Microsoft gets stingy with free online storage

NEW YORK, United States — Microsoft is getting stingy with online storage.

The company just cut the free space it offers through its OneDrive service by two-thirds, making it the second major company to retreat from a consumer cloud-storage boom that tempted users with price cuts and ever-larger free offers.

Starting next year, Microsoft will cut its free option to 5 gigabytes, down from 15 gigabytes now. Microsoft says the new allotment is enough for about 6,600 Office documents or 1,600 photos.

Earlier this year, Amazon eliminated a free 5 gigabyte storage plan, although it still offers that amount to those who pay for its Prime loyalty program.

Microsoft is also effectively doubling prices for some storage plans. It will charge $2 a month for 50 gigabytes of storage, including the free allotment, rather than the 100 gigabytes it currently offers at that price. The company is eliminating a $4-a-month, 200 gigabyte plan.

Subscribers to Microsoft’s Office 365, which offers word processing, spreadsheet and other apps starting at $7 a month, will now be limited to 1 terabyte, or 1,000 gigabytes, of storage. The company is killing off an “unlimited” option that it said a “small number of users” had abused by backing up numerous personal computers and storing entire movie collections.

As with similar services from Google, Dropbox and others, OneDrive can store just about any type of files. Apps can automatically sync what you store on a device.

Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has emphasized mobile and online services such as OneDrive over traditional sales of Windows and Office software for personal computers. The company has offered services for free as a way to hook people into using other services, such as Microsoft’s ad-supported Bing search engine and the Office 365 subscription.

Microsoft decided to end its unlimited cloud storage offering, saying a small number of users abused the system, a report from Agence France-Presse said.

“Since we started to roll out unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 consumer subscribers, a small number of users backed up numerous PCs and stored entire movie collections and DVR recordings,” Microsoft said in a statement on Monday.

In some cases, Microsoft said users stored more than 75 terabytes “or 14,000 times the average” for its consumer cloud service called OneDrive.

Microsoft says it will give people time — up to a year in some cases — to remove files that exceed its new limits.

Here’s a look at some of the alternatives:

DROPBOX: People get only 2 gigabytes for free, but can earn bonuses by getting friends to sign up or by uploading photos automatically from phones. After that, it’s $10 a month for a terabyte of space. Business plans with unlimited storage cost $15 a month per person, with a minimum of five people.

GOOGLE DRIVE: It’s 15 gigabytes of free storage to start, but that includes Gmail messages on the account. Photos of up to 16 megapixels, which covers most phones, won’t count toward the limit. For more storage, prices range from $2 a month for 100 gigabytes to $300 for 30 terabytes.

APPLE’S ICLOUD: Free storage starts at 5 gigabytes, which includes what’s needed for iPhone backups. Those needing more can pay $1 a month for 50 gigabytes, $3 for 200 gigabytes or $10 for 1 terabyte. iCloud storage works best with Apple devices.

AMAZON CLOUD DRIVE: Amazon offers unlimited photo storage and 5 gigabytes for video and other files for $12 a year, or $1 a month. For unlimited storage of all files, it’s $60 a year, or $5 a month. Members of Amazon’s $99-a-year Prime loyalty program get the lower option for free. Amazon eliminated its 5-gigabyte free plan in March.

YAHOO: Although Yahoo doesn’t have a general file-storage service, it offers a generous 1 terabyte for e-mail and an additional 1 terabyte for photos and video through Flickr.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Microsoft skips Windows 9 to stress advances

SAN FRANCISCO — The next version of Microsoft’s flagship operating system will be called Windows 10, as the company skips version 9 to emphasize advances it is making toward a world centered on mobile devices and Internet services.

The current version, Windows 8, has been widely derided for forcing radical behavioral changes. Microsoft is restoring some of the more traditional ways of doing things and promises that Windows 10 will be familiar for users regardless of which version of Windows they are now using.

For instance, the start menu in Windows 10 will appear similar to what’s found in Windows 7, but tiles opening to the side will resemble what’s found in Windows 8.

Joe Belfiore, a Microsoft executive who oversees Windows design and evolution, said Windows 10 will offer “the familiarity of Windows 7 with some of the benefits that exist in Windows 8″ to help business users make the transition.

Microsoft offered a glimpse of its vision for Windows at a San Francisco event Tuesday aimed at business customers. Microsoft is making a technical preview version available to selected users starting Wednesday. It plans to unveil details about consumer features early next year, with a formal release in mid-2015.

Analysts consider the success of the new Windows crucial for Microsoft and new CEO Satya Nadella, who must show that Microsoft can embrace mobile devices without sacrificing the traditional computing experience.

The new software represents an attempt to step back from the radical redesign that alienated many PC users when Windows 8 was introduced two years ago. But it’s not a complete retreat from Microsoft’s goal of bridging the gap between PCs and mobile devices: It still has touch-screen functions and strives to create a familiar experience for Windows users who switch between desktop computers, tablets and smartphones.

Microsoft executive Terry Myerson said Windows 10 will be “a whole new generation” and, as expected, will work across a variety of devices — from phones to gaming consoles.

Microsoft currently has three main systems — Windows 8 for traditional computers and tablets, Windows Phone 8 for cellphones and Xbox for its gaming console. By unifying the underlying systems, software developers will be able to create apps for the various devices more easily. Consumers will also be able to switch devices more easily and avoid having to buy the same apps multiple times.

That doesn’t mean the apps will look the same on the various devices. Developers will still be able to adapt apps for the various screen sizes, but won’t have to start from the beginning for each version.

User interfaces on the various devices may also differ, even as they share underlying technologies. For now, Microsoft plans to keep the current Xbox interface on the game console.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Bills Gates stays atop Forbes list of America’s richest

NEW YORK — Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates is still America’s richest man, taking the top spot in the Forbes 400 list for the 20th straight year with a net worth of $72 billion.

Investor Warren Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., remains in second place with $58.5 billion, while Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison stays third with $41 billion.

Brothers Charles and David Koch, co-owners of Koch Industries Inc., stay tied for fourth with $36 billion each.

Forbes says America’s super rich continued to increase their wealth over the past year, with the 400 people on the list posting a combined net worth of $2 trillion, up from $1.7 trillion a year ago.

That marks their highest combined value ever.

Forbes attributed the growth to strong stock and real estate markets.

source: business.inquirer.net