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RAID RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independant Disks. The idea of RAID was first thought of at the University California at Berkeley in 1987. It's purpose was to improve storage subsystem reliability and performance. The concept initially consisted of clustering small inexpensive disk drives into an array such that the array could appear to the system as a single large expensive drive. The result of this initial testing found that the array of drives could actually deliver the same or better performance than the traditional individual hard drive. However, there was a problem with this implementation. The resulting Mean Time Before Failure of the array was actually reduced due to the probability of any one drive of the array failing. As a result of this finding, the Berkeley scientists proposed five levels or methods of RAID to provide a balance of performance and data protection.   ReadyBoost ReadyBoost is a feature of Microsoft Windows Vista that uses a high speed USB flash drive to cache data. Using ReadyBoost is not quite the same as adding physical memory.       ReadyBoost works on the principle that a computer can access memory from the USB much faster than it can access from the hard drive. ReadyBoost works on the ‘intelligent memory management’ of Windows Superfetch. When a removable memory device is plugged into a port on the system, Vista checks to see if the card is fast enough to work with ReadyBoost. Once this is confirmed, the system asks you if you want to use the card to speed up performance. Part of the USB can be allocated for memory and the rest can be used for storing files.     Refresh Rate The refresh rate of a monitor refers to the number of times an image is displayed on a monitor, repainted or refreshed per second. The refresh rate of a monitor is expressed in hertz. For example, a refresh rate of 85 indicates that the image is refreshed 85 times in a second. If your monitor supports low refresh rates, the screen will have irritating flickers and significantly strain your eyes.   Response Time Response Time refers to the amount of time it takes the crystals to change from one color to another (from fully white to black and vice versa) and the amount of time is measured in milliseconds. The lower the response time, the faster the screen refreshes. The latest display panels offer much lower response times and hence, higher quality displays.   RSS RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Many weblogs and news sites syndicate their content through RSS feeds. When a site is updated with new information, the RSS feed displays this information and spreads it to anyone who has subscribed to the feed. The gadget on the sidebar can take a feed from any site that offers RSS and then display new headlines periodically. Anyone can subscribe to a feed for free. Feeds are like a quick link back to a website; only the link actually represents the whole of an article. Why do sites offer RSS feeds? They want return visitors, and by giving you their content everyday through email or your favorite RSS reader, you will likely return. Most sites allow you to subscribe via email, which gives their content the best exposure over time. You can also click on the RSS feed link they provide on their site to be taken to their actual feed. From there, you will have options to subscribe depending on which Internet browser you are using.