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As Office-Watch.com reader Bernard L. notes “My Live Mesh was automatically converted to a synced Skydrive folder weeks ago! ”
Bernard is right, the 5GB cloud storage element of Live Mesh was recently renamed to 'Skydrive Synced Storage' but it's separate from usual Skydrive storage even though both are under the same Windows Live account.
'Skydrive Synced Storage' is limited to 5GB, not the 7GB or 25GB of standard Skydrive.
Aside from the name, there’s no apparent connection between the ‘real’ Skydrive and the Live Mesh cloud storage. But it may well be a prelude to a further merging of the products.
Live Mesh continues to work, for the moment. But it's clear from Microsoft oblique statements and effective disbanding of the Live Mesh development team that they are letting it whither on the vine.
... click here to read more at Office-Watch.com ...Microsoft’s default Windows Libraries mislead people into thinking libraries are for types of files (Music, Video etc). Libraries can be used for any heading or subject you like as long as they are separated by folder in their original location.
Let’s say a super-villain is has an evil plan to take over the world. The plan files are in several locations. A Windows Library could bring all those folders into a single view for easier access (eg by our hero with only moments at the computer before being caught by henchmen)
On the Libraries heading in Explorer, right-mouse click, choose New | Library,
Give the Library a name and then you have a library but no contents.
Microsoft has put a helpful ‘Include a folder’ link in the pane to get you started. Bring in folders from different places under the one library as our super-villain has done.
His documents, pictures, videos and even music for a single (evil) project can be found in a single library.
... click here to read more at Office-Watch.com ...Windows 7 has ‘Libraries’, a way to bring folders and files from different locations into a single searchable ‘location’ and that can include sync’d folders from cloud services.
‘Location’ in quotes because no files are moved or copied – it’s a virtual folder. By default, Libraries bring together ‘My Documents’ and ‘Public’ folders into a single library. For example the ‘My Music’ folder and the ‘Public Music’ folder.
Click on Libraries | Music and you’ll see all the music from both folders in a single list. You can search the library (ie all folders at once) using the Search pane on top right of the Explorer window.
The search should be quick because Windows should index the contents of the library folders.
You’re not limited to the default folders that Windows creates and it’s easy to add folders to the existing libraries or make entirely new libraries.
The libraries feature arrived with the release of Windows 7 and is continued in Windows 8.
You can include cloud folders into any library just like any other folder.
The condition is that the cloud files have to be synced to your computer. Windows 7 can’t really ‘see’ cloud storage but it can deal with a local copy of the cloud files. Happily most cloud storage has sync software (at least for Windows) with Google Drive being the last major player to do so.
Cloud sync software automatically keeps copying between the cloud storage files and folders on a local computer. This lets you manage the files when offline and is much faster than waiting for the Internet connection.
Since the sync’d folders on your computer are normal folders (as far as Windows is concerned) you can add them to library. We’ll use Google Drive in this ‘step-by-step’ however you can use the same tip with any sync’d cloud service including Skydrive, Dropbox and SugarSync.
... click here to read more at Office-Watch.com ...In preparing our article about privacy law and the cloud some other possible privacy breaches came to our attention.
Let’s say you setup a cloud service and ensure that the servers are located in a place that’s acceptable to your organization and applicable laws. That’s not the end of it.
Cloud storage can be moved to another server, even another country, without notice. Office 365 seemingly lets you control where your data is stored but in practice Microsoft can move your data to another country without notice. Other companies presumably have similar wording in their terms.
These provisions are reasonable because it allows cloud providers to move data quickly in unexpected situations (like a major server or communications failure) but also opens the door for data migration to allow easier access by governments or other bodies.
Cnet is reporting that the FBI is proposing that Internet services like VOIP, Instant Messaging, Web email and cloud storage be ‘encouraged’ to put in ‘backdoors’ that allow easy surveillance. This would be an extension of the existing US ‘Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act’ which applies to telephone companies and broadband networks.
Another factor to consider is the potential for ‘listening in’ on information as it passes between computers and the cloud storage. This is more difficult but not impossible with government resources.
The infamous case of Room 641A in San Francisco is just one known example of what governments can do. According to Wired the NSA Is building the US’s biggest spy center.
Using HTTPS to encrypt communications might help but probably would not be a problem for a sufficiently determined and well-resourced listening post.
... click here to read more at Office-Watch.com ...In this article we’ll try to set out some of the legal issues surrounding cloud storage. We’ll focus on the legal side, not the technical possibilities, and give links to source material where possible.
Mostly you don’t know where cloud servers are located and even when you do know (eg Office 365) it can change without notice.
Things get more complicated if the customer is based in one country, the server in another but the company providing the cloud service is based in yet another country. That’s before adding complications like subsidiaries of either the customer or provider, roaming customers, control of data links and so on.
The Privacy laws in some countries effectively require that data storage is kept within that country. When the data is stored in another country it can be hard to prove that privacy compliance is complete since the same rules may not apply in the country where the data is stored.
One myth is that when data is stored in a jurisdiction, it can’t be accessed directly by the laws of another country. Sadly that’s not true ….
Normally the cloud service providers don’t say where their servers are located. Your Gmail, Hotmail, SkyDrive or Google Drive emails and files can be stored anywhere that Microsoft or Google want. The location can change without you realizing it and there should be backups of the data stored at multiple locations. In some cases, like Office 365, the customer is told the broad location of the server but even that can change without notice.
In practice, the physical location of cloud servers doesn’t matter much. Laws have been written, in particular US laws, to have effect beyond the borders of a single country.
The far reaching laws of a single country can apply even to global companies that have a small subsidiary in that country.
... click here to read more at Office-Watch.com ...
