Microsoft Releases SkyDrive For Android Phones

Microsoft Releases SkyDrive For Android Phones

Few weeks ago software giant Microsoft announced to release an official SkyDrive app for Android phones.  So finally the application is ready to download and use. This new app for Android is similar to other mobile apps for Windows Phone and iOS and is a key part of making sure your SkyDrive files are accessible and shareable from all your devices. The app was mainly designed to work best with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, though it will work on Android 2.3 and above. "In building the new SkyDrive app for Android, we wanted to ensure we kept the same intuitive design of all SkyDrive experiences while also making use of Android design patterns and conventional interactions, so this feels natural for people with Android phones," Mike Torres, group program manager for SkyDrive Apps, wrote in a blog post Tuesday.

Brief Description:-

SkyDrive is the place to store your files so you can access them from virtually any device. With SkyDrive for Android, you can now easily access and share files on the go. You can also upload photos or videos from your phone to SkyDrive.

Features:-

• Access all of your SkyDrive content including files shared with you.
• View recently used documents.
• Choose multiple photos or videos to upload from your phone.
• Share your files and photos – send a link in email or in another app.
• Open your SkyDrive files in other Android apps.
• Manage your files – delete, or create new folders.

The official SkyDrive app is now available in the Google Play store. For more information and to download click here.

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Microsoft Unveils Office 365 With Cloud, Web Apps & Many More (Available For Download)

Microsoft Unveils Office 365 With Cloud, Web Apps & Many More (Available For Download)

The software giant Microsoft on Monday unveiled the next version of Microsoft Office which indeed is a dramatic departure from the software that millions of users have come to know, built for the cloud and for touch-based computing and packed with features that make it more social and, Microsoft hopes, more intuitive to use than past releases. With this version Microsoft is offering consumers the option of performing many chores through a Web browser, rather than installing programs on their personal computers. Users will still be able to buy and install Office 2013, as the new version is called, but Microsoft plans to offer incentives for people to opt for a Web-based subscription variant known as Office 365. 

"Your modern Office thinks cloud first," said CEO Steve Ballmer, at an event here Monday.

Office 2013 is designed to work on traditional PCs, tablets or hybrid devices that combine touchscreen capability on a clam-shell style laptop, Microsoft said. Hardware options include devices that use conventional PC-style chips from Intel Corp., or those running cellphone-style chips based on designs from ARM Holdings PLC, the company said.

Microsoft already offers Office 365 as a companion service to businesses, and the company has a little-discussed bare-bones online version of Office called Office Web Apps. But Microsoft says this is Office's biggest foray in the cloud. Microsoft said the overhaul is designed to respond to issues such as the desire for consumers to synchronize and preserve data files as they move among multiple mobile devices and PCs. Even for people who opt to buy rather than subscribe to the software, Microsoft said Office will automatically save and store files on SkyDrive—its online-file-storage service—letting users return to where they left off in documents.

Users who opt for the subscription service will receive an additional 20 gigabytes of SkyDrive storage capacity on top of the standard seven gigabytes given to new customers. They will have rights to future upgrades as well as to use Office on up to five computers or mobile devices. 

Customer & Technical Preview of the new Office 365 is available now to Download and test.

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Hotmail New Features, Targeting Graymail

Microsoft's new Hotmail features are designed to remove clutter from users' email inboxes. Microsoft is tweaking Hotmail, aiming to remove endemic clutter from its users’ inboxes. These new tweaks, which are scheduled to roll out in coming weeks, target what the company called “graymail,” which include newsletters plus updates from social networks and Websites.
Hotmail’s latest graymail-killing features include a new newsletter-filtering function, which is paired with a one-click ability to have Hotmail tell various companies you no longer want to receive their daily or weekly email. (Hotmail will also eliminate that company’s emails currently residing in your inbox.)
“Despite the drastic decrease of true spam in the inbox, we found that most customers are still seeing newsletters, product offers, and other clutter,” Dick Craddock, group program manager for Hotmail, wrote in an Oct. 3 posting on The Windows Blog. “In fact, 75 percent of email identified as spam by our customers actually turns out to be unwanted graymail that they receive as a result of having signed up on a legitimate website.”
Hotmail’s other new features include a Schedule Cleanup, which will eliminate email from a specific address after three, ten, thirty or sixty days. A revamped flagging system automatically sorts important messages to the top of the inbox, and Custom Categories offer a way to personalize email sorting.
Over the past few quarters, Microsoft has worked to improve Hotmail on several different fronts. In July the company announced new security features designed to track down compromised user accounts and make passwords more secure, along with making it easier for users to reclaim their compromised accounts.
Microsoft’s “all in” cloud strategy has placed it on a head-on collision course with Google. In addition to Hotmail, Microsoft’s other consumer and business cloud services continue to battle the search-engine giant on several fronts, including search (Bing vs. Google’s core search franchise) and productivity (Office 365 vs. Google Apps).
Of course, the cloud comes with its own unique issues. Microsoft has wrestled with some outages for its cloud services over the past few months, including a significant one on the night of Sept. 8 that managed to knock out Hotmail, SkyDrive and other Live properties for a few hours.

