A member asked that we have a presentation on
Ready Boost. This technology was introduced with Vista as a scheme to use an inexpensive
flash drive to cache Windows and program components that would normally be shuffled off to the hard drive when main memory could not hold them. Windows has always used
virtual memory to extend the capacity of the computer and allow us to keep multiple programs "active" simultaneously. Unfortunately, swapping data and code back and forth from the hard drive is much slower than real memory.
I installed Ready Boost when it was first available and discarded it after about 30 minutes. My memory is that
with Vista and 2007 technology, it ranged from ineffective to worse than before. Many of the online references are also from that era and came to the same conclusion. There are also questions as to the relative performance levels of flash drives compared to modern disc drives. Typically, Microsoft lowballs the minimal technical requirements and makes no promises as to your actual results with your usage.
Ready Boost apparently seems to install and work smoothly in Windows 7. There it might give a real, if minor, boost for some users at less cost than other useful upgrades.
Then there are functionality considerations. Ready Boost is most effective combined with a notebook computer which has a slower hard drive and less main memory, but is being asked to perform serious multitasking. However, keeping a USB thumb drive in the same slot in a notebook as you move from environment to environment is difficult. Plus, notebooks might have a minimal number of USB slots if you are also trying to connect a video camera and mouse. It would be more functional in a netbook with a, mostly internal, SD slot that you could leave the card in without fear of damage in your tote bag. Also, netbooks are much more difficult to upgrade than even most notebooks.
Ready Boost seems destined to join other Windows "features" such as
Briefcase (which actually reappeared on the desktop of my netbook) and
Bitlocker. That is to say; little documented and promoted, but still existent and used by a niche community. It could be considered equivalent to biological "
Junk DNA:" evolutionary dead-ends that do little now to advance the organism.
References:Review (negative) at PCWorld (aparently old)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/131742/readyboost_flash_drives_lack_significant_boost.html Wikipedia Ready Boost page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoostMicrosoft’s Windows 7 Ready Boost page, including usage instructions
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/readyboostReady Boost at MSDN (2006)
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspxReady Boost at TechRepublic (2010)
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/take-a-closer-look-at-readyboost-features-in-windows-7/2225http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/keep-tabs-on-readyboost-with-windows-7s-performance-monitor/2257Junk DNA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA#Noncoding_DNA_and_evolution
