Store and share documents on the internet with Microsoft SkyDrive

Storing files on the internet, cloud storage, is becoming an area of intense competition. SkyDrive has been part of the Microsoft Live offering for some time but for a long time it was only accessible through a web browser or as part of the Windows Live software. Live Photo Gallery would back photos up to it for example.

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The SkyDrive app fixes that problem and creates a SkyDrive folder on your computer and keeps it up to date with the files online.

Installation is simple. Once the file has downloaded, run it and follow the wizard. It will ask for your Windows Live login details. Click on Sign in to continue. Once installed, SkyDrive will appear in your user folder in Windows Explorer and an entry will also be added in the Favourites list on the left. The installation wizard will tell you where the SkyDrive folder has been placed with the option to change it if you want.

The final option is whether you want to share the files on that computer with other computers.

Adding files is as simple as dragging and dropping them into the SkyDrive folder. The SkyDrive icon in the Notification Area does show when files are being transferred.

The standard Windows Live account comes with 7GB of online storage space, which is generous compared with the likes of Dropbox, Spideroak and Ubuntu One. At the time of writing there was a limited offer to upgrade to 25GB if you had been signed up before April 22. A comparison between SkyDrive, Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox can be found here.

There are no real options to speak of that can be adjusted. This is a slight shame compared to Dropbox, which can be set to only synchronise specific folders from your account. This can be a slight problem if you want access to some but not all files on a particular computer, either because of space or privacy.

There are versions of the SkyDrive app for Windows Phone, iPad, iPhone and Mac. Sadly there is no app for Linux. Not surprising by still a disappointment if you use Linux. See the full list of different operating systems here.