Microsoft puts storage on cloud

THE World + dog knows that Microsoft has been on a mission to overtake Google on cloud-based services and a big component of that mission has been upgraded with the introduction of Windows Live SkyDrive, formerly Windows Live Folders.

And so Live SkyDrive is currently being touted as a beta although God knows, there are some long, solid beta cycles on the web - and some non-beta services that should be stuck in beta.

Some features added since Live Folders first saw light of day in June:

Thumbnail images
Drag-and-drop file uploads
Embed files anywhere that supports HTML posting

Of course, there are tons of cloud-based storage services around but SkyDrive looks worth a look if you like the Microsoft look and feel, although integration with the big paillars of redmond wisdom such as Office and Outlook is at an infant stage. The good news is that competition should mean a lot of free stuff like this and Microsoft won't want to screw up storage the way it wasted the Hotmail franchise and got passed by GMail and the very wonderful Yahoo Mail.

One thing though: the new name is terrible and the constant branding changes show how skittish, nay kittenish, Microsoft is on the web at the moment. I mean, Live SkyDrive. A significant chunk of your life has passed just saying it. µ