| Microsoft demos mobile cloud sync client |
Sep. 03, 2008
 Microsoft has offered developers a quick peek at an unreleased Windows Mobile client for its fledgling "Live Mesh" service. The service aims to let users share and synchronize files between smartphones and PCs running heterogeneous OSes, and also includes remote control capabilities.
The glimpse of the anticipated Windows Mobile client for Live Mesh was provided at this week's Microsoft TechEd Australia developer event by Dr. Neil Roodyn, a regional director for Microsoft Australia. Roodyn reportedly used his phone to snap a picture of Amit Nital, the company's general manager for Live Mesh products, then synced the image wirelessly to a Windows Vista PC running on stage.
As Angus Logan, a Microsoft technical product manager for Windows Live, blogs, "During Amit Mital’s TechEd Australia keynote, Dr. Neil went a bit rogue and showed the Live Mesh mobile bits. They aren't available yet, but somehow he got a copy on his cell and decided to show syncing a photo from his Treo over to his PC."
Background
Announced in April, Live Mesh has been described as a "software-plus-service platform." Intended to integrate desktop and mobile operating systems -- including Windows Mobile, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Macintosh OS X -- it provides synchronization and remote access services similar to those offered by products like LogMeIn, GoToMyPC, and SugarSync.
Microsoft's Live Mesh website
(Click to enlarge)
Live Mesh users log into Microsoft's Mesh.com website, where a personalized home page (above) provides them with 5GB of "cloud" storage, termed the Live Desktop. Data can be uploaded to and downloaded from the Live Desktop with any Web browser.
In addition, Microsoft provides specialized client software -- currently only available for Windows XP and Vista, but promised for both Windows Mobile and Macintosh OS X -- that adds one or more devices to a user's personal "mesh." Once client software has been installed, designated folders and files on any device are synchronized automatically to the Live Desktop; from there, they're pushed to any other devices in the mesh.
 
Live Mesh permits accessing devices (left) and sharing files (right) via special Windows client software
(Click on either to enlarge)
An application provided with the client software for Live Mesh (the Windows version is shown, above left) pops up to provide easy access from any device in the mesh. It is also possible to share files with friends, family, or colleagues, by allowing them access to one's Live Desktop. In that case, the Live Search client can not only track contacts' online status, but also provides an indication of who has added or made changes to shared files (above right).
Windows Mobile support
The Windows Mobile client software for Live Mesh, promised by Microsoft and fleetingly demonstrated by Roodyn, will let smartphones and other mobile devices benefit from the service's automatic data synchronization and remote control features. For now, though, Windows Mobile users can at least upload and download files via a mobile version of the Live Mesh website, made available in July.
 
Browser-based access for Windows Mobile users shows Live Desktop folders (left) and recent activity (right)
(Click either to enlarge)
Pointing a mobile copy of Internet Explorer at m.mesh.com and logging into the Live Mesh service provides a list of folders and files stored on a user's Live Desktop (above left). From there, files can be uploaded or downloaded at will. Additionally, an "Add Picture" link automatically creates a Mobile Pictures folder on the Live Desktop, if one is not already present, then uploads the selected snapshot.
The browser-based access for Windows Mobile also provides a "news" feature (above right), alerting the user to recent Live Desktop file operations. This is useful in cases where multiple users have been granted access to a Live Desktop, or perhaps simply as a means of jogging one's memory.
Further information
While Microsoft has promised to release Live Search clients for Windows Mobile and Macintosh OS X "later this year," a specific timetable has still not been provided. An OS X Live Search client was released briefly in July, and obtained by WindowsForDevices.com and other testers. The application apparently worked effectively, but ceased to function after several days, and a replacement has not yet appeared. For a mini-review of the OS X Live Search client, see the jkOnTheRun website, here.
To see Angus Logan's comments about the Live Mesh Windows Mobile client, visit his blog, here. To see two images of the TechEd Australia demonstration, captured by blogger Long Zheng, see Zheng's blog, here.
For supplemental information on Live Mesh, see our previous coverage, here, here and here, and on our sister site eWeek.com, here. To access the Microsoft Live Mesh blog, which has been providing information about regular, incremental updates to the Windows Vista and XP Live Mesh clients, go here.
Finally, to join Live Mesh and download the currently available clients, see the Microsoft website, here.
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