Microsoft reveals HTML5 overhaul of Windows Live SkyDrive

By Tom Warren, on 24th May 11 4:38 pm with 39 Comments

Windows Live SkyDrive overhaul

Microsoft revealed a big overhaul of its Windows Live SkyDrive service on Monday.

The software giant shared the new interface with WinRumors earlier this week in preparation for improvements the company is planning across its Windows Phone operating system. Microsoft is overhauling the user interface of SkyDrive. The new interface will include a HTML5 version of its image viewer, alongside a refreshed interface to view documents and files uploaded to the free service.

Microsoft couldn’t confirm exactly when the interface will be made available but it’s likely that the refresh is part of the company’s Windows Live Wave 5 group of products. SkyDrive offers 25GB of free personal storage in Microsoft’s Cloud. The online service is fully integrated with Microsoft’s Windows Live ID authentication system and allows users to share and edit documents online.

SkyDrive image viewer improvements

SkyDrive album improvements

http://twitter.com/efjay01 Ef Jay

This would look fantastic on a Windows 8 tablet! Metro interface, all day, all the time.
http://twitter.com/CrisRowlands Cristopher rowlands

:O YES PLEASE. WANT.

I use my skydrive all the time
This would be so welcome in my world :3
http://www.facebook.com/AdrizzyM Adriel A-Drizzy Mingo

That looks spectacular! Can’t wait to use it, MSTF FTW!
GP007

Nice, could the Live HTML5 updates be what’s also holding up Bings HTML5 version? I understand if it is, and it kinda makes sense in the end.

With Skydrive finally getting expanded to support more things can we also expect it to act like Google music/amazon as well? I really don’t see why it couldn’t, and it should be easy to do for MS. Of course in MS’s case they’d rather you buy a Zune Pass and use that, which is a better option sure, but hey, why not have both? Since we’ve seen they’ve added direct Skydrive support to the Office hub, pictures and music should be next as well.
- http://www.twitter.com/wixostrix WixosTrix
  
  Microsoft has over 350 million Windows Live users, if all 350m of them decided to use the service because it got full integrated in Windows 8, WP7, and allowed music streaming. Microsoft would be in big trouble. They need to take the approach Lala (acquired by Apple) had. Match what you already own to their database and create a virtualized collection that can be accessed from your browser on your Windows machine, phone, and Xbox 360. That way instead of having 100m copies of Oops I did it again taking up storage in their datacenters everyone can just stream the copy MS already has in the Zune Marketplace. This would also eliminate music from taking up storage space on your Skydrive (except for that it can’t match so I will just upload.
- Anonymous
  
  If I’m not mistaken you can buy a song and then stream it without Zune Pass, this offcourse means that you can’t add your CDs to that collection.
  
  They could always do like MP3.com did and have you send some proof that you own a CD and then they could enable it, but RIAA would go crazy if they did that.
- http://unhub.com/eingoluq Eingoluq
  
  I think the big feature is merging synced folders from live mesh with skydrive folders. as is now, I have multiple folders named similarly. It kind of doesn’t make sense,
Anonymous

Looks really nice, any chance though they will integrate skydrive with office web apps or at least let you upload new files through skydrive like live mesh did?
http://parasvalecha.blogspot.com Paras Valecha

Where can we see this? Link?
- http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98
  
  It’s on internal testing sites, which are located at http://live-int.com, though you can’t log into with your Windows Live ID. However, according to the current roadmap SkyDrive Wave 5 will be released this month (June).
- http://parasvalecha.blogspot.com Paras Valecha
  
  Thanks for the reply.
Anonymous

wow that looks amazing! i hope they put it is on soon! i kinda hope they change from 50mb to at least 200, specially since its 25gb. not 5gb like some years ago. but it looks amazing, and easier for people to use it
- http://www.twitter.com/wixostrix WixosTrix
  
