Erik Larkin, Preston Gralla

In Windows 8 Microsoft will merge its free online storage service SkyDrive and syncing software Mesh to provide the backbone for what looks to be a service that will rival or beat iCloud.

In Windows 8, those tools together will automatically sync all your important files to the cloud, and then sync them to your devices. So if you write a Word document, for example, it will get sent to the cloud, and that document will then be available on a Windows Phone, a Windows 8 tablet, or other Windows 8 device. It will also be available from any Internet-connected device.

Apple's announcement that it's asking for an outside audit of how workers are treated at Chinese factories that produce its products is a potentialy good first step towards possibly reforming labor practices. The truth is, though, the only way those factories will treat their workers properly is if you're willing to pay more for products from Apple and many other electronics makers.

Apple has long been criticized for the way workers are treated at factories in China that produce its products. Last month, the New York Times published an in-depth article documenting working conditions, and what it found was horrific. The article concluded:

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview launch is slated for February 29, but much more important than the date is the location -- the annual Mobile World Congress, the year's big show about mobile technology. That makes clear that Windows 8 has everything to do with tablets and phones, and less to do with the desktop.

Choosing to launch the Windows 8 Consumer Preview at the Mobile World Congress shows just how much this version of Windows is aimed at tablets and smartphones. Why else announce it at the world's biggest mobile show?

Microsoft has launched an all-out public assault on Google's recent privacy changes, but Google is fighting back, claiming that Microsoft and other critics are spreading untruths about the new policy. It's a fight that's good for users.

Microsoft is running a big-money ad campaign in major daily newspapers slamming Google over its recent privacy changes, charging the company makes it "easier for Google to connect the dots between everything you search, send, say, or stream while using one of their services... Every data point they collect and connect to you increases how valuable you are to an advertiser."

Microsoft has announced that the Technical Preview for Office 15 for all of its Office products and servers is available for a group of select testers, and is giving no hint as to what's in it. I'm not privy to plans, but here are five things I'd like to see in the next version of Office.

A useful Web version

The Web-based version of Office is, to put it mildly, underwhelming. It does a very nice job of accurately keeping formatting in documents created on the client version. But it's so underpowered as to be almost useless except for the most basic of tasks. I've yet to come across anyone who uses it, and with good reason. In some instances you can't apply themes or backgrounds, or even create new documents. Whenever I need to turn to a Web-based document creator or editor, I always turn to Google Docs instead, even though I use Office as my main office suite. A version that competes -- or better yet, outcompetes -- with Google Docs would be very welcome.

Microsoft is on track to deliver Windows 8 this year, likely some time in the last quarter. As always with new Windows releases, we can expect mega-hype and a blanketing of the airwaves, print, and Internet with countless millions of dollars in Microsoft marketing and advertising.

But this time around, there's a serious underlying question about the new Windows release: Will Windows 8 really matter? Will it change the way anyone works, plays, gets information, or interacts with others? How much will it matter to Microsoft's bottom line?

Microsoft has joined the public opposition to SOPA, although like Google and many other opponents, won't black out its site today. Although some people have said Microsoft's opposition is insincere or half-hearted, the company has been quietly working against it behind the scenes at least since November.

Bloomberg reports that Microsoft has said in a statement, "We oppose the passage of the SOPA bill as currently drafted. Hundreds of millions of customers rely on our services every day so we don’t plan to shut those down to express our view."

Microsoft has joined the public opposition to SOPA, although like Google and many other opponents, won't black out its site today. Although some people have said Microsoft's opposition is insincere or half-hearted, the company has been quietly working against it behind the scenes at least since November.

Bloomberg reports that Microsoft has said in a statement, "We oppose the passage of the SOPA bill as currently drafted. Hundreds of millions of customers rely on our services every day so we don’t plan to shut those down to express our view."

If you're looking for an all-in-one directory tool for everything from printing tree views of directories, to finding duplicate files, to doing mass-renaming of files and more, you'd do well to give Directory Report ($25, ten-day free trial) a try. This file management utility has techie tools for just about any directory-related task you might have, and many you may not have even heard of.

Directory Report displays folders in a tree-like format, and gives you a comprehensive set of tools for managing files and folders.Run the program, tell it what directory you want to consider as its root (for example, C: or your user account), and Directory Report quickly scans your system and displays all of your directories and files in a familiar tree structure, like Windows Explorer or any number of file management utilities. Click the + next to any folder to expand it; click the – to collapse it.

It's rare that a company celebrates when one of its products bites the dust, but that's what Microsoft just did with the news that Internet Explorer 6 is essentially dead in the U.S. with less than 1 percent of market share. And they're no doubt celebrating in Redmond with the news that users are abandoning Windows XP in near-record numbers.

In a blog Roger Capriotti, Director of Internet Explorer Marketing, cited numbers from Net Applications showing that IE 6 usage in the U.S. has dropped below 1 percent. So the company baked a "Goodbye IE 6 cake" and posted a photo of it. Capriotti says that Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Ukraine, Portugal and the Philippines now all have less than 1 percent IE usage.

Despite years of development and countless millions in marketing, Windows Phone 7 still has gained no traction with consumers. Charlie Kindel, former general manager of Windows Phone 7, recently blogged about why the device remains a failure -- and he says it has absolutely nothing to do with technology, and everything to do with the malleability of consumers.

Kindel, who left Microsoft this year to start his own company, wrote a blog post "Windows Phone is Superior; Why Hasn't it Taken Off?" detailing the reasons he believes that Windows Phone 7 sales "appear so lackluster." It has nothing to do with technology, he says, because he believes that Windows Phone 7 is superior to Android, even though Android sales have skyrocketed, while Windows Phone 7 sales have lagged.

If you use the SugarSync file synchronization and backup service and Microsoft Outlook, you'll want to download this free add-in--and do it sooner, rather than later. SugarSync for Outlook takes care of several nagging problems with the email client. The most notable is one that affects almost all email users: the problem of not being able to send large file attachments because email providers block them. Email providers block the sending or receiving of very large files because it clogs up their servers and uses up bandwidth. If your boss is in the habit of emailing PowerPoint decks, this spells trouble.

SugarSync for Outlook solves the problem neatly. You may already be familiar with Sharpcast's SugarSync; if not, you'll still find it easy to pick up the way SugarSync for Outlook works. This add-in installs directly inside Outlook. When it's time to send a large attachment, send it as you would normally. Instead of sending the file itself, though, SugarSync sends a link to the file, which it backs up onto a SugarSync server. When the recipient gets your email, he or she clicks on the attachment, and the attachment is downloaded from the server. It's that simple.