My Technology Guide

Windows Vista and Windows 7 has a disk caching feature known as ReadyBoost. It allows a system to boost its performance by adding extra cache memory in the form of flash memory. Using a ReadyBoost-capable flash memory for caching allows Windows 7 and Vista to service random disk reads with performance that is typically 80-100 times faster than random reads from traditional hard drives. This caching applies to all disk content, not just the page file or system DLL. Flash devices typically are slower than a hard disk for sequential I/O so, to maximize performance, ReadyBoost includes logic that recognizes large, sequential read requests and has the hard disk service these requests.

Windows Live SkyDrive (formerly known as Windows Live Folders) is a part of Microsoft’s Windows Live range of online services. It is a free online storage service from Microsoft that offers 25 GB of online storage space, with each file limited to 50 MB, for its users to upload their favorite photos, files, media, etc. It uses Windows Live ID to control access to the user’s files, allowing them to keep the files private, share with contacts, or make the files public. Publicly shared files do not need a Windows Live ID to access. So as long as you have a Hotmail or MSN email account, you have a SkyDrive.

Even though Microsoft is offering so much of online storage space for free, they have not yet provided any easy and user-friendly way to upload files or manage uploaded files from the desktop. But you will now be able to easily access and manage SkyDrive files by using a free and easy-to-use Windows Explorer extension called as SkyDrive Explorer.