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SkyDrive for Windows 8 won't support PC-to-PC syncing

SkyDrive for Windows 8 won't support PC-to-PC syncing

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Despite being combined with Windows Live Mesh, the next version of cloud storage service SkyDrive won't support syncing between PCs.

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Skydrive Windows 8
Skydrive Windows 8

With Windows 8, Microsoft will be introducing new features and apps to its cloud storage service SkyDrive, but syncing between PCs won't be among the additions. In the comments of a recent Building Windows 8 blog post, Mike Torres, SkyDrive Group Program Manager for devices and roaming, revealed that the service won't support PC-to-PC syncing without using the cloud because "it adds complexity" both from a technical and user perspective. This in spite of the fact that Windows Live Mesh — which did support file syncing between two or more computers — is being rolled into the SkyDrive service.

According to Torres, the new "fetch" feature that's being introduced into SkyDrive, which lets users grab documents from any SkyDrive-connected PC, should address the lack of syncing between computers. "There are tradeoffs either way, we realize that," he explained, "but we decided to focus on a simple model and really work to get that right."