-News Source (The Windows Blog & eWeek)

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AT&T Locker: Offering Free Cloud Storage For iOS & Android Users

AT&T Locker: Offering Free Cloud Storage For iOS & Android Users

AT&T a leader in telecommunication services, announced a brand new service which calls "AT&T Locker" that will allow iPhone and Android smartphone customers of AT&T to store 5GB worth of videos and photos for free in AT&T's cloud. The most interesting thing is that, the service is available through a free app in the Apple App Store or the Google Play store. And it allows users to store roughly 5,000 average sized photos in the cloud. The app requires subscribers use either an iPhone 3GS or newer device. And Android users must be on version 2.1 or higher of the Android OS. Users can choose to upload new photos and video via Wi-Fi, AT&T's cellular network or both. Customers can manage those photos and share them through the app on the smartphone or on the AT&T Locker web page. AT&T plans to incorporate additional features in future versions of AT&T Locker. And the company didn't say whether higher storage options will be available.

This service is exactly similar to Apple's iCloud service also allows up to 5GB of free storage. And it also offers Photo Stream, which allows its iPhone users to automatically store photos in Apple's cloud and share them across multiple iOS devices as well as share them with other people. The service stores up to 1,000 pictures automatically and this storage doesn't count against the iCloud storage limits. Google also offers storage in its Google Drive service. This service also offers up to 5GB of free storage. You can store anything here from pictures to documents to music. Of course there are also other options for storing photos and other digital content including Dropbox and Microsoft's SkyDrive which is also a very handy option. 

Brief Description:-

AT&T Locker™ allows you to Store, sync and share your photos, videos and documents in one convenient place. AT&T Locker is an app that lets you store, sync and share your data in one safe, convenient place. Your content is easy to access on your computer and phone from virtually anywhere. Photos and videos can be backed up automatically from your phone. It's also easy to share to email, Facebook and Twitter. First 5 GB of storage is free. Additional storage is available for the low monthly price of just $3.99 for 30GB or $9.99 for 100GB.

• Photos and videos can be automatically uploaded to your AT&T Locker from your phone

• Easily access your photos, videos and documents from your phone and computer

• Easy to share to email, Facebook and Twitter

• First 5 GB of storage is free. Additional storage is available.

• Your content is secure and backed up in the cloud

• Store your favorite memories in a safe and convenient place

• Store music from your computer to your AT&T Locker

-Source (AT&T, Cnet)

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Microsoft Announced Three Editions of Windows 8 Along With Key Features

Microsoft Announced Three Editions of Windows 8 Along With Key Features

Earlier we have discussed on Consumer Preview Windows 8 & Windows 8 Developer Preview. Now In the official blog post Microsoft Windows Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc Microsoft announced three editions of its upcoming Windows 8 platform: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT, which was previously known at Windows on ARM, or WOA. According to Brandon LeBlanc’s post, Windows 8 Pro will include everything in Windows 8 along with advanced features such as encryption, virtualization, PC management and domain connectivity. Windows 8 Pro users will also be able to purchase Windows Media Center as a cheaper add-on. Microsoft recommends Windows 8 (the entry-level, limited functionality edition) for home use. As usual, this edition does not include BitLocker hard drive encryption, EFS file encryption or the ability to boot from a VHD. It is also not possible to access it using Remote Desktop (host). Computers running this edition are also unable to join domains and can't be managed using group policies. All these functions are reserved for Windows 8 Pro, as is the Hyper-V client for desktop visualization. 

