PCMCIA Compact Flash adapters won't cut it due to the interface limitations. Most laptops you will run Vista on come with a Cardbus port (or 2) and due to all the devices built into these laptops, 9 times out of 10, you never use the port. You can slap it into the laptop and forget that it is even there for the most part, except for the speed increase, ESPECIALLY if you are doing anything that would typically cause a SWAP FRENZY like running many virtual machines on a laptop.
USB keys are handy when they aren't too slow for ReadyBoost (remember, not all USB keys are created equal). The only downside is that they typically will stick out like a sore thumb drive.
I've had the best performance with formatting my Lexar Lightning 4GB stick with FAT16 with 64K clusters. Why? ReadyBoost.sfcache is just one big file and there is no need for all the features of FAT32 or NTFS. I'm still curious why they didn't do ReadyBoost at the block level instead of the file level.
Either way, one thing that most people do not know is that ReadyBoost compresses all the content and typically gets really good compression ratios. It is almost like "Stacker"-on-the-fly for virtual ram. Sort of.
Another trick, now that VMWare Workstation 6.0 supports USB 2.0 in guest devices: Dedicated ReadyBoost devices for your guest machines. I am still working on trying out that idea but it should make Vista guests and Longhorn guests run faster overall. You can also get around the limit of one ReadyBoost device overall this way.
2007 has been crazy busy but it is a good busy. Some bad things have happened already but I am hoping it isn't the shape of things to come.
#1. I spent New Years Eve chasing a mouse in the house with the cats which there are a few differing accounts on what actually happened:
My wife recounts that night like this:
"I have to say, bar none, this was THE best way to wake up to 2007. I'm still laughing at the girlish screams coming from behind the closed closet door, trying to imagine Aaron dancing about with this mouse jumping at his feet."
Here is the actual account of the events, which I've edited for her:
"I have to say, bar none, this was THE best way to wake up to 2007. I'm still in awe of the warrior battle cries coming from behind the closed closet door, trying to imagine Aaron crushing this mouse jumping at his feet. "
#2. I've been on the road a lot working on Vista training, Citrix training and in March, Exchange 2007 training.
#3. Somewhat related to #2, a coworker passed on a promo code for the 71-236 (70-236) beta Exchange 2007 Configuration certification test, which I took last Friday, while sandwiched between 2 onsites. I have been doing a lot of Exchange 2007 labs on my laptop lately so I am hoping that I passed the test. It means one less certification test to take when the final version comes out.
#4. The cats chewed through the the air pump for the fish tank which promptly emptied the 20 gallon tank into our living room. The fish didn't make it but thankfully the carpet did.
#5. We're working on adopting a white Maine Coon cat in the upcoming weeks.
#6. My mom broke her foot due to years of being on prednizone (most likely) so she is on a different medicine for her Lupus which makes her severely immunosuppressed which is not good with 2 grandkids around.
#7. Lots of other stuff I am sure I am forgetting.
