New SkyDrive info: point by point

New SkyDrive info: point by point
via LiveSide.net by Kip Kniskern on 2/20/12

We’ve had a lot of new info on SkyDrive come at us in the past few days, from all over the place, so much so that its getting a little hard to keep track of. So in order to help us all digest it a bit better, here’s our point by point breakdown of all the latest news!
From the Gemind.com.br post:
Brazilian website Gemind.com.br started the ball rolling this weekend with a post showing a bunch of new features coming soon to SkyDrive. Here’s what they said:

• Desktop clients coming for Windows and Mac (Windows client confirmed)


• Paid additional storage options coming in multiple increments (mentioned as “the ability to unlock more”) :

• Free 25gb


• “SkyDrive +20” – an additional 20gb for $10/yr


• +50 for $25/yr and +100 for $50/yr also coming

From LiveSide:
Not to be outdone, we added a few details of our own:

• New version will be SkyDrive Wave 5 M3


• Bitlocker recovery key storage


• OpenDocument formats (.odt, .odp, .ods) support


• Access files on local computers via SkyDrive app (remote access confirmed)


• URL shortening service


• 300MB file upload size limit via SkyDrive.com

And then today, Microsoft confirmed a number of the features, and added some new ones of their own. Although there was no mention of the details of the paid storage options, Mac clients, or Bitlocker or URL shortening, there were a number of additional tidbits worth mentioning:

• 17 million SkyDrive users (by comparison, as of last October Dropbox had 45 million)


• SkyDrive stores 10 petabytes of user data, Hotmail stores 100PB


• Windows 8 will “finally bring the DNA of SkyDrive and Mesh together into one service”


• SkyDrive app for Windows 8


• SkyDrive available to other Metro style apps and the file system through charms and contracts


• Integrated into the Windows 8 Windows Explorer on the desktop


• Full file and folder upload and sync – “no compromises”


• Metro app built using JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, and the JSON APIs and JavaScript object model in SkyDrive.com


• Metro app optimized for touch


• Ability to save directly from Windows 8 to SkyDrive


• SkyDrive Desktop app available for Windows 8, Windows 7, or Vista


• Installer less than 5mb, takes 10 seconds to install (not sure if this applies to Win7 or Vista)


• Support for uploading up to 2GB files through Explorer


• Remote access will have a “copy to SkyDrive” feature


• Remote streaming of video full screen photo viewer


• 2nd factor authentication (mobile number or alt. email address) required for remote access


• Changes coming “over the next several months”

Quite a long list! And as we said, stay tuned, we have a few surprises left in store!