With the future of computing trending toward synchronization across all of a users' devices, Microsoft's Live Mesh attempts to take a step in that direction.
Live Mesh is a free service that aims to provide users with 5 gigabytes of space online to share and sync their files among all their Internet-enabled devices, from their desktops to their mobile phones.
A Windows Live ID is required for accessing and signing into the program. Since the School of Arts and Sciences uses Windows Live for student Web mail, the service can serve as a way for SAS students to synchronize their information.
Users can invite other individuals and groups to share their files in order to make collaboration easier on projects.
While the service is still in Beta, Microsoft has made the service available to both Windows and Mac users, and Live Mesh will work with both the Firefox and Safari browsers.
Users must download and install the Live Mesh software to all the devices they plan on synchronizing together.
After adding a device, users can add files and folders into the Live Desktop storage, enabling them to share and access them across their own personal "cloud" of devices.
Another feature of Live Mesh is Remote Desktop, which enables users to access their desktop from any other computer.
The feature is useful for those with a desktop computer who are traveling or who need to access files on one computer from a more frequently used one.
Live Mesh is not the only service that offers users a way to create their own "cloud."
Box.net offers similar capabilities, but gives only 1 gigabyte of free storage, with pricing plans for more storage available to individuals and businesses.
LogMeIn is more of a remote desktop service, as the service installs software on a user's computer and allows them to access their computer from any device connected to the Internet.
Despite the plethora of services available to individual users, it seems that most businesses will stick to their normal operating systems.
A recent article in The New York Times' Bits blog cited a study from McKinsey & Company saying that "trying to adopt the cloud model would be a money-losing mistake for most large corporations."
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