Windows SkyDrive
RIVER BENDER - December 2010
Last month I wrote about cloud computing and how it was similar to time sharing of computers back in the '80s before Internet existed. I also mentioned that cloud computing provided the capability to store data such as photos and documents on the web so you wouldn't have to worry about storage media in your computer becoming obsolete, such as diskettes, CDs, thumb drives, etc. In this article I discuss Microsoft's SkyDrive (the cloud) where I've stored hundreds of photos of our Pickin & Grinin music group that anyone can access.
Windows Live SkyDrive is free and allows you to store up to 25GB of data online. You can store, access and share thousands of documents, photos and Microsoft Office files and control who can access them on the Internet from any computer. To establish an account on SkyDrive go to http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive. If you already have a Hotmail, Messenger, or Xbox LIVE address then you already have a Windows Live ID and can simply sign in.
I had over 700 photos in my computer taken of the Pickin & Grinin music group over the years that I wanted members to be able to access and save what they wanted in their computer. Before starting, I made sure all photos were resized to around 60Kbytes by using the CodePlex resizer mentioned in my RIVER BENDER article last March at http://pages.suddenlink.net/davew/mar10.htm. Even resized and at a broadband speed of 1.5mbps it takes time for SkyDrive to display all the photos in thumbnail form. None of the photos are retouched, unlike the ones I posted on the Pickin webpage at http://pages.suddenlink.net/davew/pickin.htm. I don't recommend anyone with dialup access going to my SkyDrive website with so many photos because it would be extremely slow.
I found SkyDrive to be very easy to use. To upload your photos all you have to do is click on "Photos" followed by "Create an album" or use a folder already created and then click on "Add photos." I created an album called "Pickin & Grinin." After clicking on "Add photos" you must resize the SkyDrive page smaller so you can see SkyDrive on the right and your list of files on the left. All you do then is highlight a bunch of files and drag them to the SkyDrive page where they will start uploading. It goes very fast. I assume you know how to drag and drop. You will see the status of the upload.
Your photos on SkyDrive will normally be displayed in thumbnail form but you can choose to display them as tiny icons, a list or sort them by name, date, size, etc, however, it takes time to sort. Mine are mixed up because they've been moved so often between computers over the years the origin dates apparently got lost. If one wants to save a photo in their computer all they have to do is click on the thumbnail to enlarge it then right-click and select "Save picture as."
A nice feature is "Slide Show." Moving your cursor to the right or left of the display allows you to advance or go back. Clicking on SkyDrive at the top exits. Another nice feature is each album or folder has a unique URL which you can send to friends by e-mail so they can go directly to the folder. They can’t change anything but you can by signing in.
Take a look at my Skydrive webpage containing over 700 photos of the Pickin and Grinin Group at http://cid-2b8fe6324758f54b.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Pickin%20%5E0%20Grinin. As mentioned I don't recommend dial-up users using the site because it will take too long for photos to display. At my 1.5mbps broadband speed it takes just under two minutes the first time I access the site. Thanks to Henry Harms who took most of the recent photos.