From Sky Drive to One Drive, It's More than a Name Change

After loosing a legal dispute Microsoft changed the name of it's cloud storage service SkyDrive to OneDrive. Microsoft has gone through an extensive list of names for it's storage services such as FolderShare, Windows Live Sync, Live Mesh Beta, and Windows Live Mesh. However, OneDrive is more than just a name change. This service includes new features and emphasizes that OneDrive is the one place for all of your content.

The old SkyDrive offered automatic camera uploads from your iOS and Windows phone but now OneDrive is opening up this feature to android users. Anyone who turns on this feature will get an extra 3GB of storage, including existing users. Additionally, anyone who signs up for OneDrive receives 7GB free, and the more friends you invite the more storage you can get. However, they did put a limit on this bonus for a maximum of 5GB.

Microsoft has made some other changes to specific features such as their Office 365 app, a web based collaboration software. The change allows for instant collaboration by letting users see characters others are typing. OneDrive has also decreased uploading time for videos by using something called MPEG-DASH, which allows for high quality streaming. Also, Microsoft is offering monthly payment options for this service which used to be sold yearly. Lastly, to promote OneDrive the first 100,000 customers will be given 100GB of storage for free. How long will Microsoft stay with OneDrive? I guess we will have to wait and see.

Read the article at Mashable.com

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