REVIEW WINDOWS 8 PRO Cloud Connected: Windows Account and SkyDrive

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When you first install Windows 8, you are prompted to log in with or create a new Microsoft account. By using a Microsoft account, your settings and preferences are stored in the cloud and synced across any Windows 8 devices you log into. When we logged into a second PC with the same username and designated that PC as a "trusted computer" in settings, we saw that our desktop wallpaper, social media networks and SkyDrive account all appeared on the new machine at next login. Microsoft deserves a lot of credit for making all of this work seamlessly behind the scenes.
If you need to install Windows 8 without an Internet connection or you just don't want to have a Microsoft account, you can create a local account that exists only on a single system. We strongly encourage you to use a Microsoft account, though, because it provides a single login for all the different Microsoft services you use. When we made a local account and then opened the People, Music, Video and SkyDrive apps for the first time, we were asked for the same username and password for each app.
Click to EnlargeWhen setting up your account, you have a choice of three verification methods. By default, the system will take your Microsoft account password or the password you set for your local account. However, in the settings menu you can opt for a 4-digit pin or a picture password, which consists of three custom gestures you perform over a custom photo of your choice.
Of the verification methods, we found picture password best for the tablet, because it did not require us to type anything. However, doing the exact same gestures over the same spot on a photo is more of a challenge with a mouse or touchpad. For keyboard users, we recommend sticking with the password or the PIN.
Microsoft has integrated its SkyDrive Cloud storage service into the OS, preloading a Windows 8-styled SkyDrive app and placing its tile in a prominent location on the Start screen. Whether or not they use Windows 8, SkyDrive users get 7GB of free storage with the option to buy additional capacity. The cloud service allows you to not only store files, but also to edit and create Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote documents in the Cloud.
The preloaded SkyDrive App provides a simple but attractive front-end for the service. It opens to a very basic screen showing the number of Documents, Pictures and publicly shared files you have in your account. You can then click through to any of these folders to view their online contents and upload or download files from them. If you want to edit or create a document, the app sends you to Internet Explorer.
In a puzzling business decision, Microsoft does not preload its SkyDrive application for the desktop. However, users have the option to download and install SkyDrive for Windows on their own, which will allow them to save and open files directly to SkyDrive and sync folders in the file system to the cloud.