that data, rather than being limited to servicing 100-200 requests per second (as with a traditional HDD), Samsung's SSD can service up to 5000 request per second, virtually eliminating data seek delays. The 4GB SSD can work in tandem with a hybrid hard drive, coming into play as a secondary source of cached data."

Samsung says this little performance booster can be hooked up via the ATA port, and located pretty much anywhere on a motherboard. We're hoping this device will also make Windows Vista start up faster. Will we see this on Macs, too? – Charlie White

Press Release [Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.]