Synchronising data is a perennial problem. Having the right files with you at the right time has been an issue for many years, however as home lives and business lives start to merge and technology has become more accessible and virtually free, there really is no excuse now for getting organised!
For me, the hard bit is not the technology – it’s about figuring out which data you need where and which data is important and timely. Get that right on a piece of paper first and you won’t go too far wrong.
I wanted to talk about Windows Live Mesh, which has just become available as a beta tech preview (whatever that means.) It was launched earlier in 2008 to a great fanfare essentially in competition to Google Apps (mentioned elsewhere on this site).
It’s still very much a work in progress, however with 5GB of free space available to everyone, it shouldn’t be ignored and overtime will almost certainly integrate into Windows Vista seamlessly, which will be where they will be able to steal a march over Google.
If you go to the Windows Live Mesh site, login with a Passport linked email address on a Windows Vista PC and go an explore.
Essentially, the easy to use interface allows you to upload files to folders (no drag and drop as yet) and stores those documents in the ‘Cloud.’ If you then login from another Windows Vista pc, this time perhaps at home and connect that PC, you will then be able to see and connect to those files.
If you install the Live Mesh software on each PC, the service is more seamless. Mesh or Cloud folders appear as normal Windows directory folders and so synchronisation is a breeze.
There is an automated posting system which tells users of your particular mesh what files / folders have been created which is a nice touch.
Go try it – it works.
