I wrote about some new SkyDrive features on 4-13-12 and now the remaining newest features were released the week of 4-23-12 and they are great! If you have Dropbox, it’s very dropbox-like, only you get 7GB of free storage (25GB if you act quickly). I think I mentioned in my last SkyDrive article that I wished they would make it more like Dropbox as it’s rests in your system tray and is easily accessed. Now SkyDrive has finally made this change!
What the new SkyDrive Does
instant access to your SkyDrive from your computer on windows explorer or you can go to SkyDrive in the cloud- back-up and sync of your documents, pictures, videos, etc. across all your computers
- ability to access your files from anywhere – just log in with your Windows Live ID
- make a change on a document on one computer, save it and SkyDrive immediately syncs the document with the SkyDrive folder, making the updated document available
- apps are available for Windows, Mac, Android phones, iPhones and of course, Windows Phones
- SkyDrive icon rests out of the way in System Tray
- my SkyDrive icon is on the last row, last icon on the right. You can see my Dropbox icon in the third row, first one on the left.
Get SkyDrive for Windows
You’ll need to go here and get your Windows or Mac download.
Follow the steps – download
SkyDrive is being installed on your computer
You will need to sign in with your Windows Live ID. Do you have more than one ID? I do and I’m still working on some questions I have about that, but for now, having my data and pictures from my three computers in one place seems like a smart thing to do.
The install goes pretty fast, then you’ll need to start copying folders over to your SkyDrive through Windows Explorer. Make sure you copy folders – don’t move them. I’m keeping the same folder structure on SkyDrive and in Windows Explorer – makes sense. The actual copying and syncing process can take awhile depending on how much data you have. There is a limit to the size that can be uploaded. 
Once it’s finished, you’ll see the green check mark, indicating it’s synced from your local machine to the SkyDrive in the cloud.
Upgrade to 25 GB free to loyal customers
To get this free upgrade, simply right-click on the SkyDrive icon in your system tray and select ‘Manage Storage’. You’ll be taken on-line where you can get your free upgrade to 25GB. I don’t know how long this will last.
Now you can see everything on all your connected computers
The view below is from SkyDrive. I clicked on Lynn-DellPC and instantly see everything on my computer. It’s like having it on a drive. To get to music, pictures, etc. just click and navigate to where you need to be.
This is So Cool
It took quite awhile, but I think I have everything I was longing for to make SkyDrive robust, usable and easy. These new features might make it possible for home computer users to utilize SkyDrive as their backup. You may not need to pay for a backup system any more – something to think about.