What is Live Mesh and how to use it

Posted on July 23, 2008 at 5:34 am

Make sure to read other posts from the Synchronize Files and Folders series!

After releasing a very limited Tech Preview of Live Mesh a few months ago Windows Live Development has released a couple of successive updates addressing a number of bugs and issues and also introducing P2P synchronising capabilities.

This week the Live Mesh Development team released an update and a blog entry which informed everyone that

We are doubling the upper limit of our technology preview program. Our technology preview is still limited to ensure great performance and experience for our customers. You can now use Live Mesh just by signing in to www.mesh.com with a valid Windows Live ID. No waiting list at this time!

This applied to US citizens, but international users can get into the beta by simply changing local localisation settings to the US instead of your actual country. Don’t worry, you can change it back after you have registered and installed Mesh. Simply find “Regional and Language Options” in the start menu (or control panel) and change the relevant settings. Be warned however that there is a cap on the number of new users.

Please note, sometimes Mesh will not install correctly on XP. It’s a common bug, and I experienced it myself… just try again or reset and you should get it to work eventually.

Features:

At this point in time Mesh is functioning at fairly basic level. Basic in terms of what it is potentially capable, as it is it still stands miles above every other synchronisation service I have seen. Right now however you can expect the following:

Device support for XP and Vista machines, pre-alpha Mac client and some mobiles
Online desktop and 5 gigabytes free storage
File synchronisation between devices
P2P syncing across a network
Downloadable application for the desktop which integrates with explorer to manage Mesh folders and files
Remote Desktop Connection

How Can I use it?

Really this depends on is your imagination.

Potentially such features as automatic syncing of photographs from your mobile camera will be available. You save space on your phone and get all your photos accessible on your computer without ever having to connect your phone again.

The same could apply for music as well… if you had patience and a fast 3G connection or wireless. Imagine getting bored with the MP3 playlist on your phone, you open up your mesh, find a song on your computer at home you would like then sync it straight to your phone.

The possibilities are endless and you don’t have to wait for the final release to start taking advantage of it. Redmond Pie has already started a directory listing some of the many uses and scenarios in which you can use Live Mesh right now.