Microsoft has updated its SkyDrive service to allow for sharing and accessing of Office documents. Microsoft made it easier to share individual files via email or on social networks, while using file management capabilities, as well as HTML5 enhancements to the service.
For those who are not familiar with SkyDrive, the service is Microsoft’s free online file storage service (25GB of free storage space), that makes it easier to share and manage your files online (or in the cloud as its now said).
Microsoft has made several improvements to the service to make it more document friendly. For example, SkyDrive will now load PDF files in the users browser and now supports uploading and viewing of raw camera files. Photos are now easier to navigate and captions are more prominently placed.
Microsoft has also added some HTML5 enhancements to the service. For example, SkyDrive users can now upload files and photos via drag-and-drop, using a HTML5 File API. Microsoft has also made it so that the service works seamlessly alongside the company’s upcoming Internet Explorer 10 browser.
Many users complained that the process of creating and editing folders on SkyDrive were slow and unresponsive at times. Not anymore, Microsoft has made it faster to create and edit folders. On top of that, Microsoft claims that singing into the service is now 50% faster.
SkyDrive is expected to play a role in Microsoft’s upcoming release of its next operating system,Windows 8, due in 2012. Microsoft is planning on a multiple device file sync service that ties Windows 8 with SkyDrive, as well as a few other neat features.
