Engadget is filing this in the rumor department, for now. But if true, it would certainly help SkyDrive trump the competition with low-price storage.

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Updated 10 a.m. PTwith response from Microsoft.

HPs fiscal first quarter not so hotCEO Meg Whitman says that the company is taking the necessary steps to improve execution.

One other tidbit found by Engadget is apossible tiered pricing structurefor SkyDrive.

Former ctory workers add pleas to sign Apple labor petitionTwo former ctory workers in China who suffered health problems as part of a 2009 incident are urging the public to sign an Internet petition being deliverefree web hosting Microsoft SkyDrive aiming to outcloud iCloudd to Apple tomorrow.

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Microsoft is targeting a host of improvements for SkyDrive, potentially giving iCloud and similar services some healthy competition.

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New U.K. site maps muggings, street violenceStreetViolence.org is a U.K. site on which people who have been mugged can help others avoid certain high-risk areas by mapping the location of the crimes. Does this remind some of Microsofts Avoid Ghetto patent?

The next version, dubbedSkyDrive Wave 5, could lead the way, with several features revealed by blogging site LiveSide.net.

Microsoft has already confirmed aMetro-style SkyDrive appand a desktop app for Internet Explorer slated for Windows 8. The new apps will integrate SkyDrive, letting users access their cloud-based content from any PC. But Microsoft didnt say if or how the new integration would work with prior versions of Windows or the Mac.

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5,000 Kindle titles shut down by Amazon in pricing disputeAmazon accused of pressure campaign to extract more vorable terms from publishers and distributors.

Asked about the rumored new features, a Microsoft spokeswoman said the company had nothing more to share at this time. But she did point to aMicrosoft blogfrom last November as an idea of what the SkyDrive team envisions for the cloud service.

Tipped off about new features that are said to be coming to SkyDrive soon, the site detailed such items as support for theOpenDocument formatand the ability to store and manage BitLocker recovery keys on SkyDrive.

Lance WhitneyLance Whitney wears a few different technology hats–journalifree web hostingst, Web developer, and software trainer. Hes a contributing editor for Microsoft TechNet Magazine and writes for other computer publications and Web sites. Lance is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and he is not an employee of CNET.

Set up as a standard file storage and syncing service, SkyDrive has always been a decent product, but its success has been hampered by certain limitations. It has also been lost amid other cloud-based storage services 深圳学生网, including Dropbox, Box.net, and iCloud.

free web hosting Microsoft SkyDrive aiming to outcloud iCloud,Beyond tight integration with Windows 8, SkyDrive could be due for a slew of new features and enhancements in its next version.

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Smart lights save energy without changing bulbsStartup Enlighted says its distributed sensor-based lighting controls cut energy from lighting by about 60 percent.

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Microsoft currently offers 25 gigabytes of storage for free. But users who need more might be able to pay $10 a year for an extra 20 gigabytes, $25 for an extra 50GB, or $50 for an extra 100GB.

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The new SkyDrive will integrate directly with Windows Explorer.

Stay up-to-date on news centered in Redmond, Wash., from acquisitions to product updates to leadership developments.

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Technically Incorrect

But one killer feature would be a new SkyDrive app for Windows and theMac. Currently, the only way to access your SkyDrive content from your computer is through the browser. But the new desktop app would let you browse your SkyDrive files just as youre able to browse local files. And vice versa, the SkyDrive Web page would let you browse files among your local PCs.

But with a new version of SkyDrive expected alongside the Windows 8 integration, Microsoft stands to win over a whole new crowd of users turning to the cloud.