Microsoft divorces Live Mesh from kitchen Sync drama

Microsoft has yet again renamed its Live Sync service which will now be dubbed Windows Live Mesh when it is released this autumn.

The company confirmed the moniker switcheroo in a blog post on Friday.

But the name change could confuse customers as Live Sync, which Microsoft is currently testing, is made up of two existing sync services in the software giant’s product line-up.

One is Windows Live Sync and the other is Live Mesh, and both products had similar raison d'êtres. Each allowed files and settings to be made available via multiple devices – albeit in slightly different ways. Now Microsoft has melded them together.*

This isn’t the first time Microsoft execs have got their heads in a spin about what to name this product. In fact, the name itself has been as contentious, within Redmond at least, as a divorcee remarrying then divorcing the same man.

It started life as Windows Live Mesh, was then given the Windows Live Sync handle and has now been reverted back to its maiden name.

As for the product itself, Microsoft said that over 240,000 people had downloaded the Windows Live Sync beta since its launch in June this year.

“In our beta release, we brought the best of Windows Live Sync and Live Mesh together. With the addition of remote access and cloud storage, we understand that the new program does more than sync files,” explained the company’s devices and roaming wonk Allison O'Mahony.

“So following the beta period, we’ll be using the name Windows Live Mesh going forward, which we feel best reflects our broader goal of allowing you to access your stuff across your devices.”

The company has also responded to user gripes about the amount of space made available to those people wanting to sync folders between computers, if not mobile phones and other devices yet. Microsoft said it has now bumped up the online storage limit from 2GB to 5GB. ®

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It does make sense if you say it all very, very slowly.