Nest your home and settings
By default your /home, /etc and /var directories reside in RAM memory: every file and configuration you save will not be there again at the next boot. To save your home and settings permanently you need to create a NEST: it is just a file called "dyne.nst" that can be placed on a harddisk or usb storage device and it loaded at every boot. You just need to create your nest once, dyne:bolic looks for it at every startup and if it is present starts using it automatically.
The nesting function is very practical to keep all the modifications you make to the system while using it (settings, saved files, accounts, language, private data etc.) and transport or backup them. For example, in case you nest on your USB stick, you can boot with it connected at startup, then that nest will be used and all your /home and settings will always stay with you, in your personal USB stick. This way you don't even need a laptop to travel around with your software environment and data, just carry a dyne:bolic CD and your nested USB stick with you, wherever you'll be able to boot it you'll have your /home.
How to create a nest? at the boot screen or in your Home, click on the Configure button, then choose Nest (the little icon of a duck). You will be prompted to create a nest on your harddisk or USB stick, proceed choosing the partition you want and how big you need it: good sizes may vary between 250 and 500 megabytes, depending from how much you plan to use the system, modify it and open it for other users.
Since version 2.4 when creating a nest you'll also see a padlock button: press it and your new nest will be secured with encryption, you'll be asked to set a password, which will be then asked at every boot when you mount the nest. Without that password it will be very hard to access your nest, so you'll be granted with fairly good security for your personal data.
If you nest on harddisk, the supported partition formats are: Dos, Fat32, Ext2, ReiserFS, Beos (BeFS), and NTFS (supported since version 2.5). The nest is just one file created in the /dyne directory at the root of your partition (C:\ or D:\ in the DOS filesystem) called dyne.nst. To erase a nest simply delete that file.
Since version 2.5 it is also possible to mount nests after boot: just plug in your usb stick and navigate the content of the dyne/ directory, a double click on the dyne.nst (the duck icon) will mount your home and prompt for a password if it is encrypted.