I’ve owned both a laptop and a desktop since Windows 95. I’ve also had a home network since those days. And I’ve always had the same problem. Syncing my documents between the two has been a constant challenge. I’ve tried the Windows Briefcase which was a joke.
To the cloud you say? I anxiously awaited the Gdrive from Google that never came. Amazon, Box.net and a ton of other companies offer basic cloud based storage. These are all solutions that have really never appealed to me. I wanted a solution that allowed me not to change the way I work with my data. I didn’t want my primary target storage to be “The Cloud.”
I read about Windows Live Mesh and Skydrive a few years ago. I used Skydrive pre-Googles Doc to collaborate with class mates and business partners. It worked but I discovered most of my peers were not too interested in opening a Live account if they didn’t already have one so it kind of went unused for a couple of years.
Windows Mesh caught my attention again after Amazon announced their Cloud Drive the other day. I checked out the new Amazon service and it was more of the same. I’m not to incredibly interested in storing my music in the Cloud. I use Rhapsody and it suites my needs fine. I remembered Windows Mesh and installed the agent on my desktop and laptop.
Its as almost magical as an Apple product. It’s exactly what I was looking for. It sync’s my primary documents folders between the two PC’s and allows me to access the data from a web interface. To boot, files less than 50mb are editable using Office online. In addition, it has a remote control app. I use logmein but it’s not a bad free throw in. Not bad at all.
My biggest complaint is that I’m limited to 5 GB of data and there is no way to upgrade to more storage. Dropbox has a very similar service with a free 2GB limit option and a 50GB option for 9.99 a month. Box.net also has a solution for 15.99 per month. I’m tempted that way I could sync my photo collection as well but I for the most part trust MS for Cloud solutions.
Hopefully they don’t ever kill Windows Mesh. “To the Cloud” indeed.
