Mon 19 May 2008
Windows Live SkyDrive is free, password protected, online file storage. What it allows you to do is: access your files from any computer with the internet, share folders of your choice with others, choose whether your shared files can just be read or edited too, and even create public folders so that anyone on the net can see them.
This service could have a number of uses such as an easy way to collaborate with others on projects, a way to avoid trying to email large files only to find they won’t go though, and a backup for your personal files.
Here’s an overview of what you get when you sign up to SkyDrive
- 5 GB of free online file storage
- The ability to create personal, shared and public folders.
- Access to files from any Windows or Macintosh computer using either Internet Explorer or Firefox.
- Control over who has access to your files as well as whether they can just read them or edit them too.
I recently tried out SkyDrive and my only criticism was that when you are uploading a file there’s no progress bar, so you have no idea how much longer the upload will take.
All you need to use SkyDrive is a Windows Live ID, if you have a hotmail account you will already have one, but you can get one for free from here as well. To learn more about Windows Live SkyDrive or to sign up for your own account click here.
Of course SkyDrive is not the only free online file storage available, so if you would like to check out the competition SteekR is currently offering 1 GB of free storage and Xdrive is another service offering 5 GB.