Q&A: Microsoft Talks Changes to SkyDrive in Windows 8.1

When was the last time you had to delete a bunch of photos or apps on your mobile device to clear out space? With the massive amount of data generated every day, it's easy to exhaust all the available storage on your phone or tablet.

And this problem is only getting worse. Industry trends suggest that device storage capacities are growing at 25 percent per year, but the amount of data being produced is increasing even faster ? by around 50 percent a year, according to Microsoft. The software giant is looking to address this problem with SkyDrive, which will be updated in Windows 8.1 with the goal of giving you access to your files at all times, without taking up all your available storage or Internet bandwidth.

The updated service utilizes what Microsoft refers to as "placeholder files," which look and feel like normal folders and files with one major change ? you don't download the full file until you access it. The placeholder file contains just a thumbnail image and some basic properties, making it significantly smaller than its actual size. This means that 100GB of files in SkyDrive will use up less than 5GB of storage on the hard drive of your Windows 8.1 device, Mona Akmal, group program manager for SkyDrive apps, wrote in a blog post Monday.

"I have a Pictures folder in SkyDrive that's 5.6GB in size but it's only taking up 185MB on the local disk," Akmal wrote.

Another major change to SkyDrive in Windows 8.1 deals with offline access to files. With the SkyDrive app, you'll now be able to mark any folders or files you want remain available when you lose Internet connectivity.

Any edits you make to a file while offline will automatically be synced back up to SkyDrive when you regain a connection. For added convenience, all the files you open or edit on your device will automatically be marked for offline access.

As a reminder, new SkyDrive users get 7GB of storage for free. After that, an additional 20GB costs $10 per year, while 50GB will set you back $25 a year, and 100GB costs $50 a year.

We sat down with Angus Logan, group product marketing manager for SkyDrive (pictured below), last week to get the scoop on the most important changes to the online storage service in Windows 8.1.

PCMag: What are some of the major changes to SkyDrive in Windows 8.1?
AL: In Windows 8.1 we've built SkyDrive right into the experience. You have one experience for accessing your files from the cloud, and also your local files from your device. This is especially important when you think about having hundreds of gigabytes of files available in the cloud, but maybe your local device only has 30GB of available storage. You can always have all of your files with you in a natural way.

PCMag: Which features do you think users will find most helpful in this version?
AL: The most exciting feature that consumers will love is being able to access all of their files all of the time, and select which files are available offline, and have them show up in search but then also have another set of files that are up in the cloud that they can access but won't take up the space on their hard drive.?

PCMag: How does SkyDrive differ from alternatives like iCloud, Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox?
AL: SkyDrive is really focused on being a comprehensive way to have all of your files with you no matter if that's a great set of photos, or a great set of Office documents. We really want you to be able to edit documents, see photos, and share this content no matter which device you're on. That means we're going to do an amazing job on Windows, but we'll also be available on lots of different devices.

If you look at the work we've done with Office and SkyDrive, you can save your Office documents straight up to the SkyDrive. That's just an example of how we've taken our personal cloud service and made it really easy for consumers to adopt through Office.

PCMag: Why would someone choose SkyDrive over these alternatives?
AL: If you use Windows, or you use Office, SkyDrive provides the richest set of features for you. We also don't compromise on other platforms. You can access your files on any different kind of device you have ? be that an iOS or Android device, but on Windows and in Office, SkyDrive is the best experience.

PCMag: Will SkyDrive kill online backup services like Mozy and Carbonite?
AL: There is definitely a place in the world for online backup services. Consumers who use SkyDrive know that ? I lose my device, and it doesn't really matter because I've got my files up in the cloud. We feel that there is a comfort level of having your data up in SkyDrive, but there is the niche for backup services, which will continue to exist.

PCMag: What would you say to those who don't trust the cloud, and are hesitant to put all their photos and documents in the hands of online storage services for either privacy or reliability reasons?
AL: The evolution of data living in the cloud has been going on for quite a while when you think about your email, or the people you interact with. Moving files to the cloud and having those available on your local computer but also on all your devices is just the next step of that evolution.

Microsoft takes privacy extremely seriously ? your data is your data. We don't read your data or scan it for advertising purposes.

Reliability is something we need to deliver, everyone needs to deliver it. But when you're talking about putting people's files up in the cloud so they can always have them, that is something that we take really quite seriously.

PCMag: What can we expect from SkyDrive going forward?
AL: We will continue to reach our aspirations of letting people always have their files with them no matter what device they're on and what kind of file that is. As for the future, I think you should go try out the Windows 8.1 preview because that is definitely ? it's the future.

For more, see PCMag's Hands On With Windows 8.1 Preview and the slideshow above. Also check out our full review of SkyDrive.

Source: http://feeds.ziffdavis.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/breakingnews/~3/W7FaMye1-Uc/0,2817,2422078,00.asp

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