Windows 8 and the Cloud

A Windows operating system like no one has seen before – this has been reviewers’ primary sentiment now that Windows 8 has officially launched the market. With a brand new user interface, Microsoft offers an entirely new user experience; something holistic that users can enjoy a seamless experience starting from desktops, to tablets, down to smart phones. With Windows 8, consumers are given a comprehensive ecosystem which is utilitarian enough to cater to their most important needs without having to look from elsewhere. With this new OS, users are able to share, use personal apps to stay organised and connect with people, integrate seamlessly with the cloud, and use photos that are locally stored – tied with Facebook, Flicker and even those saved in SkyDrive to display beautifully on the desktop.

SkyDrive and Windows 8

With Windows 8 fully integrated with the cloud, users can utilise SkyDrive to save documents – making them accessible regardless of device or location. Designed for mobility, their seamless integration allows Windows 8 to fetch files and automatically push them to the cloud. This allows you to create a PowerPoint presentation on your Windows 8 desktop PC or notebook, and display it moments later on your Surface tablet. And because SkyDrive is integrated into other Modern apps (such as Photos and Mail) together with the Modern browser, it can serve as a storage option and allows document files to be launched automatically in Office Web apps for editing and sharing.

SkyDrive is essentially positioned by Microsoft to be a mobile device cloud – with the application sitting in the background to store files and propagate them to respective machines, tablets or smartphones. In effect, SkyDrive can basically serve two basic functions in Windows 8: first as a standalone application to store files; and second as a cloud storage application fully integrated with the OS.

One Account to Sync them All

Beyond SkyDrive, Windows 8 also provides seamless cloud backup of personal computer settings like lock screen image, user photo, Explorer settings, mouse settings, accessibility settings; even mail accounts, browser history and favourites. This synching capability of Windows 8 is perfect to the now increasingly mobile consumer workforce. Through this, it is easy to shift from one machine to another without having to lose a single file. By simply signing-in to a Microsoft account, SkyDrive’s cloud storage service synchs data easily.

Windows 8’s synching application also allows users to get music, photos and videos from the computer to the phone; and quickly share things. The application also enables them to automatically save photos and videos; and see at a glance how much space each file occupies. In effect, users are always aware how much space they are consuming and what else is left for future consumption.

Windows 8’s cloud integration together with its totally revamped user interface and experience brings operating systems to a whole new level. Through having the operating system cloud ready, Microsoft is indeed on the path to creating a holistic technology that users will utilise for years to come.