The 2000s was a decade of great change in the computer industry. The world had grown accustomed to corruptible floppy disks, blue screens of death, and achingly slow load times. In a few short years, all of that would change, as USB drives, better operating systems, and faster processors brought forth a new age of stability and speed.
Amidst this era of upheaval, Microsoft introduced a new technology. It was intended to increase performance on the cheap to a new generation of machines, but it would turn out to be little more than a gimmick that never really caught on. Let’s explore the easily-forgotten legacy of ReadyBoost.
Boost or Bluster?
You could set up a flash device as a ReadyBoost cache with just a few clicks after plugging it in. Credit: Microsoft, screenshot
When Windows Vista was launched in 2006, it was built to make the most of new technologies that were rapidly becoming mainstream in the industry. Chief among them was flash memory. The USB flash drive had risen to prominence as a defacto solution for removable storage, while digital cameras and PDAs had made Compact Flash and SD cards familiar items to many.
