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Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Web services, Freeware, Windows x64

SkyDrive Explorer adds 25gb of free cloud storage to Windows Explorer

A lot of people overlook Microsoft's SkyDrive for free, web-based file storage and sharing. Still, it's tough to argue with 25gb of free space for your digital goodies that you can access from anywhere. SkyDrive Explorer is a free shell enhancement for Windows that makes it even better.

Once you install SkyDrive Explorer, you'll see a new icon in My Computer (under "Other"). Double click it to open your drive, and a Live login window will appear. Sign in and you've got full-on access to SkyDrive right from Windows Explorer. Add files and folders, move things around, delete old junk - all as if they were stored on your local hard drive.

I'd like to see the app allow access to SkyDrive from open and save dialogs, but it's a great addition to Windows even without that functionality.

SkyDrive Explorer runs on both 32 and 64-bit Windows.

[via gHacks]

Filed under: Blogging, Microsoft, Freeware, Lists

6 Microsoft freebies I actually love to use

No, Windows won't ever compete with Linux on price. However, even though Microsoft isn't giving away their RTM operating systems for free, they do offer a lot of great software and services at no charge. Here are my six favorites -- feel free to share yours with us in the comments!

1. Windows Live Writer - If you don't blog, Live Writer probably isn't that useful to you. If you do, though, it's hard to find a Windows application that can compete with WLW. It's got loads of great features including plugin support so I can add things like Twitter integration.

2. SysInternals - There are so many useful apps under the SysInternals umbrella - Autoruns, Process Explorer, Desktops, RegMon - the list goes on and on. There's also live.sysinternals.com to provide easy access to them all when I forget my usb flash drive. Awesome.

Read more →

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Microsoft, web 2.0, Web

Microsoft updates Windows Live apps, adds social features

Windows Live
Microsoft is rolling out a number of changes to its Live.com portal and Windows Live suite of applications. In a nutshell, the company is trying to add social networking-style features to the web portal. Users will be able to create profile pages where they can connect to other friends, share images and other media, and post short status updates. In other words, it looks a lot like Facebook. But Microsoft will be leveraging its existing services like Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger. Your IM contacts will automatically be added to your Windows Live contact list.

The new Windows Live also supports integration with third party services like Flickr, LinkedIn, Pandora, and Twitter. And Microsoft is increasing the amount of free storage space for Windows Live SkyDrive users from 5GB to 25GB.

Microsoft is doing a phased rollout of the new services, so you may not notice any changes to your account right away. But all existing Windows Live users should see the new features within the next few weeks.

The company is also releasing new versions of its downloadable and web-based applications including Windows live Messenger, Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Photos, and Windows Live People, a one stop shop for contact management.

Filed under: Weekend Review

Download Squad Week in Review

Download SquadBeen busy preparing to announce your presidential candidacy on Meet the Press? Now that the big day's come, you might find yourself with some free time on your hands. So why not catch up on a few Download Squad stories you may have missed this week?

Sega prototypes released


Early last week we let you know that a member of the Sonic Retro Forums managed to get his hands on hundreds of classic Sega material including documentation, game prototypes. This weekend, DRX released over 1,000 game prototypes.

Easily run Firefox 2 and Firefox 3 beta side by side in OS X

Want to check out the latest beta version of Firefox 3, but don't want to overwrite your Firefox 2 settings? You could try backing up your user settings and creating a new profile. Or if you're using OS X you could just install MultiFireFox which simplifies the whole process.

Read more →

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft

Windows SkyDrive leaves beta, quintuples storage

Windows Live SkyDrive
Microsoft has taken the beta label off of its Windows Live SkyDrive online storage service. The company has also increased the amount of online storage you get from 1GB to 5GB.

When Microsoft first announced a beta version of SkyDrive last August, users got just 500MB of online storage, which was pretty miniscule by 2007 standards. 5GB is much more respectable. You can get 1GB to 5GB of free storage space from a number of competitors like Box.net or AOL's XDrive. For some reason, while Google allows Gmail and Picasa users to store a huge amount of data online, the GDrive still remains as mythical as a unicorn or an honest man.

SkyDrive is also now available in 38 countries and regions including the UK, India, and a number of other countries in South America, Europe, and Asia.

[via Windows Vista Blog]

Filed under: Microsoft, web 2.0

Microsoft doubles Live SkyDrive storage to a whopping 1GB

Windows Live Sky DriveWhile it's nice that Microsoft is starting to offer web-based services like the ability to store and share files online, Windows Live SkyDrive launched earlier this year with an anemic 500MB storage limit per user. But when you can get 5GB of free space from AOL's Xdrive or 25GB of space for media files from MediaMax, half a gig just doesn't cut it.

So what does Microsoft do? They increase the limit to 1GB. Gee, thanks.

The SkyDrive team has announced a few other updates that do look useful. For example you can subscribe to an RSS feed for public folders. Every time a new file is uploaded you'll get an update. You can also see which user uploaded a specific file to a shared SkyDrive. And you can add Windows Live friends to your SkyDrive contacts list without sending them an e-mail or instant messaging them through Hotmail or Windows Live Messenger.

As for the 1GB file size, we suppose it's a start. But we'd like to see more from a company that's in a brutal contest with Google for internet dominance.

Filed under: Design, Internet, Photo, Utilities, Blogging, Web services, Microsoft, web 2.0

Microsofts's Skydrive storage launches

Microsoft's Skydrive storage launchesIf you need a "little" more online storage for pictures, music, documents and videos, Microsoft's online Live storage solution has been re-released, and is available in beta with a few more updates.

Formally called Windows Live Folders, Windows Live Skydrive provides users with a fresh design and new features on the 500 MB online storage solution. There are new graphics, image thumbnails, the ability to drag and drop and embed files into social networks, blogs and websites.

Given that Skydrive is the new name of the service, we only hope that combined with the beta stamp are the only factors holding the storage capacity back for this new Live service.

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The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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