SkyDrive....Flying High!

Twice in the past week, I've found myself using the Microsoft SkyDrive service in order to overcome two very different tasks. First of all, for those who don't know, the "SkyDrive" service is a online storage folder which allows you to upload files and retrieve them from pretty much anywhere else (providing you can get an internet connection of course!).

The two predicaments I found myself using the SkyDrive was due to a lack of either a USB port (which is highly unusual - what devices don't have USB support now-a-days?), and a lack of a USB flash drive the second time (I'd actually forgotten my trusty keyfob when leaving the house).

Being able to upload my files directly onto my 'online space' allowed me to pick them up at a later date, without having to resort to breaking down the files into small chunks to email them to myself or zipping them to the point of ultimate compression. SkyDrive is so simple to use and offers some other interesting features.

As it falls into Microsoft's "Live" services, it integrates with my Live Messanger buddy list, which then allows me to grant those people the permission to 'share' my online files. Its a useful system, which I've under-used in the past. There are limitations of course, for example, it won't allow you to upload music to your folder (due to copyright infringements), and it also won't let you upload files above 50MB (for similar reasons). But they do give you 5GB of online space to use to your hearts content.

Online storage is useful, and will without doubt increase in popularity and use in the future, however for right now I don't see that many people moving away from their trusty physical storage devices, USB flash drives, network attached storage, in favor of the online alternative, especially whilst storage devices are so cheaply available.