Live Mesh is the next killer app.
It’s rare that a truly major breakthrough becomes publically available and absolutely free of charge. Microsoft has done just that with Live Mesh. Most of us use the Internet via a browser. You are reading this article in your browser now. However, the Internet is far more than the world-wide-web. It’s a network that connects your desktop to over a billion other computers. In practice, that boils down to instant messages, web pages, and email for most people. That is about to end.
Got a home PC? A laptop? A smart phone? Are you sitting in front of your office computer now? You probably have three or more devices that are connected to the Internet. How would it be to change your current view from this web site to your home computer’s desktop? Cool. You can do that now. Live Mesh is a new free service from Microsoft. The Live Mesh Web Site provides simple instructions to build your own mesh. You can create your own network of computers that can be accessed from one another’s desk top. It’s all encrypted and secure. The experience is nothing short of amazing.
That’s just the beginning. Live Mesh lets you keep files synched between all of your devices; automatically, wihtout you dong anything. We have been using Live Mesh for a while now and it has become an indespensible part of life. But that’s not all. The “mesh” supports application development that promises to bring interactive applications to a new level.
Microsoft announced a few sample applications produced by its research lab in Massachusetts. One of them, Collaborative Crossword (ok, not a cool title) allows multiple people to work on a single crossword puzzle in real time. Another, CorkBoard, is a “mesh” bulletin board where you can post notes and they can be viewed by anyone on your mesh (including your smart phone). These applications won’t rock the world, and maybe you don’t want to be able to work on your home computer while at work (or visa-versa). But can’t you see where this is going?
This technology will allow instant and automatic sharing of photos and other files. It takes collaboration to a new leve. Imagine video games incorporating this technology. It’s been a very long time since a truly world-shaking development has emerged in personal computing. Live Mesh is the next killer app. Give it a try. It’s free. It’s safe, and most of all it is almost magical to use.