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Live Mesh Great, But Causes Live Mess For Me RRS feed

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         I LOVE this software since it finally merges individual components of my Windows software that did not work well together, but which were all essential. Remote Desktop which I used to access devices but the client of which was rather insecure and problematic given dynamic IP addressing by my ISP. Folder Share which I used to try and sync files from home to work, but which I found difficult to configure. Groove used for the same purpose, finally moving to Office Live Workspaces (but the latter still presents some limitations in beta on having multiple users access the files and maintaining control). Problem for me now is I am vastly unclear on which of these services I need and which is optimal to use. This is a little like the thread on integration, but different in that I am less concerned about having a modular GUI for choosing between these componentized parts of the Live and Office Live platforms than figuring out which is optimal and how they fit together.
         I would like someone at Microsoft to give me a "clear," meaning not fuzzy, answer both as a developer and an end-user as to what the relationship is between Groove, Groove Live, Office Live Workspace, Remote Desktop, and Mesh. I certainly don't want to try and maintain all these since they duplicate functionality. Yet, they all seem to miss something. Mesh looks like the optimal solution, but I am interested in how this all fits together from a Microsoft point of view. I certainly don't want to invest in a technology Microsoft has put on the chopping block. Mesh and Workspaces look like the end of Groove for example and even Mesh may be threatened by some of the SoftGrid virtualization technologies. In short, treat me as an end user you're trying to sell this to. I need syncing of documents, rdp functionality, and the ability to move stuff from one of my machines to another (largely Office documents). Which of these proliferation technologies is best and why Mesh?
         Great job on this by the way..but I like all of the movement in this direction from Groove on and I wondered why Microsoft had not gone this way earlier with its Office and Windows platforms. Got to gripe a bit on not including Server 2003. Looking forward to adding my home server to this mix and then I can die happy. :) Keep up the good work.

    Dr. Nikitah Imani
    Reapalife and its Reapasoftwarez Development Division
    Harrisonburg, VA

    Dr. Nikitah Imani Associate Professor James Madison University
    Wednesday, May 28, 2008 4:11 AM

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    Dr. Imani,

    I previously touched on the differences between Groove and Live Mesh in this thread.  As well, this thread may prove to be useful too.  You might be able to discern a little more from our blog post, Live Mesh as a Platform.

    As Stephen points out, Live Mesh is currently a Tech Preview, so it's still in its early stages of the product.  As an end-user, the waters are a little muddy, but hopefully things will start to clear up later on this year.

    Thanks,
    Richard

    Richard Chung [ Live Mesh ]
    Thursday, May 29, 2008 5:29 PM
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    Good question, but I can only give you my opinion. :-)

    With the exception of Groove, everything is in beta. If you want Remote Desktop bundled with file sync, it seems to me that Live Mesh is your solution.
    Groove does great file sharing and is easy to use with multiple users. It is great for managing multiple workspaces with multiple people.
    FolderShare is great for file sharing for a single user and multiple PCs.
    Office Workspaces is nicely integrated into some Office applications for direct file save/open, but it doesn't have the flexibility of sync and control as you noted.
    Live Mesh, being a developer preview beta, means we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, as it were. I suspect that there's lots more to come.
    -steve
    Microsoft MVP Windows Live / Windows Live OneCare Forum Moderator
    Wednesday, May 28, 2008 4:28 PM
    Moderator
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    Dr. Imani,

    I previously touched on the differences between Groove and Live Mesh in this thread.  As well, this thread may prove to be useful too.  You might be able to discern a little more from our blog post, Live Mesh as a Platform.

    As Stephen points out, Live Mesh is currently a Tech Preview, so it's still in its early stages of the product.  As an end-user, the waters are a little muddy, but hopefully things will start to clear up later on this year.

    Thanks,
    Richard

    Richard Chung [ Live Mesh ]
    Thursday, May 29, 2008 5:29 PM
    Answerer