SkyDrive

Microsoft is updating its SkyDrive cloud-based storage service, providing a zippier experience by using HTML5 technology as well as hardware acceleration.

The software giant boasts that common tasks, such as clicking on folders and navigating photo albums, will take 100 to 300 milliseconds, down from as long as nine seconds in the earlier version. And by powering the site with HTML5, Microsoft is able to include HTML5 Video, CSS3, and client rendered experiences.

"Browser modernization has really opened up the window for us to rethink and re-architect how we build our websites," SkyDrive Group Program Manager Omar Shahine … Read more

Steve Jobs pitches the city of Cupertino on a gigantic, circular "office complex" with its own power supply and, of course, a totally gorgeous design. Our question: does it come with its own Arc reactor? Also, World IPv6 Day is actually about preventing riots in the streets. Now do you care? And we found out right after the show ended that the Facebook profile pic tattoo story is a hoax. So now we hate the Internet, but we're still a little relieved.

Perhaps in response to Apple's little iCloud announcement yesterday, Microsoft posted new details about a couple of features coming to its cloud-based SkyDrive storage service with the Windows Phone Mango update.

This includes: The option to share photos stored on SkyDrive via e-mail, text, and IM and the ability to upload videos to the cloud. Previously, Microsoft revealed that the Mango update would also bring Office document storage and sharing. … Read more

Microsoft tweaked its Office Web Apps earlier this week with a few enhancements designed to make Excel and PowerPoint a bit more user friendly.

Excel aficionados can now insert, delete, and rename individual worksheets in a workbook, just like you can in the desktop version. To do this, open your Excel file in the online editor. Then simply right-click on a tab for an existing worksheet. You'll see the three familiar options to Insert, Delete, or Rename. Inserting adds a new worksheet in front of your current selection. Deleting asking for your confirmation to permanently get rid of the … Read more

Images from a pre-beta version of Windows 8 reveal that Microsoft is apparently expanding its use of the ribbon interface to replace traditional pull-down menus and toolbars.

Following Microsoft's release of the latest pre-beta build of Windows 8 to select partners recently, screenshots of certain features in the upcoming OS were allegedly posted online. In particular, images displayed on enthusiast site Within Windows by "Windows 8 Secrets" co-authors Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott show the ribbon interface reaching Windows Explorer.

Introduced with Office 2007, the ribbon interface has been loved by some and reviled by others. But … Read more

This week, at Microsoft's annual conference for the partners who sell most of the company's products, Microsoft once again showed off its upcoming Windows Phone 7 platform and made a couple of interesting announcements that got me thinking. Microsoft has all the pieces in place to create the ultimate cloud-based music service for Windows Phone 7. All it has to do is stitch them together.

First, Microsoft confirmed that Windows Phone 7 devices, like the last couple generations of Zune players, will be able to sync music, video, and large images with a user's PC over a … Read more

I'm a big believer in cloud-based music services. As wireless bandwidth increases, there's no reason that my collection of music (or other content, such as pictures) should be limited to the small hard drive that comes with my phone or MP3 player, or bound to various types of swappable memory sticks.

On-demand subscription services like Spotify, Rhapsody, and Thumbplay are one solution. But I'm also seeing more interest in the concept of the "music locker," which lets you back up your computer-based music collection into the cloud--Melodeo is working on an update to Nutsie that … Read more

Microsoft's hard drive in the cloud is now a reality.

On Thursday, Microsoft removed the beta tag from the Windows Live SkyDrive service. More importantly, it upped the amount of free online storage to 5GB, giving users roughly the same amount of storage that comes on a new Eee PC. That's up from a recent cap of 1GB.

The service allows for personal folders as well as ones that are shared with a select group of friends, or the public at large. Microsoft is also expanding the service to 38 countries or regions including large swaths of Europe, … Read more