Live Mesh Goes into Public Tech Preview

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://https://www.mesh.com/Welcome/Welcome.aspx' target='_blank'>http://https://www.mesh.com/Welcome/Welcome.aspx</a><br /><br /></div><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//dht/auto/1216225617.usr1.png" border="0" /></p><p>Microsoft has opened up their <a href="https://www.mesh.com/Welcome/Welcome.aspx" target="_blank">Live Mesh service</a> to the general public in the form of a "tech preview" which is a nicer way of saying "mostly still beta". I've been using Live Mesh for a couple of months now, and it's a pretty cool service. You set a folder to be "Live Meshed" and not only will it be kept in sync between multiple computers, the contents of the folder will be kept in the cloud (where you have 5 GB of storage). I think there's a lot of potential here, especially since they've stated they'll be targeting mobile devices. I've been dreaming of having my FlexWallet file be pushed to my device when there's a change in it, because connecting my device with my desktop computer is something I just don't do anymore. I was hoping for years that the FolderShare team would release a Windows Mobile client, but they're still struggling to get the service stable, so no joy there. If you have a desktop and a laptop, and haven't checked out Live Mesh yet, you should.</p>

[rzanology]

yes i must say its pretty polished thus far. been using it for a month or so and i love it. im just waiting for them to tie in the "folder share" part of the puzzle. im really excited to see microsoft bust this market wide open! i think google has been getting way too much praise for this "cloud-isk" thing.

[Cold Flame]

... to be in tight with Microsoft, Jason. I just tried to sign up for it and it is for American citizens only. How ridiculous...

Maybe one day we'll get US-comparable pricing one day too. *coughs*

[Jason Dunn]

... to be in tight with Microsoft, Jason. I just tried to sign up for it and it is for American citizens only. How ridiculous...

Hmm - I don't recall doing anything special, I just logged in with my normal Live Passport and it worked. :confused: I think I did get an invite though, maybe that's the difference...and I don't seem to have any invites right now. :(

[Cold Flame]

Hmm - I don't recall doing anything special, I just logged in with my normal Live Passport and it worked. :confused: I think I did get an invite though, maybe that's the difference...and I don't seem to have any invites right now. :(

Well, it says they're full right now and to be put on the list to sign up at some microsoft site of theirs, which I did, but in the fine print it said, "Current available to US residents only. If you are from another country, you will be put on a list and notified..." something along those lines anyway.

*shrugs* No big deal, just sounds like something I could really utilize! =)

[SassKwatch]

This bit from the 'Access from Anywhere' blurb caught my attention......

"Need a program that's only on your home PC? With Live Mesh, access to all your devices—and any programs on those devices—is at your fingertips, no matter where you are."

This is purely theoretical, 'but'............

If I interpret that right, I could go to my sister's house, grant her access to my machine, and teach her how to use Photoshop. And then let her use it on my machine whenever I'm not.(??)

Isn't that likely to raise just a whole slew of DRM complaints from someone....somewhere???

[Jason Dunn]

If I interpret that right, I could go to my sister's house, grant her access to my machine, and teach her how to use Photoshop. And then let her use it on my machine whenever I'm not.(??)

That would be a bit painful over a standard cable/DSL connection, but certainly possible. It's just doing Remote Desktop.

[superrrguy]

Are there any benefits of FolderShare over the Live Mesh?

Also, the name is kind of weak.

Where did they come up with "Mesh"? Was "Microsoft Remote Desktop Connnection and File Synchronization Express Wizard for Cloud Computing Live 2009" taken?

[gilbertovp]

I'm not in US, but I was able to register for the program at the Connect site, but the status is still Pending for more than 2 months (and I used to be beta tester of several other Microsoft products) :-(

... to be in tight with Microsoft, Jason. I just tried to sign up for it and it is for American citizens only. How ridiculous...

Maybe one day we'll get US-comparable pricing one day too. *coughs*

[mbreau]

Not in the US either (Canadian), but applied and got confirmed yesterday. Looks like MS might be relaxing things a bit.

[baralong]

I've been using it for a couple of months now and it's great. Synchronising my favourites, ebooks, and a drop spot for .torrent files (uTorrent picks them up from there on my home machine)

Also we have some painful corporate vs guest restrictions at work. I have a machine on both networks and mesh is the easiest way to transfer data between them.

http://m.mesh.com also works pretty well. Can't wait for proper synchronisation to my phone, but I'll have to watch the bandwidth

edit: forgot to say, registered fine from Australia when it was a tech preview thing

[rzanology]

moile portal live.... m.mesh.com its getting better and better :)

[Jason Dunn]

http://m.mesh.com also works pretty well. Can't wait for proper synchronisation to my phone, but I'll have to watch the bandwidth

Cool - I had no idea they had a mobile portal! I'll have to check that out.

[GallopingCow]

Looks a lot like <a href="http://www.getdropbox.com">DropBox</a> to me, and <a href="http://www.getdropbox.com">DropBox</a> is absolutely stellar.
I went ahead and signed up for the preview. :)

[Cold Flame]

Not in the US either (Canadian), but applied and got confirmed yesterday. Looks like MS might be relaxing things a bit.

Serious? I applied yesterday (I'm also Canadian) and it put me on the list. *sighs* Unreal.