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so I got an invitation to Microsoft Mesh last night (it pays to stay up late and follow @stevegillmor). in some way Mesh is Microsoft’s answer to offline webapps (think Google Gears, AIR), weaving the fabric that is supposed to connect multiple devices, and applications. in its current rendition (don’t forget, this is labeled ‘Tech Preview’), Mesh sets up a virtual desktop, which is used to synchronize file-folders among different computers and different users (if you wish to collaborate). next to each folder, a small history & message-board is displayed. being Ray Ozzies brainchild, it should be no suprise that this sounds quite a bit like what Groove has been doing for ages.

while you can access mesh through the browser [screenshot above] (and Microsoft obviously has learned a lesson here, since it works flawlessly on Firefox, and also on Mac), the real fun starts after installing the Mesh-software to your local Windows(XP/Vista)-PC. mesh-folders are now transparently included on your local desktop [screenshot below], syncing existing folders to the cloud is only a matter of few clicks. if nothing else, Mesh is a slick way to backup local data to the web (5gbyte for free doesn’t sound too bad, right?).

while all this plays out really nice, it hardly is revolutionary, right? however it should be noted, that underneath its polished skin, Mesh isn’t just syncing files, but really data-feeds which can hold arbitrary items in (almost) any format (RSS, JSON, Atom…). so instead of files & folders, Mesh-apps might soon synchronize calendar-items, addressbooks or audio-files.

plus there are APIs all around, which will basically allow applications (online and offline) to leverage these feeds. while I’m pretty sure these applications will circulate heavily around Silverlight, it is claimed that Mesh in general won’t be restrictive, on which language developers use (Python, Rails, Flex have all been mentioned). and while Mesh currently is in full effect on Windows-PCs only, support for Mac & Windows Mobile is already announced (no word about other mobile platforms though).

if some of that sounds interesting to you, I’ve still 3 invites left. just drop me a comment, and make sure to leave your real email-address, which should also be linked to your Live-account. moreover, please post only if you’re running XP/Vista (some have said that Mesh won’t install on a non-US license, not sure about that). one more thing: Mesh requires you to enable UAC (that “feature” of Vista which is pure, utter annoyance ). other than that, have fun!

 

Related Posts:

• Microsoft Photosynth: tech preview
• Microsoft Live Labs - Photosynth
• e3: nextgen consoles coverage

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 12:43 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.