Windows Phone owners have long had the option of backing up their photos to SkyDrive, but Microsoft hasn't extended that courtesy to other platforms so far. The company must be feeling a little more generous today, as it just introduced automatic camera backups to SkyDrive for iOS. The update lets snap-happy users preserve both pictures and video, while the bandwidth-conscious can limit connection types and image sizes. There are a few welcome improvements to the app whether or not you plan to safeguard your gallery, including an iOS 7-themed makeover and the choice of opening documents in either Office Mobile or OneNote.
SkyDrive's web client is getting a smaller, Facebook-oriented tune-up at the same time. Sharers can now get a preview of what their photos will look like on the social network, upload to existing albums and set permissions before the transfer begins. While the web upgrade isn't quite as helpful as the new iOS app, it should minimize the chances of any SkyDrive-related social mishaps.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Storage, Internet, Mobile, Microsoft, Facebook
Via: Inside SkyDrive
Need another reason to pick up Microsoft's latest iteration of the Surface tablet, the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2? How's 200GB of free SkyDrive storage for the first two years, plus what Microsoft's calling "the best of Skype" (free international calling and WiFi hotspot access) for the first year? Because that's exactly what you'll get when you plunk down the $450 / $900 for the new Windows tablet line later this year.
Both of Microsoft's services -- SkyDrive for cloud file saving and Skype for online phone / text / video chat -- are part of the purchase price apparently, though that comes with a limited time plan. But is it enough to entice consumers who were already burned once by the first Surface line? That's a question that only time can answer, but we sure don't mind the bonus stuff!
Update: Microsoft's official PR says the deal applies to both versions of the new Surface (RT and Pro) and we've updated our post accordingly. Additionally, that free Skype international calling works for "calling to landlines in more than 60 countries," and the Skype WiFi deal offers unlimited access for that first year.
Update 2: Oh, and should you decide you want to keep that capacious storage in the cloud past two years, or don't want to buy a Surface to get it in the first place, Microsoft's announced that users can add 200GB to their SkyDrives for just $100 a year.
Microsoft's SkyDrive Pro is helpful for cloud-savvy businesses, but its 7GB of storage per person now seems restrictive next to improved offerings from rivals like Box. The company won't let itself be outdone, however: it just bumped SkyDrive Pro's base storage to 25GB per user, and administrators can raise that limit to 100GB if they're willing to pay. There's some incentives to take advantage of that extra space, too. Microsoft now offers a larger 2GB file cap, automatic versioning for new users and a client view that displays all shared documents. If your employer depends on Microsoft for online collaboration, you should notice the additional storage today.
Filed under: Storage, Internet, Microsoft
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Office 365 Technology
It may have taken three days, but Microsoft has officially resolved its Outlook.com outage -- and it has both explanations and long-term solutions for affected email users. Trouble began with the failure of a caching service for Exchange ActiveSync. The resulting deluge of reconnection attempts promptly overwhelmed company servers; a slow recovery was necessary to avoid another meltdown, Microsoft says. To prevent repeat incidents, the tech giant is both upgrading its network capacity and implementing a more elegant error handling system. While the fixes likely come too late for some users, they suggest that Microsoft has learned a hard lesson about the fragility of online services.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Via: The Next Web
Source: Outlook Status
