Windows meshes with the web

23-04-2008

by Ciara O'Brien

Microsoft is set to extend its dominance in computing with its new "Live Mesh" offering, which aims to connect devices and applications online.

The "software plus services" platform uses the internet as a hub to connect people to applications, devices and information they require. The idea is that these applications and information would be accessible from anywhere, using the web as an interface.

Folders and devices can be added to the "mesh" and will automatically synchronise. It also gives access to what effectively works as a remote desktop, so you can access work programs on your home PC using the service.

"Devices are how we interact in this new 'web connected' world and we use a variety of them, including PCs, laptops, media devices, phones, digital picture frames, game consoles, music players and the list grows at every CES. However, as we discover, adopt and use more of these digital devices, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the people, information and applications we depend on in sync," general manager Amit Mital said in a posting on the Windows Live Dev blog.

"This new software-plus-services platform enables PCs and other devices to 'come alive' by making them aware of each other through the internet. Our goal is to provide a 'just works' experience by making it much easier to access the information, applications, people, and devices you care about."

The Live Mesh platform aims to have users' devices working together, make data and applications available from anywhere, allow users to connect to people needed for collaboration and sharing in just a few clicks, and provide users with the information they require to stay up to date.

It will initially be available to users of Vista and XP, and during the 'technology preview', users will get 5GB of storage.

Microsoft's move is just one in the latest away from the desktop as the centre of a user's computing needs and towards the "cloud" model of computing, where resources are accessed through a central interface, but can be distributed anywhere there is a web connection.

This is a major move for Microsoft -- the web is one area where it has failed to keep pace with rivals such as Google, with its Google Docs and other applications that allow people to access word processing and spreadsheets through a web browser.