What's in Ray Ozzie's Mesh?
While Microsoft eventually hopes its Live Mesh effort will be a way for people to share data across all of their devices, the service that launches next week will be limited in several ways, CNET News.com has learned.
Next week, Microsoft will launch a pre-beta "technology preview" open to about 10,000 testers in the U.S., according to a source familiar with the company's plans.
File synchronization is an important component of Mesh, but not its only feature, the source said. Developers will be able to write their own applications for Live Mesh, with the idea that applications written for Mesh can then be accessed by a number of different devices.
Another key aspiration for Live Mesh is that it work with more than just Microsoft products. Out of the gate it will work with "multiple browsers," the source said. Initially it will be limited to XP and Vista PCs as well as Windows Mobile phones, however Microsoft wants to add Mac support as well more types of phones and even other devices, such as MP3 players.
Live Mesh is also not just a space for linking one's own devices and information. Users will be able to invite friends to share parts of their Mesh.
Ray Ozzie first talked about Mesh in a speech at last month's Mix '08 event in Las Vegas.
"Just imagine the possibilities of unified application management across the device mesh, centralized, Web-based deployment of device-based applications," he said. "Imagine an app platform that's cognizant of all of your devices. Now, as it so happens, we've had a team at Microsoft working on this specific scenario for some time, starting with the PC and focused on the question of how we might make life so much easier for individuals if we just brought together all your PCs into a seamless mesh, for users, for developers, using the Web as a hub."
The company will have more to say at Web 2.0 Expo next week, as well as at an April 24 event, both taking place in San Francisco. A Microsoft representative said the company did not have any comment ahead of its events next week.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina.
http://archisgore.blogspot.com
Just can't wait.
But MS will probably mesh it up....
You can synchronize all your personal data between any mobile phone an any computer
There is a thin smart client app on the mobile phone device, with an clean iPhone like User interface. And on the desktop side, a nice and fast AJAX Web 2.0 interface.
Just like Mesh, it is also an open Developer platform as well and you can create your own mobile and web apps, with data synchronized in the cloud.
Try it here : http://www.upvise.com
Microsoft isn't looking to replace their existing infrastructure with a whole new system. They are going to integrate their rich desktop apps and mobile devices via the cloud. I suspect that by opening up the API they are hoping other application vendors will write plugins so their apps or devices can pull data from the cloud too.
But I suppose the other commentors here (not you) are right and Microsoft should just sit back and do nothing because they suck, aren't innovators, are evil, and stole their lunch money.
Vista?
XBOX?
Office 2007?
LOLOLOLOL
By no means is any of this crap better than what is already out there.
Seriously, MS can't even copy 20 year old file systems. WinFS? 12 years of being vaporware. Congrats MS!
If it's anything like WWT, then Mesh really sounds awesome.
- More meaningless crap from MS
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by The_Decider
April 21, 2008 8:58 AM PDT
- Who cares about this?
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Reply to this comment
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(33 Comments)Like a lot of the online services MS brought out the last 8 years and failed because MS didn't understand it and its hapless customers understood it even less.
Has there ever been a company so big and yet so irrelevant?