Patent ID: 7451281

Claim:
A method of providing a user with information quicker than could be achieved by obtaining the information from a storage source, said method comprising: receiving a request from a user for stored data accessible by said user, said stored data maintained on one or more disks accessible one at a time, said disks having a latency between a time of said request and a time said information is actually available; obtaining a first portion of data from a source location other than where said stored data resides, the amount of said first portion spanning said latency; buffering information coming from said one or more disks faster than said data is utilized, thereby creating disk idle periods; regardless of the request from a user, providing said first portion from a common disk containing a plurality of said first portions, each said first portion corresponding to a different possible user request; substituting the common disk for a disk of the one or more disks that contains requested data; said user scrolling through an index of possible applications contained in a fast access non-volatile memory; and positioning a read head at a location on a disk so as to be able to quickly read data at positioned locations, said positioning being controlled, in part, by said scrolling.