Yesterday, I installed Windows Live Mesh and set up a shared folder.  Last night, I installed Live Mesh on my home computer.

Immediately after installation, a folder link appeared on my desktop.  The link is to the shared folder from my work laptop.  However, files were not downloaded until I clicked the link and told Live Mesh how that folder should be synchronized on that computer.  After that, I had free access to those files.

Today, I connected to my home PC from my work laptop (at work).  It's nice because my home PC is Windows XP Home (ie. no Windows Remote Desktop).  Using Live Mesh's remote desktop seems to work pretty good.  I think that Windows Remote Desktop is more efficient though.  I am noticing CPU usage on the local PC even when the remote desktop is minimized.

I don't have a Windows mobile phone (I am a BlackBerry guy), so I won't be able to try using that.

I think this is great technology for the right people.  I'm not sure that this is for everyone, except for those who may take work home with them.

I am been experimenting with Windows Live Mesh today.  Mesh is a new toy from Microsoft which encapsulates file sharing, file synchronization, and remote desktop access.  It's connected to your Microsoft Live account, so you can login from any computer to access files which you have shared.

I created a "synchronized" folder on my desktop and copied a few files into it.  In the background, Live Mesh synchronized these files onto it's server (be careful about sensitive materials).  I was then able to access these files from my Live Mesh Desktop, which is a virtual desktop not tied to any real computer.  This virtual desktop can be accessed from within Internet Explorer.

You can add any number of devices to your "Mesh".  I've got my work laptop connected and tonight I'll try connecting my home computer.  Currently, only PCs and laptops are supported, but Mac and Windows Mobile devices will be supported in the future.

Another interesting feature is the ability to share folders between people.  So my shared folder could be shared between all my devices, as well as my wife's laptop via her own Windows Live account.

It's currently in the "technology preview" stage, which is enough for early adopters to play with, but may not be ready for prime time.

Microsoft Labs has made their Photosynth technology public.  It's still in early stages, but the results are pretty cool.

Photosynth includes a downloadable synth creator, and a synth viewer web browser plugin.  Using the software, you can take a bunch of your photographs which are of common objects and/or locations, and link them together in a sort of "virtual reality" thing.

I did have my computer lock up on me the first time I viewed the Taj Mahal synth.

I saw this same sort of technology 2 months ago on Panoramio.  I'm not sure if it's the same technology, or if it's competing.  In this site, people don't create their own viewings.  Instead, it's either handled automatically, or the staff link the photos amongst those of different photographers.

This gives me an idea to try to create a Myst type of game using this technology :).

Bring me the blue pages.