  I hope so too. As well as remove the Live Mesh sync storage limit.
Scott

When I saw the first screenshot, I said: “Hey, it looks like Office ‘Moorea’!”
- http://josedmorales.net Josè Daniel
  
  Quite indeed!
http://www.andrew-stockdale.co.uk Andrew Stockdale

Looking awesome. Didn’t see that coming at all!
Anonymous

“Microsoft couldn’t confirm exactly when the interface will be made available”
The only problem with that statement is if it takes as long as HTML5 Bing has since they first demoed that we’ll see this next Christmas at the earliest.
- http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98
  
  This update will come as part of Windows Live Wave 5. That is due late this year or early next. Since it is from a large group of products, I’d say they can’t keep pushing it back.
- http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98
  
  It looks like it will come this month, actually.
MVE

Awesome! Can’t wait.
http://profiles.google.com/carlosrfonseca Carlos Ribeiro da Fonseca

While that looks pretty nice, it would be even nicer if the Windows Live Team moved to a yearly schedule, just like the IE team.
Anonymous

Is that the beta of IE9?

As far as I can tell the One Bar (or whatever they call the address bar), has separated refresh and stop buttons unlike the RTW version where theres no such ‘divider’ between them.

Or is this some early build of IE10? =D
- http://twitter.com/mcakins McAkins Online
  
  Damn, you gave justice to your name man, I didn’t see that. Indeed that is not the IE9 I am using.
- Guest
  
  Hmm… I think it is the IE9 Beta. The tabs look very slightly rounded… (as was in the Beta, in addition to those buttons) or maybe that is my imagination. I doubt they would “undo” those changes for IE10.
- Anonymous
  
  Good point!
  
  But we know this was shown ‘earlier this week’. Why would Microsoft demonstrate their newest web app on an outdated browser?
  
  Maybe they’re just toying with all of us … the MS geeks?
- Anonymous
  
  Good point!
  
  But we know this was shown ‘earlier this week’. Why would Microsoft demonstrate their newest web app on an outdated browser?
  
  Maybe they’re just toying with all of us … the MS geeks?
- Anonymous
  
  I do not understand
  this
  question too.
Anonymous

Now all we need is to be able to buy more storage, 25GB is great, but I’d love 50 or even 100.
Anonymous

Now all we need is to be able to buy more storage, 25GB is great, but I’d love 50 or even 100.
Anonymous

Now all we need is to be able to buy more storage, 25GB is great, but I’d love 50 or even 100.
- http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98
  
  I would definitely pay for more storage!!
JohnCz

Outstanding. Hopefully it addresses some of my needs around file/folder management.
http://www.appatic.com Avatar X

Amazing. So HTML5 for a of the online Windows Live Wave 5 as a base. Silverlight mostly likely will continue to be used for the extra enhancements. You can also bet that it will be sporting the “Native” HTML5 approach in IE9. Wich in short means Hardware Accelerated, OS Connected and Offiline available. That is what i recently learned Microsoft actually means by Native HTML5.
http://vistablog.it Sebastiano

Il nuovo gestore immagini non ricorda Moorea?
http://unhub.com/eingoluq Eingoluq

will this bring pdf support and where is HTML 5 bing?
- http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98
  
  I hope this will bring PDF support, and it is highly likely it will. Mango supports PDFs in the Office hub, and the Office hub files usually sync to SkyDrive… so probably yes.
  
  As for HTML 5 Bing… no-one knows. They demoed in in September 2010, and said they’d release it as a preview within a month. I think it will be more like a year.
http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98

The new WL Wave 5 header : Windows Live Hotmail Messenger SkyDrive | MSN

I hope Wave 5 arrives soon!
Anonymous

Microsoft is a good software.
http://doctorwhofan98.wordpress.com/ doctorwhofan98

So, is this coming this month? The header in Hotmail, Home, Calendar and Contacts is ready for it, but the other places aren’t, and clicking “SkyDrive” in the header just leads you to the Wave 4 SkyDrive, not the Wave 5 SkyDrive that is previewed here.