Key Features:- 

Feature name	Windows 8	Windows 8 Pro	Windows RT
Upgrades from Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium	x	x
Upgrades from Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate		x
Start screen, Semantic Zoom, Live Tiles	x	x	x
Windows Store	x	x	x
Apps (Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging, Photos, SkyDrive, Reader, Music, Video)	x	x	x
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote)			x
Internet Explorer 10	x	x	x
Device encryption			x
Connected standby	x	x	x
Microsoft account	x	x	x
Desktop	x	x	x
Installation of x86/64 and desktop software	x	x
Updated Windows Explorer	x	x	x
Windows Defender	x	x	x
SmartScreen	x	x	x
Windows Update	x	x	x
Enhanced Task Manager	x	x	x
Switch languages on the fly (Language Packs)	x	x	x
Better multiple monitor support	x	x	x
Storage Spaces	x	x
Windows Media Player	x	x
Exchange ActiveSync	x	x	x
File history	x	x	x
ISO / VHD mount	x	x	x
Mobile broadband features	x	x	x
Picture password	x	x	x
Play To	x	x	x
Remote Desktop (client)	x	x	x
Reset and refresh your PC	x	x	x
Snap	x	x	x
Touch and Thumb keyboard	x	x	x
Trusted boot	x	x	x
VPN client	x	x	x
BitLocker and BitLocker To Go		x
Boot from VHD		x
Client Hyper-V		x
Domain Join		x
Encrypting File System		x
Group Policy		x
Remote Desktop (host)		x

Announcing the Windows 8 Editions:-  

"First, Windows 8 is the official product name for the next x86/64 editions of Windows.

For PCs and tablets powered by x86 processors (both 32 and 64 bit), we will have two editions: Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. For many consumers, Windows 8 will be the right choice. It will include all the features above plus an updated Windows Explorer, Task Manager, better multi-monitor support and the ability to switch languages on the fly (more details on this feature can be found in this blog post),which was previously only available in Enterprise/Ultimate editions of Windows. For China and a small set of select emerging markets, we will offer a local language-only edition of Windows 8.

Windows 8 Pro is designed to help tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals obtain a broader set of Windows 8 technologies. It includes all the features in Windows 8 plus features for encryption, virtualization, PC management and domain connectivity. Windows Media Center will be available as an economical “media pack” add-on to Windows 8 Pro. If you are an enthusiast or you want to use your PC in a business environment, you will want Windows 8 Pro.

Windows RT is the newest member of the Windows family – also known as Windows on ARM or WOA, as we’ve referred to it previously. This single edition will only be available pre-installed on PCs and tablets powered by ARM processors and will help enable new thin and lightweight form factors with impressive battery life. Windows RT will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the new Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. For new apps, the focus for Windows RT is development on the new Windows runtime, or WinRT, which we unveiled in September and forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds.  For more details on WOA, we suggest reading this blog post which shares more detail on how we have been building Windows 8 to run on the ARM architecture..."

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Microsoft Launched Windows 8 Release Preview (Final Pre-Release Version of Windows 8)

Microsoft Launched Windows 8 Release Preview (Final Pre-Release Version of Windows 8)

After Consumer Preview Windows 8 & Windows 8 Developer Preview now Microsoft just announced final pre-release version of Windows 8 named Windows 8 Release Preview. Windows 8 is considered to be the biggest change in decades to Microsoft's widely used operating system. In a blog post, Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft's top Windows executive, touted the Release Preview as the "final pre-release" build, and talked about the next milestone, RTM, for "release to manufacturing," the label that describes the completed version used by computer makers to pre-install the operating system on new PCs. 

The software displays applications in a mosaic of tiles and has been designed so it can run desktop, laptop and tablet computers. In this final pre-release, and includes Windows 8, Internet Explorer 10, new Windows 8 apps for connecting to Hotmail, SkyDrive, and Messenger (and many more), and hundreds of new and updated apps in the Windows Store. Other new apps in this release include a Bing Travel app, as well as Gaming and Music Xbox apps that integrate with Microsoft’s Zune music service. Microsoft says that it will focus its resources before launching the final version of Windows 8 on improving the installation process, security and privacy, as well as device and software compatibility. As Microsoft’s president of its Windows Division Steven Sinofsky noted, his team “will still be changing Windows 8, as we have done in past releases of Windows.”

Microsoft also says that it has increased personalization options for the Start screen and refined the way “the way people find and download apps through the Windows Store.” The touch-friendly Metro version of Internet Explorer now also supports Adobe’s Flash player and features a Do Not Track feature that is turned on by default.
 

 To Download Windows 8 Release Preview Click Here

 

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