SkyDrive

After a SkyDrive debacle over the weekend, which caused Opera users to be blocked from the cloud storage service, Microsoft has said it's working quickly to fix the problem.

The problem began when Opera, which is a Web browser, received a bug report showing that Microsoft's cloud storage service froze out all users when it was being loaded. Instead of being able to see their saved files and photos, users could only see millions of characters of code.

After some poking around, Opera's Hallvord Steen realized that the problem was "some strange bug in the Microsoft … Read more

Microsoft has released a SkyDrive app for Windows Phone 8 devices.

SkyDrive lets you store files in the cloud, so you can access them from anywhere, virtually on any device regardless of platform. The free app also lets you share your files with other users and manage and edit files. It can automatically upload pictures that you take to SkyDrive.

The new version released by Microsoft works for Windows Phone 7.5 or higher and includes a new search function for files and folders; new settings for photo upload and download size; and a new look for icons and visuals, … Read more

Microsoft's Office 2013 Web Apps suite is now a final and official part of SkyDrive.

The online Office suite has been available for SkyDrive users since July. But it's been in a customer preview mode still being tweaked by Microsoft. A tweet yesterday from Omar Shahine, a SkyDrive group product manager, confirmed that the final edition is now live.

SkyDrive users who create or open a Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote file will see it pop up in the completed 2013 edition of Office Web Apps. Opening a file created under the previous version triggers a message that … Read more

Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service has always kept previous versions of Office documents, but other file types had no redundancy options available when using the SkyDrive Web interface. With these non-Office file types in mind, Microsoft recently added a recycle bin feature to provide restore options for all files.

To get to the recycle bin, click on the new Recycle Bin link, located at the bottom of the left pane, just above Manage storage. If you don't have the link yet, it should roll out to your account soon. Once in the recycle bin, select one or more … Read more

Microsoft and partner Attachments.me are trying to simplify the way Gmail users can use Microsoft's SkyDrive personal cloud-storage service.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced details of the partnership -- via which Google Gmail users can access SkyDrive files directly from their in-box, save e-mail attachments directly to SkyDrive, and share files directly from their SkyDrive. The new capabilities are provided via Attachment.me's Chrome extension.

What's happening behind the scenes enabling this scenario is an update to the SkyDrive software development kit (SDK). The SDK includes an application programming interface (API) that is similar to the file picker for Windows 8 apps … Read more

Microsoft showcased its Windows 8 Release to Manufacturing build last week. Amid the excitement, VentureBeat's Sean Ludwig took the opportunity to check in on Microsoft's updated SkyDrive cloud storage service and its rather strict policies regarding user uploaded content.

The article picks up on reports from February 2011, where German photographer Dirk Salm found his Windows Live account restricted after Microsoft objected to the content of four image files Salm had stored in a SkyDrive folder.

The problems with Microsoft's policies, as VentureBeat maps them out, amount to three key issues.

Those of you who use Microsoft's SkyDrive will find a new look, feel, and features the next time you fire up your dedicated page.

The folks in Redmond refreshed the online storage site with a design and functionality that closely mimics the Windows 8 SkyDrive app. What changes will you find? Microsoft's Inside SkyDrive blog provides a good overview of the new features. But here's a quick look as well.

Your SkyDrive page has retired the old details view, at least as the default, in favor of the Windows 8 tile approach. All of your folders and … Read more

Microsoft yesterday released a new bundle of free services meant to complement Windows 7 and Windows 8. Now known as "Windows Essentials" rather than "Windows Live Essentials," it adds some new capabilities, but also removes Live Mesh from the PCs of those who install it.

Microsoft has used the "Windows Live Essentials" name to refer to the bundle of services that has included Windows Live Mail, Messenger, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, Family Safety (parental controls), Writer (its blogging tool) and Mesh (its PC sync service). Microsoft released the 2011 version of its Windows Live Essentials bundle … Read more

If you can't access your cloud storage service, the problem could be any number of things, from your own computer, to the servers in the cloud. To check if the problem is on the service provider's end, check out the system status pages for your provider. Here are the status pages for Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, Box, and SkyDrive:

Dropbox The Dropbox status page provides the status for Dropbox web access, as well as desktop client access. Details of updates are also provided below the status box. To check Dropbox status, go to http://status.dropbox.com.

iCloud … Read more