Anyone running Vista is probably aware of the ReadyBoost and SuperFetch features. ReadyBoost works by using flash memory, USB 2.0 drive, SD card, CompactFlash or any kind of portable massive flash storage as a drive for disk cache.
ReadyBoost is also used to facilitate SuperFetch, which performs analysis of boot-time disk usage patterns and creates a cache which is used in subsequent system boots.
But if, like me, you're still using XP you can get pretty much the same results with something called eBoostr.
It's basically like adding extra RAM by simply plugging in a USB flash drive. It actually works with all applications but I'm finding it particularly useful with graphics and music editing apps. And, most especially, on my laptop. The only drawback, as it were, is that one has to keep the flash drive plugged in at all times so that it effectively becomes a permanent part of ones machine. But with 1GB flash drives going pretty cheaply these days (around $10 in the US) it shouldn't be a big deal to have one dedicated to this.
It's available as a free trial download; the only limitation being that it's only functional for 4 hours at a time so one has to reboot. Or the full, limitless Pro edition is available for $39 (26 Euro or £20). Then again, there's always that Bit whatchamacallit...
In any case, for those running XP it's certainly cheaper and easier than installing extra RAM.
Anyone interested can check it out at
http://www.eboostr.com/