I have mentioned Microsoft’s SkyDrive before. It is cloud space from Microsoft that lets you store documents and files and be able to access them on other devices or share with friends or even publicly. While I have been using SkyDrive for many things, I still used Dropbox primarily for this. Dropbox is a similar tool, but I felt it was easier to use.
However, SkyDrive has been improved! I am such a happy camper.
First you need the apps for your computer and your devices. There are versions for your PC, Mac, iPhone, and Windows Phones. They are very easy to install and you will only need your Windows Live ID to sign in to your account (or create one if you do not already have one). 
These are screen shots of the SkyDrive app on my iPhone. I love that on the left photo you can see how many items are in each folder also.
You can then easily find your SkyDrive folder under your favorites in your Windows files – just drag and drop files you want to store there. It really is that easy. Now you can access those files on skydrive.live.com on any computer around the world also. If you are using an iPhone or Windows Phone you can use the app on those to also connect, view, upload, share, etc.
New users get 7 GB of storage, that’s quit a bit. Microsoft said that according to their info that is enough for 99% of their users actually. However, if you already have a SkyDrive account and have uploaded items before you can get a free upgrade to 25 GB of storage right now. You need to go and select it though (took me about 5 seconds).
This is a partial screenshot of my own SkyDrive on skydrive.live.com
What is really new is that you can fetch any file from a Windows PC – not just Office files or photos. It also seems much faster that previous versions of SkyDrive. With the updated iPhone app I can select multiple files at once also – happy dance!
Some of the ways that I use SkyDrive:
- I take a lot of photos with my iPhone that I need to use on my blog. I just send them via SkyDrive from my iPhone app to my SkyDrive account and can then insert them into my blog post from whatever computer I am using.
- Hubby sometimes takes photos for me for blog posts too. He uses several of the items I talk about and has learned what kind of pics I need over the years. He can put them in a SkyDrive account and share them with just me also.
- With my social media work I collaborate with many people on different projects. We can share documents on SkyDrive and even open them directly to work on them at skydrive.live.com This is very handy on staying organized. While many use Google Docs for things like this – SkyDrive is a better choice for me because yes, I have the Office documents AND the other files and photos all in the same location. For me, it is much more easily organized.
Easily drag and drop files into your SkyDrive folder on your PC.
Pin SkyDrive.Live.com to your toolbar for even quicker access! When you right click a pin a menu pops up which is very handy!
There are endless possibilities in the way that you can use SkyDrive. I would encourage you to give it a try – it’s free. This is also one of those tools that you learn to rely on quickly. Once you do, you will find yourself sharing it with others and teaching them (easily) now to use it.
How do you think you would use SkyDrive for personal or business use?
DISCLOSURE: I am currently a member of the Windows Champions program and receive various benefits from Microsoft as a part of that. Opinions about the products and services are always my own. I am truly a long-time fan of Microsoft and their products.
© 2012, Robyn Wright. All rights reserved.
