14 DAY TRIAL // With Windows 8 Consumer Preview
just around the corner, Microsoft is offering some more details on what the upcoming platform release will have to offer to its users.
One of the features that Windows 8 users will benefit from on their devices is a Metro style application to access the company’s free cloud service, SkyDrive.
Some of the latest reports on the matter did suggest that we might see a SkyDrive application released for Windows 8.
Now, everything on the matter is official, and we know for certain that there will be fast access to files and folders on SkyDrive, straight from any Windows 8 device.
The same as the web interface that provides users with the possibility to access the cloud service today, the application will enable easy management of files.
Microsoft promises early access to the said SkyDrive application as soon as next week when the Consumer Preview arrives.
The app was meant as a fast, fluid, touch-first version of SkyDrive, to offer fast access to the latest version of the documents that users have stored in the cloud.
At the same time, with the new application, Microsoft focused on ensuring that SkyDrive would be accessible from any Metro style app through the file picker (open/save) and through the new Share charm in Windows 8.
“We built the entire app using modern web technologies like JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5, and because of our recent updates to SkyDrive.com, we were able to use the same JSON APIs and JavaScript object model that the website uses,” Mike Torres and Omar Shahine, group program managers for SkyDrive, explain.
“The only difference on Windows 8 is that we bind the results to modern controls that were built for touch. This is part of the reason it’s so fast, and the touch behavior works so well (and works on Windows on ARM too).
“Over time, we fully expect the Metro style app and SkyDrive.com to “converge” on functionality so there won’t be a question of which experience someone should use. When using Windows 8, the SkyDrive Metro style app will be the best way to browse and manage your SkyDrive.”