Microsoft to integrate cloudy SkyDrive with Windows 8

SkyDrive is due to enter into a new realm of user friendly functionality as a device cloud' app.

Plans are afoot for the storage solution to become more intricately weaved into Windows 8, improving usability.

The news was announced earlier this week on the Building Windows 8 blog by Mike Torres and Omar Shahine, group programme managers at SkyDrive.

Given our goal to be the world's hard drive, we will need to continue to build out the service.

The developers detailed their plans to evolve SkyDrive into a device cloud' for Microsoft customers, saying they intended to develop a "fast, fluid, touch-first version of SkyDrive that makes it quick, easy and even fun to browse and access your files."

The plan is to seamlessly connect' SkyDrive into Windows 8, allowing users to easily access files from any device.

The developers said that, "rather than using a patchwork of services, people can use one service to connect to their files with no compromises."

"Given our goal to be the world's hard drive, we will need to continue to build out the service, and you can expect our pace of improvements to continue through 2012," they added.

By integrating SkyDrive into a conventional Windows Desktop, users will be able to connect to files from other desktops running SkyDrive, by method of a drag-and-drop. They will also be able to keep the contents of their folders synchronised in the same manner in which DropBox functions.

The app will be compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7 but won't be available for Windows XP users.