RAM disks are a convenient way to achieve high performance in many applications. Hard drive accesses are hundreds of times slower than memory accesses. RAM disks set aside an amount of memory that the system can then use as a "normal" hard drive, floppy drive, or any other storage device -- except that they're much faster.
ramBunctious maintains the advantages and eliminates the disadvantages of most RAM disk programs. Several options let you customize for your desired balance of speed, security, safety, and versatility. For example, you can set it to write through to a file on a (real) disk for safety in the event of a crash. You can mount as many RAM disks as you wish (or as many as you have memory for) simultaneously. ramBunctious uses the same memory that applications use, so the memory used for each RAM disk is instantly available for other applications as soon as the RAM disk is put away.
ramBunctious 1.1.1 is a maintenance update; changes include:
• The delete keys now work in the "Choose RAM disk size" dialog.
• A conflict with Directory Assistant was identified.
• Put Away menu items was added to the File menu.
ramBunctious 1.1 adds several new features:
• The ramBunctious driver was optimized. It is now up to 30% faster.
• A Startup Items folder lets you specify items to open when the RAM disk is mounted.
ramBunctious is now a fat application, running natively on PPC and 68K Macs.
• ramBunctious's underlying architecture was stabilized for easier maintenance.
• There are several minor user interface improvements.
- It indicates its progress when mounting RAM disks.
- There is a Save button in each settings window for convenient saving.
- There is also a Save menu item.
- ramBunctious now uses Troy Gaul's Infinity Windoids.
Many shareware programs are crippled in order to force users to register before they have a full-featured application. Other shareware programs force users to wait a few extra seconds before they can begin using the program. Still others present a dialog every time so users will feel guilty enough to pay. ramBunctious, on the other hand, is not crippled, is usable immediately after it's launched, and does not forcibly present "guilt-inducing" dialogs. Every feature is available to every user, registered or not. We felt that if we were going to spend a single minute working on this product, we ought to work on real features, not artificial limits.
A full description of ramBunctious is available by running the "ramBunctious manual" document included in this package.