Microsoft Debuts Web Services PlatformMicrosoft Debuts Web Services Platform

Microsoft has unveiled Live Mesh, an online service for synchronizing data across multiple devices.The move is Microsoft's latest attempt to join Google, Amazon, Adobe, and others in providing "software as a service" -- or, in Microsoft's terms, "software plus services" -- by making some functions of its desktop software available over the Web. Live Mesh will initially enable Windows users to synchronize files and folders across multiple machines and access them through a browser. Eventually, Microsoft plans to enable Live Mesh to connect and sync different kinds of devices as well, including phones, music players, and game consoles. "This new software-plus-services platform enables PCs and other devices to 'come alive' by making them aware of each other through the internet," said Live Mesh general manager Amit Mital.

Microsoft also plans to make Live Mesh available to Macintosh and other non-Windows computers, but no date has been set for that rollout.BBC News, The Register