For the last few months I've been using the Tech Preview of Microsoft Live Mesh to help create this blog.
What is Live Mesh?
I'll leave the detailed technical explanation to others who do it better than I ever could. In it's current preview form Live Mesh is a combination of file store, file sync and remote desktop. In reality Live Mesh is a platform which will enable developers to integrate both local and web based applications and data. Below ComputerWorld NZ Editor Rob O'Neill asks Amit Mital, Microsoft's General Manager in charge of Live Mesh system development, about this "software-plus-services platform" at Tech Ed New Zealand:
What does Live Mesh Preview look like for the user;
There are currently several components to the Live Mesh Preview interface;
Live Mesh Desktop; This is where you see folders, still the Mesh storage metaphor, which are sync'ed to multiple devices. You can control which device(s) the folder is updated on and then any content is cloned across them all
Live Mesh Preview Devices; This is where you manage the devices in your Mesh. This is currently Windows but will extend to other platforms.
Live Mesh Preview News; Shows transactions happening in the Mesh. I'm the only user of my Mesh but there is no reason why several users could not edit files. The news tab gives an audit trail of changes as they flow from local to Mesh folders.
What can it do?
Currently the Live Mesh Preview allows you to;
-
Synchronise Local and Mesh folders between multiple devices. Each sees a clone of the Mesh Data but updates are handled as the devices come on-line.
-
Use a Live (Remote) Desktop session to control your other Mesh Devices from any location.
While I've only used it on Windows machines there are plans for this platform to sync across multiple devices and platforms.
Blogging in the Mesh;
I use an off-line blog editor for my posts. My "Blog Draft" folder is sync'ed to Live Mesh so drafts can be edited on any connected device. Currently that's my home PC, a laptop and old "blog beta" machine. When I'm working it's fast because the data is local but in the background changes are being stored in the "cloud", then sync'ed with each connected device.
You can see a history of these edits in the Live Mesh fly-out that displays with Explorer views or on the Live Mesh News page. By default Live Mesh folders are created on your desktop but I found it better have dedicated folder with a constant path. If the application used relative pathing there would be no problem but BlogJet and many others don't. I suspect for most users having the same log on (therefore desktop path) across multiple machines/platforms is unlikely? Perhaps this will be addressed in future Mesh implementations?
CAD & BIM in the Mesh;
File based CAD formats like AutoCAD dwg and DWF mark-ups work fine. I'm using Mesh to sync a Tablet PC folder used for site mark-ups/meetings with a folder on my main machine. It's a joy to have work done on either machine seamlessly transfer to the other without the hassle of manual file transfer. One thing I've noticed is Mesh Preview only "knows" a few basic file types. On the local machine folder you see the associated application icon but the in same folder in the Mesh Web UI they are just "files".
I haven't done a lot with the Revit Building Information Model but a small test project worked normally when stored in a Mesh sync'ed folder. Revit just saw a local file (with it's performance advantages) but that file was cloned to any machine it was sync'ed to. I haven't tried anything complicated like worksets or central/local files but for stand-alone project work it could be viable.
Synchronising Application Data in the Mesh;
Two local applications I use, RSS Bandit and ActiveWords, have the capability to transfer their application states (user data) between machines. I've used the Mesh to synchronise these update files between several machines. For RSS Bandit this means my feedlist and read state can be imported how I left it on the other device. With ActiveWords an export from one machine's ActiveWords database is ready to import on any other. This gives the performance of a local application with the portability of a web based solution. If the connection to the cloud isn't there the last good sync local data can be used seamlessly until it is. The preview has conflict handling if the cloud and local file have both changed but it's fairly rudimentary. That's one aspect which I'd like to see get a lot smarter.
Live Mesh Remote Desktop! You can connect to any other device in your Mesh using the Remote Desktop. The user experience is similar to Windows Network Remote Desktop but performance is dependent on the connection speeds. I haven't used it much but have found it useful if you need to access another machine to get that file you forgot (and isn't on the Mesh yet) or use it's applications.
The Preview Experience! It's a preview, pre-alpha, but has been remarkably smooth for me. The set-up was slick and sync'ing folders/files is a simple Right Click>Add to Live Mesh. One thing you have to remember is this is a synchronisation service and NOT a backup. If you delete something from one device it will disappear from all others sync'ing that folder as the change ripples through the Mesh! There was a build which caused problems if you changed sync settings but, hey, it's a preview. The fix was rapid and arrived via the Mesh as the local application is updates itself. The only minor hassle is the desktop component often requests a full machine reboot after it's updated. One point to note is currently Mesh sync's happen regularly but can not be forced. This can be a bit frustrating as you know the local file has changed but it not when those changes will appear in the Mesh and there is nothing you can do about it. I'm sure that will change but it's a limitation if you need time sensitive coordination. It's been a pretty smooth experience and a nice way to dabble with cloud computing. I'm not sure I'd put all my data "up there" but have found it very useful for a few applications.
Try Live Mesh yourself!
Although still a preview Microsoft have opened Live Mesh up to more people. There are still limits (users and data) and also remember this is still a technical preview. Still I recommend giving it a try, then tell them what you think!
Live Mesh : Live Mesh Expansion
Today we are again increasing the number of available slots in the Live Mesh Technology Preview, and expanding the list of countries that will allow sign-up without a wait list to include Canada, India and Ireland! (although you still need to run with an English locale for now.) This is in addition to the availability we’ve previously announced for USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand (see coverage map).
The experience you see today is just tip of the iceberg! To see what the Live Mesh platform is capable of, check out the Channel 9 videos, and try out the user experience. We’re eager for you help to keep pushing our scale, and your feedback!
