Microsoft's SkyDrive WILL Be Your Cloud Storage
Yesterday, when tinkering with the free Office Web Apps, we also came across SkyDrive. While we had heard of it, we had never taken the time to really get to know it.
So, we did what any tech geek with a company computer would do: installed another program.
Despite our extremely modest expectations, it's actually pretty darn good.
Have you used DropBox? If you forced us to describe the difference between the two services, we'd mumble a bit and then say that SkyDrive is prettier. That's it.
The sync is the same. There's still a little logo in the system tray next to the clock. There's even a SkyDrive folder on your computer that acts exactly like the DropBox folder (and which appears in that handy "Favorites" section next to your Desktop and Downloads folders).
Functionality-wise, there is no freaking difference.
Well played (or play-gerized?) Microsoft.
So why should you switch? There's not really a point. Some might say that it is prettier. Oh, and it does offer 7 gigabytes of free storage, which is 5 more than DropBox (and 43 less than Mega, but we digress).
The real question is, why will you switch?
You'll switch because nearly all lawyers are faithful acolytes of the Microsoft Office system. Guess what service is heavily integrated into Office 2013 (and into Windows 8, but let's be honest - no one uses Windows ME, Vista, 8, right?).
That's right. SkyDrive. It's the default save folder for all of your documents. That's pretty handy. It means everything you write on your computer will be accessible in a password-protected cloud, unless you manually change to another folder.
Internet Explorer became the biggest browser not due to merit, but due to bundling with Windows. Netscape was the far better option, yet more people stuck with the inferior Microsoft-provided portal.
Inferior or not, the same is set to happen with SkyDrive. You probably won't even notice.
Related Resources:
- Box: A Bigger (Better?) Cloud Storage Option (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Two Concerns Over Cloud-Based Software for Lawyers (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Evernote v. OneNote: Which is the Note Bene? (FindLaw's Technologist)